It was a mixed bag weather day with some rain, wind and sunshine but nothing to drastic in either element. I wanted to do some hill training so headed for Aberfolye and Duke Pass. I rode up Dukes Pass a couple of time before lunch and then twice over it to Loch Achray after lunch. Not very far distance wise but a decent amount of elevation and not totally knackering myself out in the process
Well I just couldn’t resist it could I SNOW! lots of fun to cycle in if you can stay upright which was difficult in some places where I had to walk the bike as the front end would just slide out in front of me or the rear end would get no traction and I would be left pedaling standing still until I fell off. Decided I would try and do my 15 mile loop via Shieldhill but I only got so far before I hit a wall of snow which was higher than me Ironically you can’t tell this by the pictures I took, should have put my bike in shot for a frame of reference. Anyway some smart arse digger had piled all the snow up at one end of the road so I couldn’t eve dig my way through, the road on the other side wasn’t clear of snow yet but it was walkable had I been able to get through. So I had to back track all the way back to Falkirk
Another sunny day but a cold one at that and with a biting wind. Decided to head to the new house and pick up some stuff I left there last week by mistake. I would be heading into the wind all the way there which made it slow and cold. Once there I stopped for a little bit to eat and headed back riding with the wind but going a different way home. Over 50 miles knocked out and now I’m knackered again.
It was a reasonable weather day, bit on the dull side, not baltic and little wind and probably just as well. I haven’t ridden for 2 weeks so I needed to gt my finger out so set a target of 50 miles. Did a west loop around the Forth river and onto Blairingone but turn off before hitting this and headed for Kincardine bridge. Once across it was on to Grangemouth and around to Polmont heading back home. By the time I got home I was quite tired but pleased with getting the target.
It’s a reasonable day some sunshine and now wind but still a bit on the colds side. Decided to go to Kilsyth and up Tak Ma Doon road and over to Bannockburn then head home. It was a little ride but I wanted to be back in time for lunch
Distance 43.51 mi | Time 3:02:52 | Speed 14.3 mph | Elevation 2,294 ft
Source: Ride 29/01/2018
Well it’s a sunny day today but still a bit cold so I decided ride through Carron Valley over Crow road to Lennoxtown and back home via Kilsyth. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve ridden thanks to crap weather so today was the first opportunity with decent weather to ride. Or it was until I got to the top of Crow road where it got very dark and cold and proceeded to snow on me Thankfully by the time I got to the bottom it had stopped and with a tail wind now I could ride home comfortably.
Distance 40.77 mi | Time 2:32:31 | Speed 16.0 mph | Elevation 1,385 ft
Source: Ride 13/01/2018
Not a bad day today, little wind and 5°C so I’m wasn’t going to freeze my arse off. Decided to do a loop around the Forth as it’s been a little while since I’ve done that. Not my best performance today but not bad for this early into the my season.
A cold but sunny day with little wind around so I did an easterly loop around the Forth. Because the route is flat it was a reasonably fast ride.
Well first ride of the year and it was a cold and very wet one. Absolutely pissing it down so suffice to say I didn’t get far before I was soaked through. Cut my losses before I became to cold to ride being soaked to the bone so only did 12 miles.
Another bitterly cold but sunny day so decided to do a quick ride around the area and be home for lunch. Tried to stick to the main roads but because I was on my mountain bike I wanted to go along some of the “less well used” roads. This was fine to a point but going down hill on one particular road I came to a point where it was just a sheet of ice which forced me to get off the bike and walk down the hill very carefully, some minor slippage but I made it to the bottom in one piece. I decided to stick to the main roads after that until I got home.
After a couple of days off for Xmas and because the weather was crap, today was the first sunny day we’ve had although it’s still bloody cold, not much higher than 1°C. So I decided to cycle to Dunfermline and back which was about the right distance I wanted and I would be doing this on the mountain bike not the road bike so it would be a slower longer timed ride and I wasn’t wanting to go far as I would be out in the cold for longer. I took the mountain bike because there was a sprinkling of snow around and the roads although clear were slippy. Anyhow boxing day ride was 43 miles in 3 hours 20 minutes at barely 13 mph and that was enough for me as my fingers were going numb
Another very cold and frosty start this morning so I decided to ride to Gartgosh it wasn’t too far and I new my way without having to map a route. The leg out was up to Shieldhill and along to Slamannan but I was riding against the wind which made a cold day even colder with the wind chill. Suffice to say my hands and feet were cold numb and a little painful, I even had to put on a forth layer of clothing which I carry in my camelbak for said occasions. Thankfully once I hit Gartgosh I would have a tailwind and my feet and hands were able to warm up a little bit. Took the road to Westfield home as it was a little bit hillier which would also help me to warm up so by the time I got home I wasn’t a popsicle