Ride 30/070/2023 July Randonee

So it’s Randonee day with 9 of us heading towards Auchtermuchty. It was a mixed bag of weather day, started out raining but stayed mostly dry for the say with a few showers here and there. I was prepared for that today as I was out on the winter bike in wet weather gear. I’ve done this router before, not that long ago actually so I new what we were in for. We had a tail wind to start with so we were blown all the way to Leslie before we tackled our first climb of the day up and over Falkland hill. Then a short ride to the cafe stop of the day in Auchtermuchty were I had some nice soup, cake and coffee. We then had a head wind all the way back to Milnathort, but I stayed in the back in shelter so it wasn’t too bad for me today. We then headed for our second climb of the day up Cleish hill, it’s actually shorter than Falkland but steeper, so it’s bit of a nippy one, then we were heading back home again to Dunfermline. I followed Ken down to Dalgety bay as I was looking to do 65 miles but more than that, I was looking for some extra elevation. So I headed back up to Dunfermline and carried on up to Kingseat to get the 4000 feet of elevation I was looking for. So all in all 67 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 15 mph but this was fine given the extra elevation I got out of it.

Ride 29/07/2023

9 of us on the bun run today and me praying for the rain to hold off since it was forecast. I stuck with the summer bike and no rain gear throwing caution to the wind, I did win out in the end We had a head wind to the cafe stop but weren’t going particularly fast so it wasn’t too bad. Usual culinary delights for the cafe stop before heading out. We split into 2 groups from there some of the guys going an easier direct route back to Dunfermline but the rest of us were doing some extra stuff. We headed the normal route going back via Knockhill but departed from that route and headed for Crook of Devon and along to Milnathort. Then it was a straight shot for Kelty, Kingseat and back home for me, eventually clocking up 60 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph, and the rain never hit me

Ride 23/07/2023

7 of us on the bun run today and as per usual I was out early before I joined the group to get a little bit extra. I didn’t do much, just 15 miles in the morning before the meet up, after yesterdays 77 I wasn’t looking to do much today, although ultimately that turned out not to be the case I was looking to get some elevation in the morning so I headed up Knockhill before heading back to Dunfermline to meet the group. I was looking for an easy ride today and when I meet with the club we decided to ride a route that avoided the headwind, which was as bad today as it was yesterday. So we ended up with a north south route rather than the east west one we would normally do. We headed along to Kelty and then up to Milnathort and Glenfarg before heading back south around Loch Leven to were our cafe stop would be. I had coffee, toasted ciabatta with cheese and ham along with a banana fudge cake, it was a good meal that filled a hole We then headed along to Lochgelly, Cowdenbeath and Crossgates but I wasn’t ready to stop there We had gone easy enough to the point I decided to do some extra, extra miles today and followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay and then headed back along the coast to Cairneyhill. Now this would mean I would have a tailwind to Cairneyhill but a strong headwind back to Dunfermline and home, so I took it easy doing that. By the time I got back home again I had done 70 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph which isn’t too bad for a “slower” ride

Ride 22/07/2023

9 of us on the bun run today, weather wise it was forecast to rain, of course it didn’t, so this time I took my summer bike and rain coat just in case. I was only cycling to the cafe stop today, I was going up to my uncle’s after there to see my cousin who was over from America with the family. We had a tailwind all the way to the cafe stop which was nice and this trend stayed the same all the way to my uncle’s. Of course it made life hard coming back from Denny as I had a headwind all the way to Dalgety Bay which was a real slog Anyway 77 miles clocked up at a decent speed of 18 mph avg.

Ride 16/07/2023

Stupidly windy day and again the forecast was for stormy weather, so I took the winter bike again and my wet gear. I started early to get some extra in, I was looking for some elevation this morning so I headed up Knockhill to get that before heading back into Dunfermline to meet the group, I’d clocked up 22 miles doing that in the morning. Given the horrendous weather I wasn’t expecting many to turn up and was surprise to see 10 of us this morning. Same shite as yesterday, no rain, it stayed dry all day which was nice if not for the bloody wind We would be headwind all the way to the cafe stop and we started by going up Knockhill as per usual which meant this was the second time for me today I was at the front for the climb but slipped back into the group once over it. The usual coffee and cake at the cafe stop before we headed back home with a great tailwind Ken and I went home via Dalgety Bay and I headed back up to Crossgates and did a little bit in Dunfermline to get the 75 mile mark that I was after. So given the weather and wind I got my 75 miles at an ave speed of 16 mph with just over 4000 feet of climbing

Ride 15/07/2023

Back onto the winter bike today and wet weather gear, we were forecast for some storms today. 4 of us on the bun run to start with, at least until we got to the cafe stop. Getting there we had a few stops of rain but for the most part it was dry surprisingly. Usual scrambled egg roll and orange juice for food and we meet up with 4 other riders who would do the bun run with us from time to time, I think they left a bit after us. So for the leg home we had 8 before Andy split from the group to do his own thing. With John and Richard leading they shot up Knockhill but I went at my pace so as not to blow up, still went up pretty hard though, no pb but still only 30 seconds off my fastest time, and it still remained dry! In fact it didn’t rain all the way home, so after all the preparation for a wet day it stayed dry Anyway I won’t complain so 50 miles clock up at just under 18 mph avg.

Ride 09/07/2023

So far better weather today than yesterday, sunny, hot but with a little bit of wind around but nothing too strong. I started early again to get some extra done in the morning and decided I would head over to Cleish Hill and do an effort up that to give me some idea of my performance up it. This data will come handy when I do the TT up it next month. I then headed for town to meet up with the rest of the club to do the Sunday bun run. It was quite busy there today, 12 of us, and we decided to do a different route to the normal one. Starting by heading for Saline, then past the usual Sunday cafe stop and head into Stirling. We would stop at the coffee bothy for our lunch break, where is was scrambled egg roll, coffee and banoffee pie before heading into Stirling and the swinging south over the river and heading for Bannockburn. We then headed east toward Airth before crossing back over the rive on the Kincardine bridge and picking up the usual Sunday route back to Dunfermline. Ken and I did the usual route down through Dalgety bay before I headed back up to Crossgates. I wasn’t finished for the day though I was looking to do 100 miles today since the weather was so nice and I don’t often get good days like these to do 100 miles. So I did an extra loop through Auchtertool, Lochgelly, Lohore, Kelty, Kingseat which took me back to Dunfermline and home to round off the 100 miles, and also getting some extra hills in So 100 miles clocked up today and an avg speed of 16.8 mph and over 5000 feet of climbing, not a bad days cycling.

Ride 08/07/2023

8 of us on the bun run this morning and although it started out sunny that would all change at the cafe stop. We started with sunshine and a tail wind this morning which meant we got to the cafe stop fairly sharp for my usual orange juice and scrambled egg roll. Whilst at the cafe stop the sky went black pretty quick and then the heavens opened up, the cafe has a tin roof so it got pretty loud in there with how hard the rain was coming down Thankfully we missed most of it but the poor 9 o’clock guys got hit hard and were very wet when they arrived at the cafe. We waited a little bit for the rain to ease up before heading back but it was still raining none the less which meant I got wet, especially since I had no rain gear with me today. We decided to take the quickest route back to Dunfermline to limit our time in the rain but thankfully the rain stopped about 20 mins after we left the cafe and the sun came out which meant it got quite warm as well, which was nice as it dried me out a little bit We were going back via Saline so I put the hammer down a little bit going up that which meant I was first up to Redcraigs. Thereafter I rode with the group back to Dunfermline before splitting to head back home. So only 45 miles clocked up today but at a decent avg speed of 18 mph.

Ride 02/07/2023

3 of us on the bun run and weather wise it’s about the same as yesterday, the odd showers, mixed in with sunshine and the most annoying bit being the wind which would be headwind until the cafe stop. I started the day early as usual just to get the extra I wanted to do out of the way with first of all. Of course this was pretty much all headwind until I headed back towards Dunfermline to meet the guys at the start of the bun run, I did 20 miles. We then headed for the cafe stop which again would mostly be into a headwind but we got hit with some brief showers before we got there. I decided to have a decent meal at the cafe stop consisting of lasagna, coffee and cake I needed the energy. We then headed back home but this time we had a tailwind blowing us back home which was nice and Ken and I headed for Dalgety bay whilst Dave went the normal route home. So overall it was a decent days ride with me clocking up 77 miles at and avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 01/07/2023

Mixed bag of a weather day, sunny in places raining in others, all against the backdrop of strong winds. There were 8 of us on the fast bun run this morning and we would be against a strong headwind all the way to the cafe stop. So I decided to start at the back and miss most of the wind out by drafting people although I did eventually have to take a turn at the front but it was the last 5 miles to the cafe stop We had a couple of showers of rain prior to the cafe stop but we got the most of it on the way home I didn’t bother with any extra today given the unpredictable weather and I was wet already given none of us had any wet gear for the day. So it was the usual route home over Knockhill but thankfully we had a tail wind all the way home so this made life a bit easier 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 18 mph and now I need to clean the bike as well as me.