Ride 27/04/2025

6 of us on the Sunday bun run and weather wise it was wet 😕 not hammering it down, just consistent rain, at least until we got to the cafe stop. Thankfully it wasn’t windy or cold, and I was well prepared for the weather with weet gear at hand, but it would have been nice if it hadn’t rained for half the ride. We decided to go to a different cafe stop yesterday, doing the same route to Tillicoultry but bypassing Sterling Mills cafe and riding on to Coffee Bothy instead, where I had some very tasty scrambled eggs with toast, avocado and sun dried tomatoes 🤗 and of course the usual coffee, no cake today though 😥 As noted when we left the cafe the rain had stopped and we had a nice dry ride home going via Tullibody and Alloa before picking up the usual route at Clackmannan. With a nice zone 2 pace for me I clocked up 56 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 26/04/2025

Just me and Mark on the early bun run this morning and weather wise it was wet and raining to start with, little wind and not too cold, but it did stop raining once we hit Kincardine, suffice to say I was clothed for the occasion with wet gear. Even with 2 of us it was a decent ride at a good pace and by the time we got to the cafe stop I had avg 18 mph for 30 miles 👍 The usual orange juice and roll with sausage and hash browns at the cafe stop, and it was here we meet the 09:00 group which had a few more riders in it than us 😉 We decided to tag along with them after the cafe stop and so we headed for Yetts o’Muckhart where the group split into 2 groups, one bound for Knockhill and the other, we me in it, for Milnathort. With 4 of us heading for Milnathort we kept a decent pace up to and beyond Milnathort as we headed back home via Kinross and Kelty. So 57 miles clocked up at nearly 18 mph, a good day’s ride despite the weather 😀

Ride 20/04/2025

5 of us on today’s ride which was an ad-hoc ride organised by Nick to do the packers lane ride into Stirling. Weather wise it’s a lot better than yesterday, sunny, not too much wind, a little cold to start with but by lunch time it had warmed up to a pleasant temperature. We would have a slight tail wind to start with which made for a quick beginning to the ride, especially given how flat this route it. We would be heading to Smiddy Farm shop for our cafe stop of the day where I had avocado with poached eggs and toast, coffee and cake which went down a treat 😋 Our ride back home would take us into Stirling where we stopped at Corrieri’s for some ice cream 🍦😁 which is never a bad thing 😉 before heading into fishcross where Ken and Davy split from Nick, Stuart and I, as we would be going over Knockhill before heading back to Dunfermline, and they would take the more direct route. So 72 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph on a fine day’s ride 😀

Ride 19/04/2025

Slight delay on yesterday’s post 😆 but 8 of us on the early bun run and weather wise it was cold, overcast and windy, oh how the weather has changed 😒 We had a tail wind to the cafe stop, which was fine to start with, good pace with a good group of riders. The usual fuel ws had at the cafe stop but we combined groups after the cafe stop so there were about 16 of us on the way back but obviously into a headwind, so I took an early lead before dropping to the back for some shelter. We took the normal route back over Knockhill today but that’s where everyone split up according to ability, I joined a couple of riders at a pace that I could handle without blowing myself up until we got to Redcraigs where everyone met back up. So 55 miles clocked up at 17 mph, a decent pace but not overdoing it, and then the sun had the cheek to come out just as I got home 😕

Ride 13/04/2025

13 of us on the bun run today, just doing the usual route this morning. Weather wise it’s windier and colder than yesterday but still sunny. It was the usual headwind to the cafe stop and tail wind back home again. It started fast but this caused the group to split and I was still tired from yesterday so I just stayed at the back with the slower riders and took it easy 🙂 The usual coffee and cake were had at the cafe stop before we headed back home again, where inevitably the group split again so I was at the back again, but this was fine with me. I rode with Ken and Nick to Cairneyhill before we all went our separate ways and was with Ken to Crossgates. 50 miles clocked up today at and avg speed of 16 mph and I got in just in time to miss the rain 😁

Ride 12/04/2025

8 of us on the early bun run on another glorious day for cycling. A bit chilly to start with but by lunchtime it was a very pleasant day. I had extended the route a little bit to take into account last rides route getting us too early at the cafe stop before it had opened. This route was perfect for us getting to the cafe stop at 10:00 just as it was opening. After refueling Callum and I decided to do a longer ride today given the good weather. I picked a route that would take us to Stirling before swinging back around the Forth and returning via Fallin, Thorsk and Airth before crossing back over the Forth via Kincardine Bridge and then returning back the way we had come in the morning to Dunfermline. So, just shy of 68 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 18 mph.

Ride 06/04/2025

What a great ride we had today 😀6 of us doing the Sunday alternative route cycling over some glorious hills in beautiful sunshine. Weather wise it was a chilly start but very sunny and little wind, I had set a route that would have us cycling in the Ochils today which made for a hilly ride but given the weather it was well worth it. We started the ride by going over Knockhill and down to Cleish before heading through Kinross and Milnathort. Once through Milnathort the climbing began in earnest as we traverse the Ochils through Stronachie and Path of Condie and down the dreaded Dragon into Dunning for our cafe stop. A hearty meal later which included Panini, coffee and cake and we were back into the Ochils for our return ride going up Dunning Common. I decided to put the foot down here as we had been riding at a very comfortable rate of 13 mph up to this point, plus I knew there was a nice spot to stop when at the top where I could have a seat and enjoy the scenery, whilst I waited for the others to catch up. It was then down hill, quite a long gradual one to Yetts o’Muckhart before we descended the last little bit into Powmill and our ultimate climb of the day back over Knockhill and down to Dunfermline again. Again I put my foot down going over Knockhill, it’s too nice a day not too 😁 and then waited again at Redcraigs. Once the group was back together again it was a steady ride back down to Dunfermline where we all went our separate ways. I was at 55 miles by this point and was looking to do 65 miles so I continued on down to Rosyth and then along to Dalgety Bay before doing my last little of climbing back up to Crossgates. So 65 miles clocked up today at a nice and easy pace of 15 mph but more importantly just shy of 5000 feet of climbing which was the reason for the ride in the first place 🥰

Ride 05/04/2025

7 of us on the early bun run and weather wise it’s cold, windy and overcast, until I got home and then the sun came out 😕 We had a tail wind to begin with so we were too early at the cafe stop this morning and had to wait 15 mins for the place to open, I’ll need to amend the route to take that into account 🤔 for this ride going forward. Anyhow once in I had a roll with square sausage and hash browns and a coffee to warm me up. That didn’t last long the second we got back on our bikes for the journey home, we were into a strong headwind at this point so I had the hammer down for the first 10-15 mins to try to get some heat into me 🥶 Thankfully the route is mostly uphill on the way back and as we went over Knockhill Mark decided to pin me to the ropes which had me sweating to keep up, until he dropped me, but not for long 😅 I managed to catch back up and stick on his wheel until we got to Redcraigs where we waited for the rest to catch up. Up to this point we had been avg 18 mph but when we got to Dunfermline I was back into a headwind all the way home again, so 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph and thankfully there is better weather tomorrow 😎