Ride 21/10/2023

Another ride, another wet day thanks to storm Babet 5 of us on the bun run this morning, rain and wind making life difficult per usual. We did start with a tailwind but of course this would be a head wind on the way back. Thankfully it wasn’t hammering it down like it has been for the last 2 days, and he wind had calmed down a bit, but still tough to ride through. By the time we got to the cafe stop the rain had abated but I was still wet and although my hands were frozen on the way out, it’s still only 5 degrees out, they had at this point started to warm up a little bit, but I was still glad to get to the cafe stop and warm up a bit more. On the way back we were against the wind, so it was a bit of a slog back, but thankfully the sky’s had cleared and the sun had started to come out, the temps didn’t rise much but I wasn’t as cold on the way back as I was on the way out. Anyway no extra today so only 45 miles clocked up at 15 mph avg speed, and it looks like the same again tomorrow.

Ride 15/10/2023

Similar day as yesterday, sunny, cold and a little bit windy, but this time there was only David and me on the bun run. So usual route to the cafe stop for coffee and cake, again into a head wind for the first half of the ride, but thankfully after the cafe stop we had a tail wind blowing us home. I split from David at Cairneyhill and headed towards Dalgety bay, my usual route home but decided to do some extra mileage today. So once I hit Dalgety bay I carried on to Kirkcaldy and then swung west again into the head wind heading for home. It’s bit of a lumpy route home from Kirkcaldy and not helped by the head wind so it was a bit of a slog to get back home but eventually got there, thus clocking up 70 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 14/10/2023

It’s a bright sunny day but of course that also means its a cold one. Given that there were still 21 of us doing the bun run this morning. Usual route to the cafe stop, with me leading into the head wind, but it wasn’t too strong so I was fine, although one of us did get a blow out and had to return home after that. Usual OJ and scrambled egg roll for fuel before heading back home again. I followed Ken down to Dalgety bay and then headed back up hill to Crossgates and home. So 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 08/10/2023

Belated Sunday ride, but thankfully the rain died off by Sunday lunchtime so I was able to get out for a proper ride, again on my own given the time I got out, well past the bun run ride time. I decided to do some Knockhill reps, as I needed the elevation gain and not necessarily the miles. I had to ride through some flooded roads to get there, given all the rain we’ve had of late but once there it was fine to ride, no flooding on the hill. I did 4 reps, each one is about 8 miles long, and just shy of 900 feet high. So by the time I was finished I had clocked up 50 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph over 3600 feet of climbing which will do me fine

Ride 07/10/2023

Not a fun day to ride, absolutely hammering it down with a strong wind too I was the only one riding today and given the horrendous conditions, I wasn’t going far. So 20 miles clocked up and an avg speed of 14 mph, says it all really…

Ride 01/10/2023 September Randonee

Due to Garmin being down yesterday this is a belated cycling report. So yesterday was the September Randonee, albeit being in October, with 9 of us turning up, on a warmish mixed weather day. There were showers forecast along with some wind and sunshine, and to start with we were heading into a headwind but dry. This didn’t last long before we hit the rain outside of Culross, but thankfully it wasn’t hard and it didn’t last long, by the time we got over Kincardine bridge it had stopped. We then headed into Grangemouth and up Shieldhill to California, which would be our highest point as we headed to our cafe stop. Our cafe stop today would be Beegraigs Country Park but we still had a few lumps to ride over going through Avonbridge and Torphichen before hitting our destination. Soup, coffee and cake were the order of the day to some warm sunshine on arrival After our cafe stop we would be heading mostly downhill, where I nearly crashed the bike into a field going too fast, but I held it up without hitting the field to Winchburgh and South Queensferry before crossing back over the Forth Road bridge. I followed Ken into Dalgey bay before heading back up hill to home, rounding off a shorter Randonee of 55 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 30/09/2023

Weather wise today was ok, it was dry, not too cold, and little wind around. Given the conditions quite a few people turned up today, 22 in all. So we split into 2 groups and headed out to the usual cafe top. There were a few 8:30 riders in my group, including me, so we kept a decent pace to the cafe stop, and even ran into the 8:30 group at the cafe stop, which was a bit surprising given the numbers had dwindled away recently. Anyway after the cafe stop our group followed the usual 8:30 route to Knockhill, rather than the normal 9 o’clock route, and once over the hill I parted ways as I was doing extra today. I had a target of 75 miles today, so I headed for Kelty and into Cowdenbeath before heading out to Lochgelly and Cardenden. I was heading for Kirkcaldy and to follow the coastal route back to Dunfermline. I was making the route up so I wasn’t sure how far this would take me and to play on the safe side I headed through Rosyth and then headed up to Dunfermline and back home from there. Doing this actually allowed me to accrue 80 miles by the time I got home, and a decent amount of elevation gain, whilst also keeping up an avg speed of 17 mph, anyway goals meet so I’m quite tired now

Ride 24/09/2023

5 on the bun run today and for September it’s quite warm unusually, it did rain last night and the roads were damp, but for the duration of the ride it remained dry, and with a northerly wind we didn’t have to worry about head winds Usual coffee and cake at the cafe stop before heading back home again, it even got sunny as we rode back home which was unexpected, but nice to have I rode down to Dalgety Bay wtih Ken and Mark before heading back uphill to Crossgates and home, thus clocking up 55 miles at a good pace of 17 mph.

Ride 23/09/2023

15 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was quite good, little wind and not too cold. We split into 2 groups to keep the sizes down on the roads and headed for the usual cafe stop. A few people split from the groups before we got to the cafe so after the cafe stop we stuck as one group and headed back home. I was looking to clock up 50 miles so I did a little extra as on the 9 o’clock group my ride distance is only about 45 miles, so I headed up to Kingseat and then down to Kelty before turning back to Cowdenbeath and home. So 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 17/09/2023 100 miles Dukes Pass

So today we decided to do a 100 miles ride out to Callander and over Dukes Pass and back again. 6 of us elected to do the ride but 1 had to turn back at Callander due to punctures. Weather wise it started out ok, a little chilly, but given it’s Autumn thats to be expected, but by the time we got to Callander it was raining, not hard, quite light actually, but it stayed on for the rest of the ride and thus resulted in me getting soaked through even though I was prepared for it. Anyway out first cafe stop was Callander but in the space of leaving Dunfermline and getting there Andrew had 3 punctures and when we hit Callander for our first cafe stop Andrew decided to call it there and heading back to Stirling and home. Soup, cake and coffee were the order of the day at the first cafe stop before heading on and tacking Dukes Pass. I didn’t go up the hill at a particularly hard pace, but enough to get a PB anyway and then waited in Aberfoyle for the rest to catch up. I then lead the pack all the way to the second cafe stop, just outside of Blair Drummond Safari Park, where egg sandwiches, coffee and cake were the order of the day there I then lead the pack all the way to Kincardine where I called it a day as I was getting tired of riding into the wind, we had a tail wind on the way out but a head wind all the way back. Although not very strong, but cycling into it along with the pissing rain, was a real drag so I was glad to get a rest after Kincardine. We headed for Cairneyhill where we split up and Ken and I headed for Dalgety Bay and the rest for Dunfermline. I was glad to get home and into a hot shower, I was turning into a cold wet prune by this point, so was glad to get dried off and warmed up. So 106 miles clocked up today at just over 16 mph avg speed, not a bad days ride given the not so idea weather

Ride 16/09/2023

Well it was back to the 09:00 group today, no one turned up for the usual 08:30 ride and given that the weather was pish, I wasn’t surprised. It was raining to start with so I was back in full winter gear and on the winter bike. 8 people turned up for the 9 o’clock group so we headed off into the rain on the usual route to the cafe stop. It was raining hard and it wasn’t windy, thankfully, but by the time we got the cafe stop the rain had ceased. Usual beverage and food was had before we headed home. We went back the usual 9am route which meant skipping our Dollar and half of the Knockhill climb but I wasn’t too fussed. I rode with Ken down to Dalgety Bay and then back up to home, thus completing 50 miles at an avg speed just under 16 mph, which again was expected. With the racing season over for me I’ll stick to the 9 o’clock group until next year when the new racing season kicks before moving back to the 08:30 wrecking crew

Ride 10/09/2023

Another nice day to ride, almost as hot as yesterday but a couple of degrees cooler. 10 of us on the bun run but doing a different route this week. We decided to head for Stirling and stop at the Coffee Bothy today rather than muircot. It’s a similar distance but less hills in it, and because of that we were riding at a higher pace than usual, which was fine with me. Soup, coffee and cake for the cafe stop before heading back across the river and along past the Pineapple, roads that are very familiar to me after living in Falkirk for nearly 20 years. Ken and I went the usual route home back along the cost to Dalgety bay and I back up to Crossgates, clocking up 60 miles again at the same pace as yesterday, 17 mph, but over less elevation.