Ride 10/05/2025

14 of us on the early bun this morning which is a lot considering the avg group size is about 8. Weather wise it’s a cracking sunny day 😍😎 and warm to boot. I was able to cycle with 2 layers on and my arm warmers, which did come off after the cafe stop. WIth such a large group we were keeping a pretty fast pace up all the way to the cafe stop and thats with some headwind thrown in, but not too windy. The usual consumables were had at the cafe stop before we started our leg home. We decided to take the route to Milnathort home today given the great weather so that lightened the group to about 8 of us, the rest were going the route that took them over Knockhill. Even with just 8 of us we were hammering it along with a slight tail wind before we hit Milnathort and then headed for Kinross were we were back into a slight cross head wind. This didn’t bother me I was feeling good today so kept my foot down a little bit all the way to Kelty. I then followed the rest up to Kingseat where some of us split from the group whilst I and a couple of others heading down into Dunfermline were I split from the remaining riders and headed on my own for home. So 60 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 19 mph which is fast for a bun run ride but I’ll take that 🤗😁

Ride 04/05/2025

8 of us on today’s ad-hoc ride that I organised and weather wise it was cold and windy to start with, although the sun did eventually come out but unfortunately the wind did not abate the whole ride round 😬😡 which made this tougher than needed. The route I had chosen was over Knockhill, up to Yetts, through Glendevon and Gleneagles and on to Crieff where we had our first stop. Scrambled egg roll and coffee were the choice of the day. We then headed for Comrie and up and over the moors to Braco before heading round to Dunblane, Bridge of Allan and Stirling where we stopped at Corrieri’s for our second stop of the day. I had soup, coffee and cake which was much needed 😁 before we headed back to Dunfermline via Alloa, Kincardine and along the coastal road to Cairneyhill where we split to go our separate ways home. Normally I would just head back into Dunfermline from here but I was looking to ride 100 miles today so I opted to head along to Rosyth and Dalgety bay before heading back up to Crossgates. I was still about 10 miles short at this point so I did a little extra along the road before heading back home. So 100 miles clocked up at 17 mph avg speed which is a decent pace for me on a 100 mile ride, so I’ll take that as a win 🤗 but I’m pretty tired now so thank god tomorrow is a rest day.

Ride 03/05/2025

7 of us on the early bun run and weather wise it was a little chilly to start with, overcast, and the wind didn’t know what it was doing, I felt like I was in a head wind all the way round today 😕 The usual route to the cafe stop today where the usual culinary delights were had before heading back home. I wasn’t looking to do any extra today, that would come tomorrow, to I just followed the rest up to Yetts and over Knockhill where the sun finally came out and it started to warm up a little bit. So, 55 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 18 mph, the standard affair 😀

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 😎

Ride 30/03/2025 March Randonee

16 of us on today’s Randonee which was the Braco run, enough for 2 groups so I joined the faster first group of 8. Weather wise it’s actually a decent day and would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the wind 😕 We would be cross wind for the start of the ride but headwind up till the cafe stop and a bit after it before we were cross wind again over Sheriffmuir and down to Stirling before getting a good tailwind for the homeward journey. The hills were front loaded and if it weren’t for Sheriffmuir (which wasn’t on the route plan) it would have been all downhill after the cafe stop. Anyhow we started off at a decent pace up Wellwood and over Knockhill before descending to Powmill and then back up to Yett o’Muckheat and through Glendevon, where it was quite windy, which made the gentle climb a bit of a pain. Once over this it was down to Gleneagles and on the backroads to Braco and our cafe stop. On days like this the route up here is very quiet and scenic and even better if were not for the bloody wind again (running theme 😀) It was nice to finally get to the cafes top and grab some rest and food, soup, coffee and cake were had, and most welcome they were 😋 Afterwards we headed onwards down to Dunblane, or so I thought, this was the planned route but others had different plans 🤔 I don’t mind cycling up to Sheriffmuir, it’s quite a nice ride over the Ochils, it just made things a bit hillyer than planned and Colin was struggling a bit at this point. We made our way back down again to the University where we picked up the planned route for the rest of the way back to Dunfermline, but now we had a headwind 😁. The pace picked up at this point so we were fairly quick getting back to Dunfermline, so 75 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph, all in all a good day’s ride 😎