Ride 01/06/2024 100 miles Dunkeld

Given the glorious weather that had been forecast for today we organised a 100 mile ride up to Dunkeld. 9 of us on the run today starting at 08:00 to get a head start of the traffic. We headed up over Knockhill, through Glendevon before making our way to Crieff, for our first stop of the day. Scrambled egg roll and OJ as per usual for me before we carried on. On such a nice day and with very little wind around we made steady but good progress through the small glen before our long decent down into Dunkeld. We then headed to Murthly where our second stop of the day would be had at lunchtime. Carrot soup, tuna sandwiches and sticky toffee pudding would be the order of the day 😋😁 washed down with some coffee. We would then head south towards Perth and this was where things went a bit pear shaped. The cycle path was gone, it was just a building site now where they were building a new road ☹ This forced us to find a way through which meant cycling off the beaten track and along some gravel tracks before finally picking up the road that entered on the outskirts of Perth. Back on the road now we carried on heading for Bridge of Earn but it was at this point we would lose Bill who wasn’t feeling well, some bad food we think, and he would get picked up and driven back home. Unfortunately Ken was also suffering from craps in his legs and would do so all the way home. We soldiered on, now on more familiar roads through Bridge of Earn, up Glenfarg and along to Milnathort before heading into Kinross and back towards Cowdenbeath and home. So I clocked up 105 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph on a nice hot sunny day 😊

Ride 26/05/2024

Well given the weather this morning I was not surprised to find myself alone on the bun run this morning, it was very wet 💦. Given the conditions and the fact I still had a fair bit of fatigue in my legs from yesterdays 107 miles, I decided to do a shortened route for today’s ride. I would go up to Redcraigs via Wellwood rather than the usual route past the dump. I would follow the normal route over Knockhill but rather going all the way down to Powmill I would cut off at Hillend and skip out Dollar and make a bee line for Dollarbeg. From here it was back on route to the cafe stop for food, only this time I had scrambled egg roll along with my coffee and cake 😀 Thankfully by the time I had finished this the rain had stopped, so although I was riding against a headwind for the route back home at least I would remain dryish, in fact by the time I got back home the sun was starting to shine 🙄 Anyway I took a shorter route home rather than going via Fishcross, Alloa and Clackmannan and the usual coastal route home. I went straight back up Saline to Redcraigs again before going back down to Dunfermline. So today I clocked up 40 miles at a sedate pace of 14 mph, which was about as much as I was in the mood for 🙁

Ride 25/05/2024

I decided to skip the bun run today and do an organised 100 mile ride over Dukes Pass instead. There were 7 of us on the ride today and weather wise it was overcast for most of the day but the sun did eventually come out as we were riding back to Dunfermline. It’s a fairly flat route with one hill climb over Duke Pass at Aberfoyle. It would be a fast-ish ride of about 18-19 mph, which we kept up until we were close back to Dunfermline, the climb back up to town and the easy ride I took going through Dunfermline dropped me just under that by the time I got back home. It’s been a while since I’ve climbed Dukes Pass and it was nice to get back up it again. It’s not a particularly hard climb, the side we took was the sharper steeper side, but I prefer this side to the longer shallower other side. We did have a tail wind all the way to Aberfoyle but of course this would mean a tail wind all the way back again 😉 Our cafe stop would be in Callender, so I was close to 65 miles before we stopped, I was glad I had plenty of energy gel with me as I would need it to get their without running flat 😬 Anyway it was a nice cafe stop where I had Tuna Panini, Coffee and Coffee cake just for the fun of it 😁 The route back would take us past the David Stirling monument, through Doune, Bridge of Allan, Stirling, Alloa and back home the usual coastal route to Dunfermline. So by the time I got back home I had clocked up 107 miles at an avg speed of over 17 mph, not a bad days ride 😎

Ride 19/05/2024

Another good day on the bike, weather wise it was a bit cloudy to start with but would get sunny later on. There were 18 of us today, which is probably the most we’ve had on a Sunday bun run in quite some time, and given I was looking to do a different route this caused some early route planning confusion 😄 Ultimately we decided on a route heading around the Lomond hills and would decide on how to get back home after the cafe stop. We split into 2 groups and I joined the second group with Ken, Nick and David. It’s a fairly flattish route, with a few lumps here and there. We decided to stop at the Pillars of Hercules for our cafe stop just before hitting Falkland as it was about the half way mark. It was a bit chilly to start with and even by the time we reached the cafe stop the clouds were still blocking the sun. Thankfully the cafe stop was a good one, soup, coffee and cake were had before heading back home 😋 Whilst at the cafe stop we decided on the route we would take back to Dunfermline which would have us cycling right around the Lomond hills and Glenrothes, through Markinch and heading back to Dunfermline via, Kinglassie, Lochgelly and Cowdenbeath. It was around this time that the sun finally came out and warmed things up a bit for me😎 Given the better weather I decided I would do some extra mileage today, I didn’t have a distance in mind so I just cycled where my legs took me. This ended up with me heading into Kirkcaldy before returning via the coastal road through Kinghorn, Burntisland, Aberdour and Dalgety bay. I could have gone home from this point but I was still feeling good so just carried on all the way to Carineyhill before returning back to Dunfermline and home. So all in all I clocked up 87 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph, not a particularly fast ride but I was having an easy day of it 😁

Ride 18/05/2024

Another good day for cycling weather wise, although it was misty to start with it soon cleared up and got hot and sunny 24 on the bun run this morning, split across 3 groups, I was in the first. We headed for the usual cafe stop for rolls and drinks before deciding again to do some extra, how could we not on such a fine day 😋😎 After the cafes top we headed down to Dollar, doing a similar route as to last week but instead of doing a loop around Loch Leven we headed from Milnathort down to Kinross and Kelty before heading to Dunfermline and home. So today I clocked up 56 miles at an avg speed of over 17 mph, not a bad days riding, should hopefully get a good one in tomorrow as well 😀

Ride 12/05/2024 May Rondonee

Today was May’s Randonee, with 11 of us doing the Dunning loop. Weather wise it’s a little bit cooler than yesterday but dry and not much wind. We headed up and over Cleish before descending down to Crook of Deven and heading for Yetts. We would then head through Glendevon before turning right at Gleneagles and towards Dunning for our cafe stop. Just as we got to the top of Glendevon the mist came in and the temperature dropped quite a bit actually, to the point that I got quite cold as we headed for the cafe stop at Dunning. At the cafe stop I had soup, coffee and cake before we continued on. After food we would be heading for Bridge or Earn and then up the fun climb of Wicks O Baiglie, which to be honest I was glad of as I would be able to warm up at this point as I was still a bit cold after the cafe stop. After the climb we headed for Glenfarg and a loop around Loch Leven, by which point the weather had warmed up nicely to the point I would stay warm for the rest of the ride 😁 After Loch Leven the group split into 2 groups, one group heading home via Kelty and the other finishing off the full route of the ride, I was in that second group of 4 doing the full ride. The ride would finish by going to Cleish and up to Knockhill and over Knockhill before descending back down to Dunfermline. So 80 miles clock up today at an avg speed of 16 mph with a good elevation count of 4500 feet.

Ride 11/05/2024

Glorious day to be cycling 🌞😎 24 turned up for the bun, ultimately splitting into 3 groups, I joined the faster first group and headed for the cafe. Full summer kit out today, even had sun cream on 😉 Decent pace to the cafe stop were we sat outside for the first time this year in the heat and sunshine. After the usual food stuffs we headed back via Dollar and Yetts but given it was such a nice day 3 of us decided to get some extra in and took in a loop around Loch Leven before return via Ballingry, Kelty and Kingseat. So today I clocked up 60 miles at just over 18 mph which is good going for a 60 miles ride 😀

Ride 05/05/2024

So 5 of us on the bun run this morning, weather wise it’s overcast but dry, little wind and ok temperatures, to the point I could wear my cycling shorts today 😄 No Ken on the ride today, nor Nick, just me, the 2 Jon/Johns 😉 Bill and Steve Wallace. Usual route today to the cafe stop for Coffee and cake before heading back home again. We were riding a little faster than usual so we got the cafe about 5/10 mins quicker than usual, but not at what I would call breakneck speeds. We had a small head wind going to the cafe stop which would mean a small tail wind heading home but I was surprised at how fast we were cycling when I looked at the stats when I got home. Now I was expecting it to be quicker that normal from Cairneyhill to Dalgety bay since Jon and I were practicing for the 2 up TT in a couple of weeks but to avg 18 mph for the entire 55 miles ride was a surprise. What was shocking was Garmin saying this was a recovery ride! not at this pace Garmin. Admittedly I wasn’t knackered by the time I got home but I wasn’t exactly as “fresh as a Daisy” either. So bit of a funny ride, clocking up 55 miles at an avg speed of 18 mph which is probably one of the fastest Sunday rides I’ve done in a few years. I suppose ironically I do try to treat Sunday as a recovery ride but it’s usually at a slower pace of about 15 mph, maybe I need to ride faster on a Sunday 🤔 😁

Ride 04/05/2024

12 on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was overcast and a little wet to start with. It wasn’t raining as such, just very damp air, a reasonable temperature and little wind. The forecast was for rain so I went prepared in wet gear, which in the end I didn’t need 🙄 Took the usual route today, I wasn’t looking to do any extra, so had the usual beverage and roll at the cafe stop. My legs were still tired from this weeks riding so I wasn’t looking to go hard and try to do some zone 2/3 stuff. So after the cafe stop only 3 of us went down to Dollar and up to Yetts before going over Knockhill, me Colin and Rachael, which was fine as I wasn’t riding hard. So the usual 50 miles clocked up today but at a slower pace of 16 mph avg, with an hour and half in zone 2 and 46 min in zone 3 and what was left in zone 1 😁

Ride 28/04/2024

8 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was another cold start but it did eventually warm up in the afternoon. Weather wise it was dry, not much wind and mostly overcast, just wish it was a bit warmer in the mornings 🙄 Anyway we decided to do a different route to the usual one and decided to head for the Bannockburn Coffee House, which meant a ride along the coast, over Kincardine Bridge and along past the Pineapple heading for Stirling. At the cafe it was Scrambled Eggs Royal, coffee and cake 🤗🍰☕👍 which went down a treat. Afterwards we headed for the hillfoots and along to Dollar before heading up to Dollarbeg. At this point I split from the group to go over Knockhill whilst they went up Saline before we would all meet up at Redcraigs again. From there on it was the usual route back to Dunfermline and home. So all in all a good days ride clocking up just under 58 miles at a cracking speed to 17.5 mph which is very good for a Sunday ride 😁

Ride 27/04/2024

Another good turn out for the bun run this morning. 24 of us turned up and then split into 3 groups, I was in the first group of about 8 riders. Weather wise it was cold in the morning but it did warm up a little bit by the afternoon but there was also some hail showers around which thankfully I missed altogether but the roads were quite wet 😉 Usual route today to the cafe stop for OJ and scrambled egg roll before heading back home again. Although by this point we were down to just 3 riders for the ride home, we opted to head down to Dollar and up to Yetts before swinging South for Powmill and up and over Knockhill. By this point it was sunny and remained so but I was still well wrapped up given the cold start this morning and grateful so as it barely hit 10 degrees by the time I got back home. So 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed 17 mph, another good Saturdays ride 😀

Ride 21/04/2024

What a wet day to be riding 💦 but there were 8 of us braving it today. It was pouring down but the rain was consistent and persistent for the duration of the ride. So even though I had my wet gear with me in the log run it didn’t stop me from getting wet and a little cold towards the end, especially my hands. Usual route today to the cafe stop for coffee and cake before heading back. Not a fast ride but I did get to my 50 target at an avg speed of 16 mph, but soaked through of course, lets hope for some better weather because so far this year it’s just been shite 😤