Ride 17/11/2024

4 of us on the bun run today, me Nick, Bill and Craig, weather wise it was bloody cold but dry, little wind and a little bit of sunshine. We decided to do the normal Sunday bun run but our cafe stop today would be The Mills Cafe, which I haven’t been to before but it’s one of the cafe stops offered up as an alternative now that Muircot is shut. The routes only deviation was rather than going up to Dollarbeg we just carried on till Tillicoultry where the cafe is and then afterwards head up to Fishcross to pick up the usual route back home. Soup and coffee were had at the stop, sweet stuff is off the menu until my tooth is fixed ☹ but other than that the prices were better than Muircot so this might be the cafe of choice going forward 😊 Afterwards we took the usual route home, once we hit Fishcross, for a steady state ride of 50 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph.

Ride 16/11/2024

About 30 on the bun run today but a but differently organised in the wake of Muircot. I decided to go with the second group today as the first group were heading for Coffee Bothy and the second group was heading for Cafe 44. By going to cafe 44 I would be essentially riding the same route as normal but with just a different cafe stop. Weather wise it was cold but dry with a little sunshine but a headwind to start with. I was leading the group in most of that headwind, and things only got worse after that. After about 10 miles in the simple act of opening my water bottle with my teeth, I broke my front tooth, heartbroken, 😢 I know from experience it’s going to cost me a fortune to get it fixed and right at the wrong time considering Christmas is coming up, lets hope it doesn’t take too long to fix, I can do without constant tooth ache. I made it to the cafe stop in one piece after that and had the usual scrambled egg roll and orange before heading back home. We took the old route back through dollar and past the golf course and up and over Knockhill before dropping back down into Dunfermline, where it started to rain a little bit 😕 thankfully I was nearly home so didn’t get very wet. So 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 15 mph, one of the benefits of going in the second group they’re a bit slower 😉

Ride 10/11/2024

So first Sunday on the bike in 2 weeks and at least I don’t fell like crap today. There were 7 of us at the Glen gates when we started but only 4 of us by the point we got to the cafe stop. Today’s ride would be to the Coffee Bothy due to Muircot now being closed. Weather wise it was misty, overcast, damp but very little wind so that was a bonus. Cycling with the fast group today (which was why we lost 3 riders before the cafe stop) was hard going for me, I was getting dropped here and there but my performance has taken a hammering this year to due weird illnesses, so lets hope things pick up next year. Soup, coffee and cake were the order of the day at the cafe stop before we lost another rider just after setting off leaving just 3 of us. The route home took us to Alloa before we hit the usual coastal route home that we would normally take on a Sunday. This may turn out to be the now “normal” Sunday route in absence of Muircot, but time will tell. By the time we hit Carineyhill I decided to drop off with David going a different route home which left me with Paul, I didn’t bother trying to keep up I just went my own pace all the way home. So 50 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of 17 mph and thats enough for me.

Ride 09/11/2024

With Muircot Cafe shutting down today there were a lot of us heading out on the bun run this morning for our final cafe stop at Muircot. Some 40 odd turned up at the gate and as per usual I was out with the first group which being 12 of us was quite big for a change. The usual route to the cafe stop where for the last time I had my coffee and cake rather than the usual scrambled egg roll and orange juice. We had a little presentation to the staff members who have served us well over the years, with a frames picture of the cafe stop taken from one of our drones I believe. Afterwards we said our fair wells and headed back home again. The route we took was down to Dollar and along to Milnathort, although we did take a short cut to skip out some road works which ultimately was pointless since we still got stopped at the road works, before heading through Kinross and along to Cowdenbeath. From here it was a quick shot for home with me clocking up 53 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph. For the last 2 Sundays I haven’t felt well to cycle so hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get out and cycle this time.

Ride 02/11/2024

Well after last Sunday’s fiasco where my Aerobic system decided to take a nose dive of a cliff resulting me having to abandon the ride and take a few days off cycling, I’m back on the bike. Today’s bun run weather wise was damp and overcast but thankfully not raining or windy at all. 30 of us turned up for the ride and I joined the first group with some trepidation given my current condition, hoping they don’t go too fast for me 😬 With us now in November we were all on our winter bikes with mud guards, just as well as some of the roads were wet and muddy. With 10 of us in the first group heading for the cafe stop I took a turn early on in the ride as, a) it’s mostly down hill 😄 and b) with me up front I missed all the mud in my face from any rider in front of me 😆 The usual beverage and fuel were had at the cafe stop and the route we decided on taking home was to head for Milnathort and Cowdenbeath. This is a slightly longer route but does skip out Knockhill, not that I mind the hills, it’s just right now I have to take my time going up them. Anyway with another stint on the front going through Kinross I made it home in one piece. Surprisingly I still managed to avg 17 for the 53 miles that I did, probably due to the flatter route but I’ll take that and see how tomorrow turns out 😉

Ride 26/10/2024

40 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was a nice day with some sunshine but a little of headwind going to the cafe but a good tailwind on the way home 😉 I joined the first fast group as usual, probably not the best idea, I was still tired from last nights swift session, but I hung on 😬The roads were a bit wet from last nights rain which made things a little muddy here and there, so by the time we got the cafe we were a bit messy. The usual OJ and scrambled egg roll were had before we continued homeward. The route taken this week was to head down to Dollar and along the road to Milnathort before heading South back through Kinross and Kelty to get home. A little less climbing but a little bit longer, so by the end of the ride I had clocked up 53 miles at just shy of 18 mph, which ain’t bad on tired legs 😫😩😁

Ride 19/10/2024

25 on the bun run today, and its a pleasant enough day, sunshine, little wind and not too cold. I joined the first group as per usual heading for the cafe stop, the last 4 days had taken their toll on my legs and I was still fatigued, so it was a bit of an effort to keep up with the group to the stop. Usual OJ and scrambled egg roll before we headed back. I wasn’t looking to do much extra today so we took the usual route back home over Knockhill but I joined Colin as we headed for Kelty rather than back through Dunfermline to get back home again. It doesn’t really add much distance wise, a couple of miles, but it does have a little bit more elevation in it, so overall I still did 50 miles of cycling at a tad shy of 18 mph avg speed. I’ll take that since I won’t be out tomorrow given that storm Ashley will be hitting us tomorrow, so it will be too dangerous to go out side tomorrow, so it will probably just be a little Zwift session tomorrow 😊

Ride 13/10/2024

11 of us on the bun run today and it’s a sunny day but very cold 🥶 barely got to 5 degrees by the time I got back home again so I was well wrapped up today. The usual route today, given the temps I wasn’t looking to do any extra, but given the company it was going to be a faster ride than yesterday. Coffee and cake at the cafe stop before we headed home again. With little wind and being a cold dry day I clocked up the 50 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph without too much effort, slightly less power than yesterdays ride but at a faster speed, but given the company I was riding with that was to be expected 😁

Ride 12/10/2024

Well it was a very wet, windy cold day, so it wasn’t a surprise that only 4 of us turned up for the ride. Given the weather conditions I was quite happy to keep it short and to the point and just do the normal bun run route. It was a block headwind all the way to the cafe stop with the rain smashing you in the face, so since I was leading first I was pretty soaked after only 15 miles or so and was glad to get to the cafe stop to dry off a little bit. The usual OJ and scrambled egg roll were had before we headed home again, and I was glad we had the tail wind now as I was pretty cold at this point. When your wet through you don’t really get a chance to dry off and get warm again, even when cycling hard you never really warm back up again. So I was glad to get back home after 45 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph and get a hot shower to warm me back up again.

Ride 06/10/2024 Oct Randonee

9 of us on the Randonee this morning and weather wise I was expecting it to be a wet one as forecast but actually it was dry all the way around 😮 so happy days 😀 I planned this one to be a easy ride with not much elevation in it, although it would be a 100 km ride for most and over 70 miles for me, but I was prepared. I lead a good chunk of the ride which meant I could ride at my pace and not blow me or other members of the group up, so it was mostly zone 2, over 2 hours of it 😊 It was decided we would go to the Smiddy as our cafe stop, so following the usual bun run route up to Clackmannanshire bridge and the crossing over it into Airth we headed for the Pineapple and along the flatland’s into Cowie and Bannockburn. Along to Cambusbarron and heading towards Gargunnock we headed for Blair Drummoud and our cafe stop just next to it. We were there a bit early for lunch, so I couldn’t get my usual soup so had to contend with a scrambled egg roll, a cup of coffee and coffee cake to get by with. After the cafe stop we headed back into Stirling and again along a flat course heading for our usual cafe stop (although not stopping there) and back home via Saline hill, the only hill climb in the route 😉 It was then back down to Dunfermline and home, thus clocking up 73 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph, and getting home feeling like I’m still in one piece, so all in all a good days ride 😀

Ride 05/10/2024

Another large turnout for the bun run this morning, 37 people turned up at the gates which meant we would split into 4 groups. Weather wise, it was overcast, not too windy and not cold, there would even be some sunny spells towards the end of the ride. I went with the first group as per usual heading for the cafe stop. The usual fuel was had here before the return to home. I wasn’t looking to do any extra today since I will be doing the Randonee tomorrow which will be around 70 miles of riding for me. So I followed the group up to Yetts before heading off on my own up and over Knockhill and back home again. 50 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of 17 mph which is enough for today and leaves something in the tank for tomorrow 😊

Ride 29/09/2024

8 of us on the bun run and it was a decent day for a cycle, bright, not too cold and little wind, with a little bit of sunshine thrown in. We did the usual route today so it was coffee and cake at the usual pit stop and the usual route home via the coastal roads. Given the composition of the group today it was a brisk ride with me doing 50 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph, a bit faster than the usual Sunday bun run, but given what I felt like yesterday, today’s affair was far better outing and I wasn’t shattered by the time I got home 😄