Ride 26/12/2021 Boxing Day

It’s the club’s boxing day ride and today there were 5 of us. It’s not as cold or windy as yesterday but it did rain towards the end of my ride. We took a similar route as the normal Sunday ride but skipped a few sections to make it shorter, it would have been 40 miles rather then the usual 50 miles. I was going to change this up as I was looking for elevation again so once we hit Kincardine bridge I went off on my own towards Falkirk and up to Shieldhill. This would give me the distance and elevation I was after but not quite as much as yesterday in height. I was still doing 60 plus miles but only 3500 feet of climbing rather than the 4500 of yesterday. The rain held off until I was on my return leg but once I hit Kincardine bridge again it started to rain, thankfully not heavily. Yesterdays ride had taken its toll by the time I got back down to Falkirk from Shieldhill, I was tiring and struggling to get any speed so it was a slow ride back home barely able to get 15 mph and the last 10 miles would be back up hill. Anyhow 64 miles clocked up at 14 mph avg speed, not particularly fast but I was pretty tried and that was the best I could muster.

Ride 25/12/2021 Xmas Day

So it’s Christmas day and I’m on my own, so todays goal get as much elevation as I can in 60 miles which was about as much as I could be bothering cycling in the current weather. It’s a cold day and a windy one to boot which means the wind chill factor would be high so I tried to keep a North South route. I opted to Climb Knockhill, Dunning, Duncrievie, Cleish and finally Hill of Beath. This would be a non stop ride since nothings open so I took some extra munchies for the ride. Going over Knockhill was fine there was only a little bit of ice here and there and nothing that would worry me. Dunning on the other hand was a scary one since upon reach the top it had a light dusting of snow which made going down it a bit butt clenching. Once down to Dunning I would be head wind all the way to Bridge of Earn, this was not fun or pleasant, it was hard going and bloody cold, my saving grace being as I was riding hard I kept a little bit warm but my finger tips were suffering. I stopped at Bridge of Earn to get a bite to eat and try to warm my frozen fingers up. After my pit stop it was on to Duncrievie which is quite a steep climb at the beginning which kept me warm and most of the way down to Milnathort and Kinross but once there my fingers were getting cold again but I would be climbing Cleish and that soon warmed me up, it’s another steep climb at the beginning. Once past this it was onto Kelty and Hill of Beath, thankfully my fingers stayed cold but not freezing so I was happy to get to the bottom of Hill of Beath but I was a little short on mileage so it was a little loop around Mossmorran to get me my 60 plus miles and home. 64 miles clocked up but at an avg speed of 14 mph, but given all the hill climbing I was doing this was to be expected and I can’t complain I got nearly 4500 feet of climbing and that’s not bad for Christmas Day

Ride 19/12/2021

Similar day as yesterday cold and misty for most of the ride. There were 3 of us today but given the time of year this wasn’t surprising. We started on the usual route for today until the cafe stop but unfortunately Robert had a puncture which is ironic since he had one yesterday as well, this would come back to bite later on. After lunch we decided to return back a different way and skip out Alloa on our way to Kincardine but we never reached it as Robert punctured again After a more closer examination we determined his tyre was at fault, there was a small hole in it but nothing was in the hole but to be safe we packed in a small piece of rubber from an old tyre and stuck another tube in it. We then decided to head home the shortest route possible but this would leave me short of my 50 miles. So once we hit Redcraigs I parted way and continued on Kelty to make up the lost millage thus getting my 50 miles at the same pace as yesterday.

Ride 18/12/2021

On a very mist dull day I was surprised to see 19 turn up for the ride on days like this you’ll be lucky to see 10 people never mind nearly double that. We did the usual bun run route with a couple brave souls sitting outside for the cafe stop given the current conditions we are in. I sat inside it’s still only a couple of degrees outside and I’ve had all my 3 shots. Again I a little extra to get me to my 50 miles but it was a bit slower today at only 15 mph avg speed.

Ride 12/12/2021

A better weather day today, not as cold and it didn’t rain on me There were 5 of us today and we decided to do an alternate easterly route this time going around Loch Leven. Unfortunately we couldn’t sit inside the cafe, and thank God it wasn’t as cold as yesterday, but we didn’t hang around today since we were sat outside apparently all the tables were booked So after a quick stop for some chicken soup and biscuit we cracked on. It wasn’t very far from here for me to get home and since I was looking to do 50 miles as per usual I did a quick loop around Mossmorran to make this up.

Ride 11/12/2021

Bit of a cold wet day with little wind but there were still 11 of us today. The usual bun run today with no detours and I even went home the normal way without any extra miles Unfortunately I was scheduled to have my booster shot today so I didn’t have any time to do extra but could have done if I had time the weather wasn’t that bad today, probably mild for this time of year. Anyhow just shy of 45 miles clocked p at 15 mph avg speed.

Ride 05/12/2021

On a colder day than yesterday but thankfully no wind! there were 5 of us today. Now I was looking to do 65 miles today so I actually started at 08:30 today to give me time to clock up 15 miles before the start of the bun run which I did We did the usual route today with some minor detours to avoid icy roads, even in the bright sunshine it was still below freezing. After the cafe stop for cake and coffee, I traced my route back home the way I had started it rather than heading through Dunfermline like we would normally thus getting my 65 miles clocked up at just shy of 16 mph

Ride 04/12/2021

Bit of a cold wet day but given the weather there were still 10 of us. Normal route today since all the fallen trees have now been removed. After the cafe stop we headed over Knockhill and again I did a little bit extra down to Rosyth and back up to Crossgates to get my 50 miles. It even had the cheek to snow just as I was getting back home but that was fine with me