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.

Ride 09/09/2023

What a beautiful day to ride, hot and sunny 7 of us on the bun run and it did start a bit cloudy, but it was still a warm start, full summer kit out today Usual route to the cafe stop where we were able to sit outside, which I think was the first time this year. We sat there long enough for the later groups to arrive, usually we are out of the cafe and on the road before they do. I was looking to do some extra today given the good weather, so after going over Knockhill I carried on to Kelty, Balingry and stopped at the Fife cycle park to watch some of the Crit racing that was going on there, by which time the sun was out in full form and getting hot. After that I headed for Cowdenbeath and home, thus clocking up 60 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 03/09/2023

7 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was sunny but windy, so we would be head wind to the cafe stop and tail wind on the way home. I didn’t bother starting early today and didn’t do any extra, it was just a normal Sunday bun run day Coffee and cake were had at the cafe stop before we headed home. With the tail wind we got a decent pace home and thus I clocked up 55 miles at an avg speed of nearly 18 mph which is pretty good for the Sunday group

Ride 02/09/2023

8 on the bun run and it started out as a cold cloudy day, very little wind around thankfully but definitely getting towards autumn time. Usual route to the cafe stop and usual food stuff consumed We took a slightly different route back though as Colin wanted to do some extra mileage which was fine with me. So at Rumbling Bridge we took a left turn, skipping out Knockhill, and headed for Crook of Devon. This would be a flat route home so I lead the way so I could get some “work” done on the front and open up the legs a bit We would follow the Cleish TT road to the M90 turn off and then turn towards Kelty. At Kelty we cycled up to Blairadam and along the road to Townhill where I split from Colin and headed home. So a good days ride clocking up 55 miles at an avg speed of 18 mph.

Ride 27/08/2023 Aug Randonee

Today was the clubs Aug Randonee down in Galashiels with quite a good turn out with 12 of us doing the ride this morning. We would be doing a 70 mile “loop” to Broughton and back, although we would be riding on the sames roads there and back again for the most part. We stopped at Broughton for lunch where I had Mackerel fillets on ciabatta, cake and coffee, although there was a mix up with the ciabatta and I ended up eating Chic’s ham and cheese ciabatta since no one said what was in the ciabatta when it was served, so I ended up eating his and mine and he had to order again. Weather wise it was a bit chilly to start with but the rain stayed off with some mixed sunshine and light winds. So all in all a good days ride for us all with me clocking up 72 miles at an easy pace of 16 mph.

Ride 26/08/2023

7 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was quite pleasant, chilly to start with but once you warmed up not bad, and best of all little to no wind. We had a few sunny spells here and there and it didn’t rain which was another bonus, but a good day for a ride. We started with the usual route to the cafe stop for scrambled egg roll and orange juice before motoring on. Some of the guys wanted to do some extra and that was fine with me, so rather going up Knockhill we went for a loop around Loch Leven before returning via Ballingry, Lochgelly and Cowdenbeath. So overall 63 miles clocked up at a decent pace of nearly 19 mph avg, all in all a good days ride

Ride 20/08/2023

So today Ken, Nick and I were going to be doing a 100 mile ride along to Dundee and Perth and back to Dunfermline. Today was pciked because weather wise if was the best day of the weekend, with sunny spells and no rain. Although there was some wind around which meant we would start with a tail wind to Dundee but a head wind to Perth. It was an early start at 08:00 when we set off heading for Kinross and Milnathort before going down Glenfarg and along to Abernethy for our first cafe stop. Actually the cafe stop was just pass Abernethy in Carpow where we stopped once before coming back from a ride to St Andrew, it was the usual scrambled egg roll and OJ. We then continued on to Newburgh and the road the parallels the river Tay before down on to the A92 to Newport on Tay and crossing the Tay bridge. We would now be following the north side of the River Tay staying on quiet roads before heading north over the A90 and up and over Kinnoull Hill and down to Perth. One in Perth we headed south to Bridge of Earn and our second cafe stop at the Earn coffee shop where I stocked up on some coffee, cheese and ham paninis and caramel cake We were then on the last leg of our ride back up Glenfarg and back the way we came to start with only this time we went through Cowdenbeath and Crossgates. I decided I would do some extra as well since I was feeling good still, so I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay and then headed for Cairneyhill then up to Oakley. It was at this point I decided I would try to beat my current distance record of 133 miles, so I continues on heading up to Blairadam and down to Kelty and doing a quick loop around home and Cowdenbeath thus clocking up 141 miles making this my new distance record It has been along day in the saddle though to achieve this, nearly 9 hours but I still managed to do that at an avg speed of 16 mph and not feel completely shattered by the time I got home, so all in all a good days ride

Ride 19/08/2023

5 of us on the bun run today and it’s quite windy, thankfully it’s blowing towards the North so we were mostly crosswinds, which can be tricky if strong gusts get you, and it’s still quite warm given said weather. We took a slightly different route today and instead of heading towards Muircot for our cafe stop we headed down to Tillicoultry and Tilly’s tea room. Afterwards we headed towards Dollar, Crook of Devon and down the 10 mile TT road that I did for this years TT’s. I then split from the group at this point as I wanted to go up Cleish hill and the rest went the flat route home. Once over Cleish I headed down to Kelty and over Hill of Beath and home myself, thus clocking up 50 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 13/08/2023

For a Sunday bun run there were 13 of us which is a lot more than usual, I’m guessing the weather yesterday kept a lot of people of their bikes Weather wise we were far better than yesterday, it’s still warm but the rain held off for the most part, just a few spots of rain here and there. I had my rain jacket with me but never actually needed to use it. I started early again just to get some extra mileage in, since I did none yesterday, I decided I would go over Cleish, little did I know we would do that again with the group. Once over Cleish I headed for the meet up for the bun run, only to find we were doing a different route, said route was over Cleish We would still head for Muircot for our cafe stop, just in a more round about route than going the normal route over Knockhill. So back over Cleish I went and we headed north until we hit the A91 which we would follow all the way down to Dollar where we would pick up the usual route to the cafe stop. Coffee and cake as per usual before heading back home the usual way. Ken and I headed for Dalgety Bay before I swung north up to Crossgates thus hitting my target distance of 75 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph.