Ride 10/09/2022

It’s a decent day today, low wind with some sunshine and still warm, which was probably why there was 20 of us today. We split into 2 groups and headed for the cafe stop. I was going to do some extra mileage today so once I had my scrambled egg roll and orange juice I parted ways from the group and headed for Stirling. The plan today was to head for Sheriffmuir, which I hadn’t been up in several years now, and then along to Braco. I would swing towards Gleneagles and head through Glendevon, going back over the Ochils and head towards Knockhill and the usual route back home. This would give me about an extra 25 miles and some extra elevation. Given the extra distance an height I managed to do to it in a decent time, so 75 miles clocked up over 4100 feet of climbing at an avg speed of 17 mph, can’t argue with that

Ride 04/09/2022

It’s a very wet day today with moderate wind but warm, even with full wet gear on today I was soaked through in the space of an hour. I decided I would do extra today but do it in the beginning so I started my ride at 08:30 this morning rather than the usual 10:00 meet up with the club. I basically did a loop around Kelty, Oakley and back to Dunfermline for the meet up with the club ride, I managed to get 21 miles done which was fine with me. Given the weather conditions I wasn’t expecting many people out today and in the end it turned out to be 3 of us this morning. We the usual bun run, still in the rain, but thankfully by the time we got to the cafe stop it was starting to ease off. After the usual coffee and cake we carried on and thankfully the rain had stopped at this point. It was a head wind all the way home but by the time I was about 15 miles from home we started to get a little sunshine thrown in. So by the time I got home I had managed to clock up 67 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 03/09/2022

Bit of a wet and windy day today but still quite warm all the same. There were around 22 of us today so we split into 2 groups. We had a tail wind all the way to the cafe stop but of course this meant that we would have a head wind all the way home again. After the cafe stop it started to rain a bit, nothing too heavy but I was glad I had my wet gear all the same. Given the weather conditions today I decide to not do any extra and just head straight home, so only 45 miles clocked up today at a slower pace of close to 16 mph, things aren’t looking any better tomorrow

Ride 28/08/2022

Another nice day to be riding, little wind, warm and sunny. There were 11 of us on the bun run today and again I would be doing some extra once we had stopped at the cafe stop. So I followed the group to the cafe stop and after coffee and cake I headed out on my own again. This time I was only looking for about 65 miles which would be enough to reach my goal for the month. I decide I would return back to Dunfermline via the road through Fallin and Airth, rather than going through Fishcross and Clackmannan, this would give the extra 15 or so miles I was after. Once back in Kincardine it was back on the normal bun run route via Rosyth and up to home. So I clocked up 64 miles at an avg speed of 18 mph which is a decent speed for me

Ride 27/08/2022

It’s a good weather day, with little wind around and some sunshine, not too hot, there were 22 of us today split over 2 groups. I joined the club up until the cafe stop but I was looking to do some extra miles today, so once I had my roll and fresh orange juice I split from the group to go my own way. I had a route in mind but it’s one that although I ridden bits of it before there was some new roads that I had not ridden down before so I was looking forward to some new roads. I rode to Bannockburn on familiar road but once here I detoured to the new road that I’ve never been down before which would take me to Carron Valley Reservoir. IT’s quite a lumpy road but through some stunning scenery but the road itself was in bad shape so I couldn’t go too fast in fear of a puncture or worse. It would be a great gravel bike road which would take the punishment better but I don’t want to ruin my new bike Once I hit the Reservoir I was back on familiar road and headed for Crow road and down to Lennoxtown. It was a straight shot home from here with a slight detour to my Uncles to top up on water, as I hadn’t measured the distance I was cycling I was running out of water. I wasn’t planning to ride a 100 miles today, I though the route would be about 80 miles, but I got that wrong Anyhow once refueled I rode back home via the usual roads going through Dunfermline rather than via Rosyth. I was going at a fast pace and was getting very tired by the time I hit 90 miles so I went home via the shortest route to save my crumbling legs. So 100 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph, which makes it one of the fastest 100 miles (successfully) completed to date, by about 2 mins

Ride 21/08/2022

10 of us on the bun run today, a little less wind and a little bit more sun as compared to yesterday but a good day to get some miles under my belt. I followed the group up until the cafe stop where I had the usual coffee and cake and after we left the cafe stop and once we hit the Kincardine bridge I went on my own to do some extra millage today. I wanted to ride to Bathgate as it’s been some time since I’ve ridden that way. It’s not a particular hilly route but does require a little bit of climbing, but once your at Bathgate it’s flat all the way to Uphall but once past here it’s a steady downhill gradient for a few miles until you hit Newbridge. After that it’s pretty much up hill back over the river and along to Dalgety Bay and home. Although it was a headwind all the way to the cafe stop this did mean I had some crosswinds to Bathgate but a great tailwind all the way to Kirkliston, I was going pretty fast for that section :-D. So overall I clocked up 78 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 20/08/2022

Well it started out as a very wet and windy day but by the time we left the cafe stop it was starting to get sunny, but still windy. Given the weather I was surprised to see 14 turn up but I had come prepared today with my wet gear on. We split into 2 groups, I went in the faster one, and headed for the cafe stop into a strong head wind and it even started to rain heavily about 10 mins from the cafe stop Once at the cafe stop I had a chance to dry out a bit and get my roll and fresh orange juice, and by the time I had finished the sun had started to show it’s face. On the way home I did a little extra down to Dalgety Bay and back up to home via Mossmorran to get my 50 miles. So I clocked up 53 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph thanks to going with the faster group

Ride 14/08/2022

Another glorious day of cycling, this time in the borders. The club monthly randonee was today starting in Peebles heading to Moffat and the loops back to Peebles again. There were 11 of us today and it was a hot sunny day from the get go, which suited me fine This months randonee would have us doing about 70 miles through some stunning scenery in the Scottish boarders. There wasn’t a lot of climbing and what there was, was shallow and long, so it was a bit of a drag up for some people but quite easy for me. We stopped in Moffat for our lunch stop, soup, sandwich and Jersey cream biscuit were the order of the day, with a coke to wash it down. After the stop we headed back to peebles in basically a loop only with less climbing in it. It was a hot day with temperatures reaching 30 degrees but whilst cycling we had a cool breeze so I didn’t get very hot, at least compared to some of the other riders who said it was too hot, I suppose cycling in the likes of Vietnam and Cambodia prepare you for that So 70 miles clocked up today at an avg of just under 17 mph.

Ride 13/08/2022

Well it’s been a fine week of weather which means some great riding to be had Today there were about 20 of us doing the bun run today and I was in the first slightly faster group of about 8. It started out overcast and chilly but that didn’t last for too long thankfully. I lead all the way to the cafe stop, at a decent pace, probably around the 18 mpg avg. Once we had our scrambled egg rolls and coffee I would be splitting from the group as I was going into Denny to visit my Aunt, Uncle and Mom, since it was a nice day. It actually turned out to be another scorcher of a day very hot and sunny, especially by the time I got to Denny. I stopped for about an hour to say hello and grab a bit more food and drink before heading off back home again. I kept up a good pace today and got a good mileage as well So 76 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 18 mph, and maybe a little bit of sun burn.

Ride 07/08/2022

There were 8 of us today on the bun run and from the outset the weather was about the same as yesterday, only a bit warmer but this didn’t last all day. By the time we got out of the cafe stop it had started to brighten up and it was nice and sunny by the time I got back home again. With the strong winds again we would be headwind all the way to the cafe stop, I did most of the leg work here with a few others taking turns. After coffee and cake we would have a tailwind home so I sat at the back for the most part with a turn here and there when the group broke up a bit. Although it turned out to be a nice day I didn’t bother with any extra mileage, the prospect of having to deal with a head wind on my own turned me off so I just did the usual 50 miles today at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 06/08/2022

Well it’s a windy and very wet day so it was onto the winter bike for today. It’s not cold today so there were about 16 of us today, resulting in 2 groups with me in the first one. Given the weather I had my wet gear on but by the time I got home again I was wet through. Given the weather I was looking to do the minimum of the ride and no more, so after the cafe stop I heading home the usual route clocking up 44 miles at an avg speed of just under 16 mph. Ironically enough the sun did start to come out about an hour after I finished my ride but that wasn’t forecast otherwise I might have done some extra but tomorrow seems to be a better day so I’ll try and make it up then.

Ride 31/07/2022

It started as a dull damp day with a few spots of rain but towards the end of the ride it had started to brighten up with some sunny spells. There were 8 of us today and I was out on the new bike, which had a few admires looking at it today We decided to do a different route today heading towards Auchtermuchty for our cafe stop via Kinross, Milnathort and Glenfarg. After lunch which entailed soup,coke and cake, we headed for our return route via Falkland, Strathmiglo, Balgedie, Scotlandwell and over Ballingry to Kelty and Cowdenbeath where I parted ways to head home. In the end I clocked up 57 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph and a sore bum due to me not having my seat on the new bike since I need a specific bracket for it to fit I have a loan one for now. Hopefully I’ll get that sorted next week as I wouldn’t want to do any longer rides than todays.