Ride 28/09/2024

Well it was a huge turnout for the bun run this morning, 38 people turned up which is the largest turnout I’ve ever seen in my time at DCC 👍 Weather wise it’s a little bit sunny and bright, but of course in the later part of the year that means it will be cold and cold it was, although thankfully not windy, I can do without the wind chill factor 🥶 I was in the first group which by definition these days means the FAST group, which it was. I managed to stick with the group but I was going hard to do so, and now that I’m back home I certainly feel that 😣 At the cafe stop I had the usual scrambled egg roll and orange juice before we decided which way to return home. I was looking to do 100 Km so I suggested a loop around Loch Leven which only Colin decided to agree on, so the rest of the group would follow us up to Milnathort before heading south through Kinross back to Dunfermline. Colin and I continued on around Loch Leven at a slightly slower pace, my poor legs were begging to feel the pain, I haven’t done a ride this long since I was ill about 2 months ago and the fast pace we were riding at up till Milnathort had taken its toll. I made it back to Crossgates after splitting from Colin but I was still about 5 miles short of my target, so I kept going, slowly, for another 5 miles with a quick loop around the Amazon building and back up to Crossgates, thus making up my mileage. So 64 miles clocked up (103 Km) at an avg speed of 17 mph and boy do my legs feel it now 😰 here’s hoping for some decent recover before tomorrows ride 😬

Ride 22/09/2024

9 of us on the bun run today and the weather was a lot better than yesterday, it was dry with a little bit of wind but a little bit on the chilly side, so again I was in the warmer winter gear and glad I was. We decided to do a different route today heading for the Coffee Bothy towards Stirling. We started with a tail wind today so the start of the ride was brisk but not overly fast, I managed to stay mostly in Zone 2 today 😁 and not go too hard, unless we were going up hills, which there weren’t too many of, it’s a fairly flat route to do. At the cafe I had some very nice scrambled eggs with avocado, roasted tomato and toast with a cup of coffee and a slick of banoffee pie to finish it all off 😁😋 The route back would take us along the flat lands of Airth and past the The Pineapple before crossing Kincardine bridge and heading back along the coastal route (just like yesterday) into Dunfermline and back home again. So 55 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of 16 mph, and that will do me fine for tomorrows rest day.

Ride 21/09/2024

Forgot to do this yesterday so doing it today 🙂 20 of us on the Saturday bun run and weather wise it wasn’t pleasant, with a constant drizzle of rain and a head wind to start with I was glad I came prepared with my winter gear. Still, 20 people turned up for the ride, even with the naff weather, so I joined the fast first group as usual (only 6 of us in the first group) heading for our regular cafe stop. By the time I got to the cafes top I was a bit damp but thankfully to the fast pace we were going I wasn’t cold 😊 Usual beverage and food had before we headed back home. Since most people weren’t looking to do any extra and wanted an easier ride we effectively went home the Sunday bun run route and back home the way we came in on in the first place. I didn’t mind I was still tired from Thursday’s beating of a ride, so was glad for the easier route, although that didn’t slow the pace down going back home 🙄 Anyway 48 miles clocked up at an avg speed of over 17 mph, I couldn’t be bothered to round it up to 50, I was just looking for a hot shower by that point 😉

Ride 15/09/2024

9 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it wasn’t forecast to rain, it was supposed to be dry and eventually sunny, alas it was not ☹️ Not only did it rain it was also windy again, so head wind all the way to the cafe stop. I was leading for the start of the ride and because it was raining, not hard just drizzle, having the wind in your face also meant I was getting hammered with the rain 😫 It did eventually stop but my top was a little damp and my arse was very wet. Thankfully by the time we got to the cafe stop the rain had stopped and I was just about starting to dry off. The usual coffee and cake were had at the cafe before our return journey. I was leading again but this time I didn’t mind as it was starting to warm up and get sunny and I now had a tail wind 🙂 I was pacing myself today so wasn’t going hard, still a bit fatigued from Fridays training session and I wasn’t going to do any extra today, so 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph. Myself and the bike were obviously bogging by the time I got home so both needed a good clean 😁

Ride 14/09/2024

27 riders on a wet Saturday morning doing the bun run, but it wasn’t particularly cold but there was some wind around. I was in my winter gear given it was raining when I started but the rain only lasted about 5 mins so I ended up taking the wet gear off before we started the group ride. There were enough riders to have 3 groups and given last nights stint on swift I was still very tired and in no mode to go in the fast first group, so I opted for the third slow group 😄 8 of us in that group and we were into a head wind to the cafe stop as per usual 😕 Usual fuel consumed at the cafe stop before we headed back, thankfully with a slight tail wind, and this time the normal way home over Knockhill, I was not looking to do any extra at all today. So by the time I got home I had only clocked up 45 miles at 16 mph which is decent for the slower group, but fast enough for me to still feel it in my legs on the hilly sections 😅

Ride 08/09/2024 Sep Randonee – California

8 of us on this months Randonee and we were heading for the usual route along to California. Weather wise it was over cast with some mist to start with but with very little wind and a pleasant warm day it was a good day to ride. We followed the usual coastal route to Kincardine Bridge before crossing the bridge into Skinflats and Falkirk. We had our first climb of the day up to Shieldhill before the the little climb up to California and the usual obligatory group photo 😊 It was then onto Avonbridge and our next climb up to Torphichen before we hit the undulations of the final road to Beegraigs and our cafe stop. Soup, coffee and cake were had at a busy cafe stop before we continued our way back to Dunfermline. From this point onward it was mostly downhill, with a small kick uphill to the road to Kingscavil, and then a long downhill section to Faucheldean. We then headed for Kirkliston, Queensferry and our crossing of the Forth road bridge before the final climb back up to Croassgates and home. So 55 miles clocked at an avg pace of 15 mph.

Ride 07/09/2024

Another good turn up for the bun run today, 27 people turned up today which split into 3 groups with me in the first fast group. Only 6 of us in the fast group today but that was fine, we had a tail wind to the cafe stop for a change. Usual fuel stop for me before we decided on a route home. The route home would be down to Dollar and along to Milnathort before heading south towards Kelty, Cowdenbeath and home. So 52 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of 18 mph and another good workout for me 😉

Ride 01/09/2024

10 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was overcast and a little bit windy, only this time we would start with a tail wind and then end with a head wind. Usual route today, over Knockhill and down to Dollar before the kick back up to Dollarbeg and along to the cafe stop for coffee and cake, with the tail wind this was easy going, but of course once we left the cafe it was a head wind. I lead most of the way to the cafe stop and some of the way back home again. I didn’t mind the head wind as it afforded me some effort to get my performance back up to where it once was. Ironically enough because of this it ended up being 50 miles at an avg speed of over 17 mph which is fast for a Sunday ride but thats fine with me, I needed the workout 😄

Ride 31/08/2024

It’s a beautiful day for a bike ride, sunny, little wind and warm 😀 and given the weather it was no wonder 27 people turned up for the bun run. We split into 3 groups with me in the faster first group doing the usual route to the cafe stop. With 2 fully working lungs again it was a joy to be able to put power down (what was available after being off the bike for so long) and not feel breathless or sore left lung. The usual beverage and roll were had at the cafe stop before we decided on the route home. It was decided we would take the Aldi road, it’s a quieter road compared to the A91 or A977 which run parallel to it. We then headed for Balado and up to Dalqueich before dropping down to Milnathort and heading back home via Kinross and Kelty. So 59 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 18 mph which given my current fitness was going some and I could definitely feel the burn in the legs 😅

Ride 18/08/2024 Aug Randonee – Cupar

So today was the clubs monthly Randonee and today it was to Cupar, weather wise it’s about the same as yesterday, slightly overcast with some sunny spells, dry, ok temp wise, although it could be chilly when we were riding into the wind, but the biggest issue was said wind 😣 The route was a westerly start with us going to Cupar which meant a great tailwind and on the way home we would be into a headwind 😢 9 of us on the run this morning heading back home to Crossgates to begin with and along the road to Auchtertool and Kirkcaldy. Ken was following us as far as here before heading off on his own route so we said goodbye at this point and carried on. Heading through Coaltown of Wemyss, Buckhaven and Leven before arriving at Largo for our first hill climb of the day. I’ve climbed this hill before so I knew what to expect but performance wise I was not up to par, my PB up this hill is 8 mins, today the most I could manage was 11 mins and that was going as hard as I could manage, it would appear a long road to recovery from here out 😕 Anyway once we were in Largoward we headed North down to Cupar for our cafe stop, the usual soup, coffee and cake were had here before I prepared myself for the slog home. Up till this point I had been leading most of the way since I organised this route and I had the route map, I didn’t want to be leading all the way back I just didn’t have the performance for that so I sat in the bunch all the way back with Paul Mitchell leading all the way back, thanks Paul 😉 although I did get dropped a couple of time but I made it in the end. The route back would take us through Kingskettle, where I warm up sometime when doing the Fife TT races I do, so I knew where I was going off the top of my head at this point, along to Glenrothes and basically the route I would take home from work when I worked in Glenrothes, so I could switch off the route planner and go automatic mode 😀 We would then go through Kinglassie, Lochgelly and along to Cowdenbeath where I would split from the group and head home. So 68 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph and that was enough for me.

Ride 17/08/2024

20 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was overcast and windy but at least it stayed dry 😊 We split into 3 groups with me in the first group of 7. The usual route today, nothing fancy, I’m still trying to get my performance back after illness so no extra either. Usual headwind all the way to the cafe stop for scrambled egg roll and orange juice before heading back home. Tailwind on the way home but this time I went down to Dollar and then past the golf course to miss out Yetts o’Muckhart before heading over Knockhill. Did an effort over Knockhill to gauge my performance and get a little bit of training for the TT hill climbs coming in the next 2 weeks, not great but doable for now until I can train back up again. So 50 miles clocked up at just under 17 mph.

Ride 11/08/2024

Glorious day for a bike ride 😁 hot, sunny with little wind. 15 of us on the bun run and oddly enough we went as one group which is unusual. Usual route today although I would be doing some extra today given the good conditions. Usual coffee and cake at the cafe stop before continuing the ride. When I got back to Crossgates I decided to bump the ride up to 65 miles so carried on to Auchtertool before heading over the hills to Lochgelly and along the road back home again as if I were coming back from Fife Cycle Park. I was about 2 miles short of where I wanted so a quick ride down the cycle path to Fordell to get my mileage before heading home again. So 65 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of just shy of 17 mph, just wish we had more days like this 🤨😎