Ride 24/04/2022

6 of us on the bun run today and we decided to ride to Cupar. As with yesterday it was windy today and rather have a head wind all the way home we changed the normal route to have a tailwind all the way home This would mean we were headwind all the way to Cupar and our cafe stop but this was fine. It was sunny to start with today but it was overcast once we came out of the cafe stop to head home. To get to Cupar we were north of the Lomonds but south on the return home. I added a little bit on the end of the ride to make it up to 70 miles again, like yesterday, and again did this at 16 mph avg speed. All in all it was a better ride today I’m not as knackered as yesterday and it always helps having a tailwind going home

Ride 23/04/2022

16 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it’s ok a bit on the windy side but sunny. We had a tail wind all the way to the cafe stop which was nice, but of course this would also mean we had a head wind all the way home I was also doing some extra miles again today so I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay and then continued on my own from their to Kirkcaldy. This made for a tough ride since I was head wind all the way from Muircott to Kirkcaldy with some side winds chucked in for good measure. Once in Kirkcaldy I headed for Cardenden which would now allow me a tail wind all the way back home From Cardenden to Lochgelly and Cowndenbeath to home, and by the time I got back home I had clocked up 70 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph and that was enough for me as my legs were starting to ache.

Ride 17/04/2022

So today was the clubs 100k randonee with about 20 of us doing it today split over 2 groups. Weather wise it’s overcast, again a bit cold to start off with but warming up in the afternoon, with a little bit of wind. We would be riding the Braco route today which takes us over Knockhill, through Glendevon, around Gleneagles, through Braco and the back home via Dunblane, Stirling, Alloa and the coastal road to Dunfermline. We stopped at the Coffee Bothy for our cafe stop which was just shy of 50 miles for me, so i had a decent lunch of soup, coke and cake I wanted to do 100 miles today as I did the 100k yesterday so I headed for Dalgety Bay and then up to Crossgates for a loop around Loch Leven which would get me my distance, I would be on my own from Dalgety Bay, no one brave enough to follow me Once around Loch Leven I stopped in Kinross for a coffee, at this point I was at 100 miles and pretty tired so I needed a break. I then headed the 10 miles home from here to get me up to 110 miles by the time I got home at an avg speed of 16 mph. Although it was a fairly flat route and I wasn’t going fast I was damn tired by the time I got home but pleased with the ride as a whole, it gets me in good stead for the Ride London in 6 weeks.

Ride 16/04/2022

Bit of an overcast day, not freezing but a bit chilly to start with and warming up a bit in the afternoon. Given the weather there were a lot of us on the bun run, about 23, the largest group I’ve seen since lockdown. This facilitated 2 groups this morning at a steady pace to the cafe stop. Thankfully it’s not too windy today so we weren’t in for a hard ride. I wanted to do some extra again today so I followed the group down to Dunfermline and then headed for Kirkcaldy via Dalgety Bay. I was looking to do about 65 miles today so I hammered it from Dalgety Bay to Kirkcaldy, I was still feeling good, and then headed back to Crossgates via Auchtertool and Cowdenbeath, a more hilly route but one I’m very familiar with. So 67 miles clocked up at 16 mph avg speed

Ride 10/04/2022

9 of us on the bun run today and it’s still pretty cold but not as windy as yesterday so it’s a slightly better weather day. Usual bun run today but I was looking for some extra so after the cafe stop and once we reached Kincardine bridge I parted ways from the rest of the group and crossed the river. I was going to do the 2 bridges today as I was looking to do at least 60 miles. I had a tail wind going home, not a strong one but enough to make the journey back home a pleasant one. By the time I got home I had actually clocked up 65 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph which was fine with me

Ride 09/04/2022

Another bright sunny day but bitterly cold, 12 of us on the bun run today. We did the usual route and after the cafe stop I even went the normal way home but to get my 50 miles target I did a little loop around Mossmorran and back through Cowdenbeath to make the miles up. It did eventually warm up a bit but only to about 7-8 degrees before I got home. So 50 miles clocked up at 16 mph avg speed.

Ride 03/04/2022

Another bright but cold day. 10 of us on the bun run today and today we stuck to the normal route, not a good day to be going off the beaten path given the weather. As much as it’s sunny today the weather was windy, more so than yesterday, so we had a headwind to the cafe stop and a tailwind going home. Again I did a little bit extra to get to the 55 mile mark I was after and thus headed home via the coastal route into Dalgety Bay and back up hill to Mossmorran and back home, clocking up 58 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 02/04/2022

Well it’s back to the winter weather today so I was well wrapped up so as not to repeat last Sundays ride. Even though it was cold, between 2 – 4 degrees for today, there were still 15 of us on the ride today. Given the weather I wasn’t going to be doing lots of miles today so once after the cafe stop and over Knockhill I did a small loop around Ballingry to get home and get my 55 miles distance I wanted. Not a particularly fast ride today but still over the 15 mph avg speed mark.

Ride 27/03/2022

Well the weather was supposed to be the same as yesterday but someone forgot to mention the freezing fog to start with the morning! I was not prepared for that. I had the same clothes on as yesterday which was just enough to keep me warm in yesterdays cold weather but not for this morning. I was freezing by the time I got to the start of the ride and pretty much stayed freezing for the first 30 miles until the cafe stop at Stirling So there were 6 of us on the ride today and we would be doing a different route to the normal Sunday bun run. We would be doing a ride out to Stirling and Doune before heading back to Stirling and home again. The freezing fog persisted all the way to Stirling to the point I was close to calling it a day and heading home if I couldn’t get warmed up. Luckily when we got to the cafe stop at Stirling things had improved and the fog was away. I managed to get warmed up in the cafe before we heading out to Doune, by this time the sun was out and it was warm again. So we headed back into Stirling via the A811 and along the south side of the Forth River before heading back over the Kincardine bridge and along the usual coastal road back to Dunfermline. I took the usual road home along to Dalgety Bay and then double backed on myself up the hill to Crossgates, thus clocking up 85 miles at an avg speed of 17 mph, so all and all a good days ride eventually, and getting a good distance done at a great avg speed for me

Ride 26/03/2022

Good day to be out cycling Weather wise it’s sunny but still cold in the morning but by about lunch time it had warmed up to a pleasant 15 degrees. Of course with such nice weather there were a lot of us today around 21 split across 2 groups. It was a casual pace to the cafe stop and up over knockhill but this is where I split from the group to do some extra stuff Today I was looking to do around 70 miles, I had missed out on my usual week days cycling due to me being in London for 2 days, so I wasn’t looking to go too mad today. I decided I would do another loop over knockhill this time going anti-clockwise. This would afford me the full hill climb and I could do it at my pace rather then the groups pace. So after the first accent my avg speed was only 15 mph but by the time I had finished the second accent I had increased my speed to 16 mpg avg and had also managed to clock up my 70 miles distance

Ride 20/03/2022

So today is pretty much the same as yesterday weather wise but today there were only 6 of us on the ride. We did the usual bun run today and I didn’t do any extra miles I was still tired from yesterdays exertion so wasn’t looking to go wild today. So just shy of 55 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 19/03/2022

Slightly belated post since I forgot to do this yesterday So yesterdays ride was a busy one, thanks due to the sunny day albeit still bloody cold to start with. There were 20 of us today necessitating for us to be in 2 groups, I went with the first one. I started with the normal bun run today but was looking to do about 80 miles today so again once over Knockhill I parted ways with the group and headed for Kelty. I decided I would do an additional loop over Falkland hill as well today which would get me the additional elevation and distance. This was a bit of a chore going to Leslie as I was headwind all the way from parting from the group which took a bit out of me. Going over Falkland hill and then having a tailwind all the way to Milnathort was fine too but once I turned south and started the road back home I started to feel the fatigue hit in I stopped at Milnathort for a quick bite to eat but I only got as far back to Kelty when I started to feel pretty tired again so stopped again for a quick energy bar and 10 min stop to recover a tiny bit. This was enough for me to get over Hill of Neath and back home but I was very tried by the time I got home. So 80 miles knocked up, yay, at an avg speed of 15 mph which will do me given the distance and 4500 feet of climbing I did