Ride 30/01/2022

Well it’s a far better day today than yesterday, there was no wind or rain although it was a little bit colder but not enough to bother me. 9 of us today doing the usual Sunday bun run with the cafe stop at Muircot unfortunately Robert punctured again about a mile from the cafe stop. Once I had my coffee and cake Robert punctured again going out of the cafe so that ended his day their and then whilst the rest of us continued on without incident. 6 of us went home via Rosyth with me doing a little extra towards the end of the ride to make up 8 miles I missed yesterday. So all in all I did 60 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 29/01/2022

With storm Malik causing havoc last night and today I decided not to try and ride in 60+ mph winds this morning and wait until this afternoon until the wind had died down to 40+ mph. This was still difficult to ride in, riding into a 40 mph headwind just sucks, a lot I was lucky if I got to 12 mph and that was me peddling hard! It got even hairyer when I was side winds, I had to be careful I didn’t get blown off my bike there. So I decided to do a shortened version of the bun run today and skip out Knockhill and just head up Saline instead, this would mean knocking nearly 10 miles of my total distance but given the weather conditions I was willing to let that one go. Because I waited until after lunch I was on my own for the ride and I also didn’t bother stopping, it would be a shorter route and getting dark by the time I got home. Thankfully once I got as far as the usual cafe stop I would be turning and heading home with a very fast tailwind This helped a lot for getting me home quick and keeping the avg speed to a decent level. So in the end I clocked up 42 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph and that was fine with me.

Ride 23/01/2022

Weather wise today was pretty much the same as yesterday which meant we had a head wind to start with but a tail wind for the return home. It started out ok today we got to the cafe stop without incident but unfortunately after the cafe stop one of us was plagued with punctures, 3 of them in short succession which goes to explain why today’s ride was so long and delayed. After blowing 2 inner tubes I gave Robert one of my thicker larger tubes and that got him back to Dunfermline without any more punctures. I was again looking to do some extra elevation today so I headed for Hill of Beath and rep’d the Old Perth Road a few times to get me to 4000 feet of climbing. So 63 miles clocked up at 14 mph avg speed, not a particularly fast ride today but head winds, punctures and hill climbing don’t make up for fast riding

Ride 22/01/2022

Another mild winters day with a little wind around but nothing to untoward. There were quite a few of us today about 16 or so, so we split into 2 groups and made our way to the usual cafe stop. After scramble egg rolls we carried on with me needing to do some extra elevation today. I decided I would just go a second loop up Knockhill it would get me the elevation I needed without having to travel too far. So today was 57 miles at 15 mph avg speed with just over 3000 feet of climbing

Ride 16/01/2022

A good day to be cycling, bight and sunny, not too cold and little wind, so given the conditions I decided to do 65 miles today There were 8 of us today and we decided to do a different route to the normal one, we would skip out Knockhill and head for Dollar via Saline. One in Dollar we followed the hillfoots road (A91) to our cafe stop. After some food and drink we headed South over the Forth and this is were I departed from the group. They would go back to Kincardine via Fallin, Throsk and Airth whereas I would do some extra miles going via Bannockburn, Plean and Larbert before crossing the Kincardine bridge. I would then follow the coastal road through Rosyth and Dalgety Bay before heading back uphill to home. This would allow me to get my 65 miles at and avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 15/01/2022

Decent weather day today, light winds, no rain and not freezing. We also got a good turnout with 13 of us on the ride. We did the usual route and cafe stop with me doing the little extra miles towards the end to make up the 50 miles target.

Ride 09/01/2022

On a cold wet day 8 of us turned up for the club Sunday bun run. It wasn’t raining when we first started but by the time we hit Knockhill it started to rain, not hard but steady. After the cafe stop it was still a bit wet but once we reached Kincardine the sun started to come out and the rain had stopped. On the return leg I followed a couple of the guys down through Rosyth again to make up my 50 mile ride but this time I went a different route up to Crossgates, just to change things a bit which is a little longer and thus today I got 55 miles at 15 mph avg speed.

Ride 08/01/2022

When I woke up this morning it was pissing it down and I doubted we would be riding today but by the time I had to leave the house the rain had calmed down so weather wise we were ok today, it actually stopped raining for most of the ride so it turned out to be a better day than expected. There were 9 of us today with some of the faster wrecking crew guys with us today since no one had signed up for their ride earlier this morning. It wasn’t windy today so the ride went well and after the cafe stop heading up Knockhill I got a really good workout chasing the fast guys up over the hill to the point my heart rate managed to reach 204 bpm which I haven’t seen in years Anyway I followed Ken down to Inverkeithing where we parted as I headed back uphill to Crossgates and home. So 50 miles clocked up at 15 mph avg speed on a good days ride.

Ride 02/01/2022

Another windy day and a little colder than yesterday but there were 6 of us today and we decided to do a loop around loch Leven. By the time we had got the half way mark we had lost 2 people due to mechanical difficulties and I wasn’t happy with my bike either. The cassette was a little loose and the jockey wheels were wobbley, so I was taking it easy and not looking to do lots of miles. We stopped in Kinross for a cup of coffee and then headed home, so today I did 37 miles at just under 15 mph but I’ll need to do some bike maintenance before next weekend before I ride again.

Ride 01/01/2022 New Years Day

You know for New Years Day it might be very windy but it’s also very mild, I was riding in temps around 11-12 degrees today which is very unusual, there’s a lot to say about global warming. Anyhow this wasn’t a club bun run today, I just decided to meet up with the guys and do a ride. There were 4 of us today and we decided to do the 2 bridges route with the strong wind blowing we would be head wind first then tail wind home With most places closed we stopped at a garage in Grangemouth for a quick cup of coffee and then carried on. I was looking for my 50 miles today so once over the Forth Road Bridge I headed for Crossford and then back home to make the mileage up. So 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 15 mph that will do me for the first day of the new year

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