On One Fatty in the woods.

Saturday morning and it's a cold damp start to the weekend. Days like this, it can be hard to go for a longer cycle, so this is exactly the sort of weather I built the fatbike for. I loaded Fly and the Fatty into the back of the car and headed south to Penmanshiel woods.

Despite being the route of the Southern Upland Way long distance path, this is a quiet area and its rare to see anyone else there. That means it's ideal for cycling along without having to keep too close an eye on Fly.

The overcast sky and the close cover of the trees meant the camera struggled to capture the full colours of the autumn leaves. You'll have to take my word that the woods were a lot more varied than these pics suggest. I stopped to look, but mostly just puffed away in low gears, playing around on the bumps and drops whilst Fly amused herself with some high quality sticks.

A happy wee dog showing a defenseless stick who is the boss.

In the occasional glimpses of sunlight there were loads of finches singing and hunting for food amongst the trees.

If you've got a fat bike, you know the feeling. I'm far too old for this sort of thing.

A cold morning but I went home warm. 

Misty Morning Woodland Cycle

I've been a bit remiss with the blog. I didn't really enjoy my cycle around North Berwick last weekend. A combination of the wrong clothing, lack of food and forgetting to take any money resulted in a cold and uninspiring ride. I couldn't find the motivation to get out on the bike this weekend and so there was no post. I did manage some work on the Heron but sandpaper and paint don't make for interesting pictures. 

I had a day off work today and the morning dawned with a crisp frost and clear skies. To get my motivation back I decided to do something different and took the Kona mtb down to Penmanshiel. It's all off road in the woods, so Fly came too.

As usual, once I was out pedaling I was so glad that I had made the effort.

The sun was warming the air above the valley quicker than the ground so a temperature inversion formed and  mist rolled through the trees. Every so often it would clear and the hills would appear in shafts of sunlight before the trail was enveloped again.

I puffed away in low gears as Fly ran around finding ever bigger sticks to show me. After a lot of nosing around on little side trails we eventually popped out at the little tin shed near the old house.

Guess what the old bottle used to hold?

Bell's pah! If I owned this wee shack in the woods I think I would be making my own. Probably end up learning the banjo too. 

 Wiggly trees.

Coffee in the flask and some much appreciated sunshine. As I was sitting, taking a rest and enjoying the start of spring a fellow came wandering along the trail with a portfolio and a wee table. I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I suspected he may be an artist and sure enough he was. His name was Gerry Turley and he was out drawing for some childrens book illustrations he is working on. It was a pleasure to have a chat and Fly took full advantage of Gerry's willingness to throw sticks.

Back on the trail and some decent descent back to the car. I'm not sure how, but I managed to spend nearly two hours messing around on the bike.

A good ride, Fly enjoyed it too and the motivation to get out and enjoy myself is back.

Mid Week Cycle 29th August

The weather is back to short spells of sun between torrential rain, so this week I took the Kona for a cycle in the woods at Penmanshiel.

The ground was saturated from today's rain and it was easy to spin out so I sat down and dropped a couple of gears. I might not have been travelling very quickly but I certainly got my heart rate up. It was good to have the wider range of gears and look forward to having the option on the LHT. I also enjoyed having decent brakes!

I had Fly with me this week. The nights are beginning to draw in and its difficult to get out for a decent cycle and still have time to take Fly out after.

She had a great time and never ran in front of my wheel once.

This old house features in most pictures of Penmanshiel woods. It's a shame to see such a lovely property falling to pieces. No road access, no mains power or telephone...Sounds ideal!

The barn in the woods, cue banjo music.

I liked this pic of the Foxglove. Not for eating.

Further on however I spotted some Hazel nuts which are most certainly for eating. I'll have to come back in a few weeks when they ripen.

Around the old house there was a huge variety of trees but I didn't spot a Rowan. There's usually one nearby to keep the witches away.

As the light began to fail I headed back to the bridge at Pease Dean where I had parked the car. Not many miles but a couple of hours of messing around in the woods and Fly enjoyed herself. She's lying sleeping at my feet as I type this.

Before I got to the car I found a fellow called Alex who was walking the Southern Upland Way and had become temporarily misplaced. A bit disappointing to walk 209 miles and get lost 3 miles from the end! We chatted for a while until he was back on the correct route. He really got me thinking about how much I used to enjoy multi-day journeys. Perhaps next year.

Rain, rain, sun, rain.