Sunday morning cycle

It's been a busy old week. Saturday was spent sailing and there will be a post mid-week once I put it all together. Meanwhile I've bought another car as I need a diesel as my weekly commute could soon be increasing dramatically.

I finally found a car that was suitable, bought it and by chance a work colleague was able to give me a lift to pick it up. I drove the new car home on Friday night which left the old car lying at work. So on Sunday morning I was off on a cycle to Haddington in the rain to collect it.

It was a dull damp start on the Long Haul Trucker. I just stuck a bottle of water in the rack and didn't bother with the waterproofs as I was only going 12 miles or so. I would regret that omission.

The first mile along by the Winterfield was just damp with a Scottish smirr. But as I headed out along the straight to East Linton the mist became thicker and a cold rain started. For the first time since April I began to think about long fingered gloves.

The leaves are beginning to change to their various shades of brown and the sky was most definitely grey. Then the rain really started so I just had to get the head down on plod up over Pencraig and on to work where the poor Berlingo has been sitting neglected since Friday.

My journey time was quite quick (for me) at 48 mins, and I thought again that I should commute by bike, but the comfort of the car with it's heater and a 15min journey home kind of reinforced that I cycle for pleasure. It wasn't the most interesting of routes, nor the most pleasant of weather but I still enjoyed it, the 'trucker was impecibly behaved as ever and breakfast, when I got home, tasted that much better.

Cycling, woods, swans, coffee.

There's been a frost most mornings this week, but thankfully a cloud cover came in on Friday night, and Saturday morning was a little warmer. This made for a much more pleasant cycle, not that it was particularly warm, rather, I didn't have to worry about ice.

I headed west over Pencraig hill, past Haddington, then down through the Letham Holdings.

Much as I enjoy the coast, I also take great pleasure from inland woods. The relative silence of the trucker allowed me to see so much wildlife now the vegetation has died back.

I saw deer, a sparrowhawk feeding and two male greater spotted woodpeckers fighting. When I got to Westfield I took a coffee break and watched a family of swans preening.

A pretty fine place to enjoy a flask of coffee.

On my way back through Haddington I turned into town at the Poldrate Mill to buy some new brake blocks from Mike's Bikes, LBS, then headed East again to Dunbar.

I had sort of planned this route as a standard 50km that I could use regularly throughout the winter. I was spoilt today with beautiful crisp, clear views and an abundance of wildlife. I'll be lucky to get a cycle like this again but I suppose I'll keep trying.

A Miller's Tale (and a bit of cycling)

The cold I had last weekend hit me hard through the week which made working in the hot hot weather even more unpleasant. Fortunately it cleared up by Friday, so off I went for a pedal this morning. I kind of said that I would keep my journeying to around 30 miles and therefore not be away all day again....Aye.

First it was along to East Linton before a sair pech up Pencraig. The sweat was dripping from my brow onto the bars but there's not really much else to do other than keep spinning upwards.

I cut down through Haddington and went along the local river Tyne.

Seventy psi in the tyres and setts (cobbles) makes for googly eyeballs on the way to the Nungate bridge.

Before the bridge was built, which is a long time ago, this was a ford in the river. It was also a popular place for the old Romany travelling people and their horses. A lot of their language still exists in Hadddington, although like many old ways, it is slowly dying out.
The church in the picture is St Mary's. It took an awful pounding from English forces in the 13th Century. It would have originally have had a crown spire like St Giles in Edinburgh. The east aisle, left side in this pic, didn't have a roof for hundreds of years. It was eventually rebuilt in the 1970s after herculean fund raising by the Lamp of Lothian Trust

One of the leading lights was Yehudi Menuhin who used to come along and perform violin concerts to raise funds. He was handy with the fiddle old Yehudi.

This little bridge crosses the mill lade which runs in a narrow channel parallel with the river but was used to power the grinding and spinning mills of the town.

The falls at the West Mill are nearly dry this year. I can remember them drying completely in the late 1970s, I'm getting old.

Above the falls the river is locally known as 'the tubby'. Generations of local children, myself included, learned to swim here. Just to the right of this picture used to be a tree stump with a diving platform crudely nailed on. The water was deep then and was known as 'the millers hole'.
Local legend told of a miller driving his cart along the track when the whinnying horse reared and bolted.  He fought frantically to hold the horse but all was lost as they plunged into the water and drowned. As kids we would sit on the river bank daring each other to dive deeper to see if the ghostly figure of the drowned miller was still there. Mouth open with sightless eyes reaching hopelessly for the light on the distant surface.
We never did see him, and kids don't swim there anymore, so I guess he's at peace now.

After Haddington I went along the old railway line to Longniddry. The blaze track is getting really sandy with all the hot dry weather. Last year the council had to dig the drain on the left side of the track to deal with all the rain we were having.

Along the coast and past the lagoons at Musselburgh where the swans were gathering for some unseen food.

Portobello promenade is in the distance on the right of this photo. It was absolutely packed and it was great to see so many people enjoying an old fashioned day at the beach. I didn't take any photo's because you just don't nowadays. The cycle computer was saying thirty two miles so I figured it was time for lunch and then to turn around and start for home.

The route back was pretty much the same as the route out but the sea breeze that had got up made the going a bit tougher. I just took my time and enjoyed the sun.

Back inland and the last climb was back over Pencraig with Traprain in the distance.

It was as good a place as any to lie back and enjoy the day before the last push home. Sixty three miles in total and next weekend will have to be a shorter cycle.

Surly Long Haul Trucker loaded for the commute.

The car was due it's mot test today and I managed to muddle up the dates and couldn't get a lift to work from any of my colleagues. I could have caught the bus, especially as I had a few things I needed to take with me, but the LHT was designed for this sort of thing. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the cycle but out came the panniers and the trucker was loaded up.   I very occasionally commute by bike but it is an exposed route to work and if the weather is inclement I quite simply don't enjoy it. The route is 12 miles with a decent hill right in the middle.  

I've seen it written that a Surly Long Haul Trucker often seems to handle even better than normal when it is carrying a load. I can now confirm this. It was only when I stopped to take this pic at 7 miles into the journey that I thought about the panniers. I just hadn't felt any change to the bike and had pretty much forgotten the two big Altura Dryline bags hanging off the back of the bike.

By the time I arrived at work I was fair enjoying the cycle. It was bitterly cold but the sun was peeking through at times and the birds in the hedgerows were singing their wee feathers off. I was worried about puncturing on one stretch where a hedge had been cut and the road was covered in trimmings and thorns but the Schwalbe tyres managed fine.

 Our little 'bike shed' under the stairs at work.

I can easily carry the kit for a couple of nights camping in those panniers. The gearing manages the hills with a load, the tyres a super tough. A little bar bag would be handy for my camera and alike. Hmmm..
I had set off this morning thinking of the commute as a bit of a drudge but came home this evening with all sorts of mini tour plans. Good stuff!

A crash and Burns and a bit of cycling.

I've needed out for a longer run on the bike but the high winds, rain, snow, hail, ice and general lack of light have provided me with excuses. Saturday dawned with temperatures around 2'C(35.6f), dry-ish roads and no wind, so off I went. I had loosely planned to do about 15 miles or a couple of hours including messing around taking photos and nosing about. On the way to Stenton I was passed by three faster riders on very smart looking touring/audax machines.

I thought I would see them in the distance when taking this pic but they weren't there. As I went down the hill the reason became obvious, and I had that sinking feeling when you come upon an accident. One of the guys had hit a deep pot hole and went over the bars. The others managed to avoid him. His shoulders were in line and he said he was ok, although he sounded a bit shocked. He had his mates, and I offered help, but I think he really wanted to preserve his dignity so I got back on the 'trucker and headed on my way. 

By Traprain Law I stopped to take a couple of pics. There used to be a hedge and a right of way across this field to the style at the Law. It seems to have been ploughed over but you can still see the route and no doubt  folk will continue to use it. This area is dripping in ancient history. I'll do a post about it sometime. There are also a few good single pitch rock climbs.

Near Morham I stopped to take a photo of this wee conversion. I think I remember it as belonging to the Post Office when they were in charge of telephones. Times change and it is now a wee bothy, ideal for cycling or walking. I was also passed, again, by they lads that had had the tumble. All seemed well and they were making good time.

It's a climb over the wall to get to Morham Kirk.

There was a lot of bird life and I saw a bullfinch as cycled through Lennoxlove estate. Up by Bolton and I was starting to notice the cold and getting a bit hungry. (Yes, those are bullet holes through the letter t.) It's wild up there!

I came back along a loop by Begbie and headed towards Haddington. Beside the road is a memorial to Agnes Burns. Who? Robert Burns' mum! Her other son, Gilbert, was a factor on the Lennoxlove Estate. Gilbert was obviously a harder worker than his philandering layabout brother. Mind you Gilbert couldn't write a poem to save himself. So I guess it all balances out.

Down through the fields to Haddington following the new blaze trails and across the Stevenson bridge.

 I had a quick food stop in Hadddington.

Back on the trail alongside the Tyne. I fished here as a kid. I can also remember riding a Honda CD175, with mole grips for a gear change on this track, long before it became an 'official' path.

Sea Trout and a good few Salmon leap up the 'cascades' in the autumn. It's one of those things that no-one talks about, because if it became common knowledge, then the fishing would become the preserve of a select few, and no for the likes of us.

I like how this pic turned out, the glassy texture of the water as it silently slips over the fall before the turbulance and noise. Anyway, back to the cycle;

After Haddington I started the climb up Pencraig and then a freezing descent to East Linton and a quick six miles home.

I ended up cycling 33.5 miles, double what I set out to do, which was far enough. I'll look forward to doing that route again when the summer comes.