Saturday doorstep ride

Maybe it's too much of le tour on la tele, maybe it's LeMond with his often quoted "It never gets easier, you just go faster", but the last four weekends have included travelling to rides, working out nutrition and a minimum of a metric century. I've been pushing it. The Surly Long Haul Trucker is just designed for this. If you are a "leisure rider" and want to soak up the experience of the ride, then I heartily recommend the LHT.  But.. after 500KM of hard riding on new routes in the last month, there is part of me that starts to crave something carbon, light, fast and expensive.

I must be getting tired. A carbon frame may be a thing of wonder and beauty but so is the world around us.  I'll stick with a steel frame, fat tyres, and rack that carries a flask of coffee.

This morning was a quick ride before breakfast so as to leave the rest of Saturday free to sort out all the little chores I have neglected over the last month.
06:30 and the tide is close to high springs at Dunbar. The above photo is taken at the Glebe, only three minutes walk from my front door.  The blur on the horizon is the Fife coast, between the rocks is about 10 degrees N. If you set sail on that bearing, you might see a few oil rigs but the next point when you would have to stop would be the pack ice of the North Pole.

That wonderful fresh morning air that you can almost touch had me pushing hard before the heat of the day started. I felt the sun building on my back along past the golf course, then it was down the short drop to Belhaven Bay with the aroma of honeysuckle and clematis sweeping past in the welcome shadow of the overhanging Sycamores.

From the bay I went around town, and then eight miles later came back here. This time there were a few dog walkers about, so off to East Linton and back around Dunbar and inevitably past here again. More dog walkers and a few family groups.

The spirit and the legs were still willing, so around again to make an enthusiastic 50km. Back home for a hot shower, a hot coffee and the illicit pleasure of a second breakfast.
You don't have go to far for adventures when you remember how to appreciate what is on your doorstep.

Mid Week Cycle 1st May

I'm on a training course at work this week. This means days of sitting around boardroom size tables, trying to appear interested, interspersed with the humiliation of role play and reheated coffee. When I finally got home this evening I got out for a well deserved cycle.

The sun was out as I passed the cement works but as I headed down into the Borders cloud formed and the temperature began to drop. It's May now and the hedges are starting to bloom but we are still getting the occasional frost in the early morning.

It's pronounced Coe-burns-path.

After the village I headed under the railway line and along the Southern Upland Way towards Pease Bay. The track was a lot rougher than I remembered and I was going way too fast. Once I was back onto smoother roads I could hear an occasional ominous creak from the rear wheel. I'll need to take it off and check everything.

 

On the road back toward Cockburnspath the sun made a brief, but welcome, return.

I was running out of light so it was time to head back. Smooth winding roads and downhill too!

When I got back to Dunbar the sun was just about to slip over the horizon. It was 20 miles of varied cycling this evening with lovely views. The time flew by. I suspect tomorrows training might not pass quite so quickly.

Sunday Cycle by Stenton

I've not been getting much cycling in recently so I grabbed the chance to get out on a breezy but mild Sunday this week. The long Haul Trucker has it's new Continental Tour Ride tyres and first impressions are good. 

I headed out through Hallhill woods where someone has been busy with a chainsaw.

It was a slow and steady climb up to Stenton. Most of the way the wind was on the nose and, as usual, I was passed by a faster cyclist on a road bike. I was quite happy, pedaling away, looking at the hedgerows and listening to the birds. I saw a Swallow for the first time this year.

On the outskirts of the village of Stenton there is a Rood or Holy well. This is attributed with healing powers but is sealed off with a little iron grill. The flowered finial on the roof of the well is thought to have come from the original Stenton church and may date back to the 14th Century.

There is a neat little garden around the well with blooming flowers and a couple of Bumble bees. Even more surprising the was a butterfly. Perhaps Spring is finally here.

Further on  I stopped at the Tron on the village green. This would have been used to weigh goods on market days. Stenton was at the centre of the local sheep farming industry and the balance would have been used to work out prices for fleeces.

On the road to Pressmenan I stopped for a coffee at a roadside bench and soaked up the views and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

It's the wee moments of peace that make the week at work a lot more bearable.

A long way back to the coast but at least it's downhill.

Ordnance Survey bench-mark on an old wall.

Back down towards Dunbar and there are buds appearing on the trees.

I stopped at the harbour and watched Dave wandering around in the water whilst I finished off my flask of coffee. He had become tail-tied on his yacht and was trying to free a line from around his prop. When I arrived he had swum over to Stuart's boat to borrow a dive mask. I didn't hang around to see what eventually happened.

21 miles overall and some lovely weather.