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.

East Lothian Loop in the Sunshine.

I have had a couple of ideas about putting together a loop through East Lothian of around 100km. There is an accepted 'Tour of East Lothian', but it takes in Redstone Rigg which is a killer climb. If you start from Musselburgh, then the hard climbs are in the first half of the day. If you live in Dunbar then things are reversed and too much for me. 

So I devised a route that misses out Redstone Rigg and loops out to North Berwick rather than visit Haddington.

Saturday started out with that slight chill and beautiful blue skies. Everything pointed to it being a scorcher, or as close as we get to that in Scotland!

The first twenty miles skirted the hill foots from Dunbar to Pencaitland. Lots of ups and downs on deserted roads. Crossing streams in the shade of  trees, then slow climbs with the heat bouncing back off the road. The day was really getting hot and I would have been glad of the breeze, except of course it was a headwind.

I stopped at the shop in Pencaitland to take on more fluid, then headed along the old railway line to Whitecraig. All along this section are markers for the various coal mines. In the above pic there would probably have been three sets of winding gear for the deep mines. I think the last ones closed in the 1960s. It doesn't take nature long to reclaim the land. The cycling was steady and I picked up some time although this was soon lost when I left the shelter of the trees and had to fight the wind.

After Whitecraig I joined the path along the river Esk into Musselburgh. This is a lovely smooth route into the centre of town with cool shaded stretches and the occasional open view over the river.

Into town and I took the chance to have a proper break lying on the grass, just watching the world go by. Feeling suitably refreshed, I went on past the lagoons and on to the coast road. I wanted to get to North Berwick by four pm, so I got my head down and cranked it on a bit. I managed to keep a good speed up through the small coastal towns and fell in behind a couple of road bikes. I sat with them for a  couple of miles or so but began to notice the pace. When I checked the computer we had averaged 19 mph over the last mile so I backed off and watched the carbon and lycra disappear into the distance. A Long Haul Trucker is made for a slower pace, or at least, I am.

Along the 'mile' to Aberlady and I used the path through the woods. There wasn't a breath of wind here and the smell of the ferns and heat in the trees was intense. Then it was on past Gullane with helicopters flitting backwards and forwards as they prepare for 'The Open'. A golf competition apparently.

North Berwick was a welcome sight although it was very busy with holidaymakers enjoying the sun. The above pic is such a contrast from my visit on a cold afternoon earlier on this year.

The reason for wanting to get to North Berwick on time was to meet with Coastkid on his Pugsley for a catch-up and an erm.... ice cream. We had a couple of very pleasant pints of 'ice cream' in The Ship, then started back up hill out of town. CK had a suggestion of a track I had never been on before. It was mostly grass and hard packed earth and the LHT managed fine.

At Whitekirk I headed off east to Dunbar and Bruce went on his way to his secret HQ. The last few miles into Dunbar were a slog and I was feeling the exertions of the day. The route added up to just over 64 miles or 100+km so that's a bonus. The heat was hard, the highest I saw recorded was 27.7 degrees but it might well have been warmer in the full sunshine. A long day but a good one.

Surly LHT eating up the miles out of Edinburgh.

I have lots of photos from this ride and could put together a huge post. I edited a lot out and published it on the 29th. After reading it again I decided it was still too rambling so I've edited more and tried to concentrate on the cycling.

Friday 28th June and a day off work so I pedaled to Dunbar railway station and caught the 09:56 to Edinburgh Waverley.

Half an hour later and I am deposited with the Surly Long Haul Trucker in the Capital City of Scotland.  The clouds are dank, the rain is trickling down the back of my neck, all my photos have to be overexposed to get any sense of contrast. Welcome to summer in Edinburgh.

Above is the Scott Monument. It is a 60m high Gothic memorial to Sir Walter Scott. One of our wee country's greatest authors and, along with Queen Victoria, instrumental in the tartan kitsch that many think is the sole attribute of Scotland.

I carried on along Princes Street with the castle looming above, then turned up Lothian Road on to Morrison St to get to the Lochrin Basin at the Union Canal.

This area has changed dramatically over the last few years and there seems to be a concerted effort to redevelop the waterfront into a leisure facility. They're doing a good job.



Onward bumping along the cobbles and I was soon on the smooth towpath which made cycling into the westerly wind a lot more bearable.

This route out of Edinburgh was a revelation to me and I will have to make time to follow the complete towpath to Glasgow.

I was still in the heart of the city but it was quite tranquil with ducks and moorhens paddling past, and swallows skimming the water searching for insects.

The Slateford Aqueduct was memorable for being 60ft up in the air with a very narrow cobbled path. I decided to submit to sense, and the advice on the signs, and pushed the LHT across.

The smooth surface made for easy (and speedy) cycling through the bandit country of Wester Hailes and on across the Edinburgh City By-pass.

Why anyone would pay one shilling and sixpence to go to Falkirk is beyond me!

After a slow start through the city, I had made good time along to Ratho. Unfortunately for a couple of miles before Ratho the path is quite rough and is really only suitable for hybrid or mtb tyres. The LHT was fine although I had to loosen my grip on the bars as my wrists were taking a pounding.

From Ratho I cut over some steep and winding roads to Newbridge. I had somehow got the idea that it would be a simple matter to cross eight lanes of traffic. Thinking back, I must have missed a turning as I entered the industrial estate. I eventually found a route via lots of little crossings, so it was reasonably safe, but it must have taken twenty minutes to cover half a mile.

After Newbridge I followed the A8 back into Edinburgh. Past the Airport, another nightmare of crossings, past Gogarburn and on to the Gyle. After another traffic hopping extravaganza I took the road to Maybury. There was a link down to Cammo which I started on and then changed my mind and rejoined the main road.

After the Bentleys, Range Rovers and Porches in Cammo I went up market into Gamekeepers Row in Crammond. If the people who live there have cars, I couldn't see them. It's all high fences and security. Maybe if they walked, cycled, or God forbid, talked to their neighbours, they wouldn't be so paranoid.
I stopped to rest the 'trucker, and my weary legs, at the shore at Crammond. This little river mooring is unusual on the east coast of Scotland, but all the more wonderful for that. There has been a multitude of Roman artifacts recovered from this area, showing that even two thousand years ago, folk new a safe haven.

Unfortunately there are a lot of folk who aren't quite so clever these days. Above is Crammond Island. Twice a day it is cut off by the tide. Where I took this picture from, there is a huge notice board with regularly updated tide tables. Even so, mouth breathing individuals manage to get cut off most weekends in the summer. The RNLI volunteers from South Quensferry give up their time and wearily go and get them.

I think I had now covered about twenty miles so I finally started heading East and stopped having to battle the headwind. The island of Inchmickery is in the distance. When you sail up the Forth the WW2 gun emplacements give it the appearance of a battleship on the horizon. Whether this was intentional is debatable but it certainly must have been alarming for any U-boats.

The next section was along the coastal promenade and provided  a chance to get the average speed up a little.

Well it would have if I hadn't kept stopping to take photos. This piece of sculpture used to sit on the shore at Skateraw, just along the coast from the lighthouse I visit regularly. It was called "Mr Floaty" then.

Great leisurely cycling, eating up the miles along to Granton.

Just before Granton square is this lighthouse. It used to be beside the water but as more and more land has been claimed from the sea for building development is now half a mile inland.

That little orange boat is the "Wee Star", it used to be moored in Dunbar. From Newhaven I kept to the coast through Leith, Portobello, Joppa, Musselburgh and on into East Lothian. I took a few pictures but it was really overcast and they are all quite dark.

At Port Seton, and about 43 miles, I stopped for a decent break and ate some desperately needed pasta and a banana. I also took the chance to top up on water.

The wind was getting stronger, but at least that meant the cloud finally began to break up.

 At Longniddry I turned off road again and followed the old railway line to Haddington

Fantastic cycling through the tunnel of trees.

In Haddington I was back on road again and followed the cycle route through town and out towards Hailes Castle.

The last twelve miles back to Dunbar were very familiar but still full of lovely views.

When I got home I knew I had been on the LHT for five and a half hours but still felt quite fresh. It really is a great bike for covering distances. Sixty three miles in total so that makes a nice metric century and a fine day away from work.

As a foot note; when I was cleaning and lubing the bike this morning, I noticed the bottom bracket seemed to have a tight spot. I stripped it down and sure enough, the left side bearing is goosed. I've ordered a new BB as they're only £12, but that one only lasted about 10 months which is frustrating. The new one will be getting packed with silicon grease to see if that helps.