Soaking Sunday Cycle

Saturday was crisp and clear with bright blue skies; ideal cycling weather. Unfortunately I didn't manage out until Sunday morning when a bitter wind was howling in from the north and the rain was falling sideways.

The pictures might give an idea of the rain, and how saturated everything is, but they don't really give any concept of the gusting wind, although that sea is starting to build.

It was still good to get out and it was certainly quiet enough. I hardly saw another soul. Given the weather it's not really surprising.

Even the track along to West Barns was empty. This is normally busy with excitable dogs and their owners out for their morning walk. Must have been a few miserable dogs stuck inside this morning.

The road up to Spott disappeared into the low cloud but wasn't too bad. Spinning slowly up hill kept me warm. The downhills were the unpleasant bit. Anything above about 20mph and the cold rain began to sneak in through the waterproofs.

I sat and dripped in the shelter of this barn. It's strange, the next line should be something about 'wondering what I was doing' but it isn't. I was quite happy.  I'd found a little lee in the storm and could look back knowing it was nearly all down hill from here. I thought about keeping going but a hot shower and breakfast beckoned.

The observant might have noticed a new rear mech. I had been looking for a rapid rise (low normal), as I'm no racer, and the smoothness of down changes on a climb is noticeable. Its also Deore XT so it just works. 

Just an hour and a half this morning. I've time off work this week and have a couple of rides planned but the forecast isn't looking very nice. Northerlies gusting 50mph+ and torrential rain. Ho hum!

Sunday....lighthouse again.

Sunday morning and time for an easy cycle down to the lighthouse. I had planned a longer tour around Duns in the Borders but it will keep for a week or two when I've got time off. A couple of hours nosing around the local trails was fine for today.

Its been cold this week and today was no different. The clear air and low light make for great views. 

Busy wee spider.

At Whitesands I stopped to wonder. There is loads of parking available but for this individual a clearly marked cycle route provided a fine spot to drive off the road and abandon their car. Feel free to think of a couple of adjectives and a noun to express your dismay.

I have my own theories that ignorant behaviour tends to be inversely proportional to the distance a person is prepared to walk from their car. I pedalled off along the coast, away from the cars, to find some shelter from the wind and enjoy my coffee. Sure enough, the occasional walker that I saw smiled and was cheery in their greeting. 

Back towards home for a proper breakfast.

I have also gone back to canti brakes on the front but using a Tektro fork crown hanger. Judder problem solved!

Hutton Village and a soldier bear

On my Borders cycle of Sat 10th November I made a special detour to the little Borders village of Hutton to try to find out a little more for this slightly different post.  

 There was a lovely Norman styled church with some very old grave stones.

A low winter sun picked out this Celtic cross that is the war memorial. The grass had been cut around it for Remembrance Sunday.

I had a look around the village but I couldn't find any mention of one of Hutton's more unusual residents and of a heart warming tale at a time when we remember the great loss of war.

When Poland was invaded from Germany in the west and Russia in the east at the start of the second world war the poor Poles who were captured by the Russians were either executed out of hand or were marched off to prison camps to become slave labour (my uncle among them). When the Germans attacked the Russians, the prisoners were released to fight against the Nazis. Not surprisingly the Poles chose not to fight alongside the Russians but to join up with the British forces in the Middle East.  It was here in 1942, in Iran, that a local boy traded a tiny orphaned bear cub for a couple of tins of meat. The troops fed the malnourished cub on condensed milk from a vodka bottle and soon adopted him as their mascot.

He was named Wojtek (smiling warrior) and as he grew he learned to wrestle, salute and drink beer. He obviously had the makings of a fine soldier and travelled with his comrades to Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

By 1944 the allied push was on into Italy but the officials at Alexandria would not let an animal aboard ship. It was for troop transport only. Thus Private Wotjek was enlisted, issued with a service number and pay book and standing over 6ft tall and weighing in at around 35 stone, headed off to fight the Nazis at Monte Cassino.

Here he is boarding the ship and heading to battle.

Monte Cassino was pretty horrific for all involved. The Germans were well entrenched in the mountains and the allied forces advance had ground to a halt. The Poles were brought forward for a final onslaught. Despite huge losses and withering fire they fought bravely and through it all was Private Wotjek, lifting cases of ammunition and carrying mortar shells to the front line. Can you imagine being an enlisted German facing overwhelming numbers of allied troops advancing towards you and out of the smoke and explosions comes a bear! His part in the battle did not go unnoticed and the 22nd Artillery Supply Company had a new emblem.

After the war there were many Poles who had the chance to return home but no longer really knew where home was. A few returned to the now Communist Poland, many disappeared off around the world. At the disbandment camp at Hutton in the Scottish Borders a lonely Private Wotjek sat and watched the comrades that he had grown up with leave for better lives. His days of being free to wrestle his friends, and enjoy a beer with the lads had come to an end.

Then the communists wanted him!  But they weren't getting a brave bear like Wotjek. Instead he stayed in Scotland at Edinburgh Zoo where many of his old comrades came to visit. He always pricked up his ears when he heard Polish being spoken. His fame spread and he appeared on the BBC television programme 'Blue Peter'. There was even an incident when an old soldier jumped the fence at the zoo and had a wrestle with Wotjek for old times sake.  

In 1963 at the age of 22 poor old Wotjek died. The imperial war museum honored him with a plaque as did the zoo.

And now at the Polish memorial Gardens at Bonnington in Leith people gather on Armistice day each year to remember the brave Poles who lost their homeland and gave their lives in conflict and some bring teddy bears to donate to the Sick Kids Hospital and as a little reminder of Private Wotjek, the soldier bear.

The above pictures appear on various sites and finding who to attribute them too is near impossible. A search for Wotjek (pronounced Voytek) brings up loads of sources and there is some film on Youtube.

Borders Cycle -Eyemouth -Paxton

It's been a long week at work but today dawned with crisp blue skies and low winter sunshine. Just the sort of day to forget the routine, breathe deeply and pedal. I packed the LHT with coffee and cake, then loaded it all into the car and took a drive down to Eyemouth. Free parking at Gunsgreen and I started cycling from the harbour, which of course is sea level...I never learn.

The pull up out of Eyemouth along Victoria road was memorable! I shifted down too quickly and my cadence was too high. Just relax and push little circles. I soon got to the village of Ayton and took a pic at the gate to the castle.

The little break to take a pic was all I needed to slow down and pace myself. Just as well as the next three miles were all climbing including a few granny gear corners. If anyone wonders why I fitted cyclocross tyres to the trucker the next pic is a perfect example of my reasoning.

Quick stop to look back. The darker blue on the far right horizon is the sea, where I started this fun.

The climbing continued up on to Lamberton moor. As I passed a farm this noisy lady came out to greet me. I stopped to chat but she had to protect the farmyard and bark as noisily as she could. In the usual Border Collie way she avoided eye contact. Always deferring to the human.

Further on I spotted this bunker. At first I thought it was a water reservoir but the door in kind of changed my mind. Pretty bleak spot for a bunker.

It was cold on the moor but I love the openness and the big skies. The wind was pushing against me so I was glad to start the descent deep into Border territory with the Cheviots in the distance.

At the wonderfully named Clappers I spotted this old Ferguson. The gearbox seemed a bit dodgy but otherwise it was looking good.

Oh no!  A quick turn around and I headed back into the safety of Scotland.

 I also headed back onto some very poor roads but still a great place to be.

Then the track really did get poor. Single track to a bridge over the Whiteadder Water.

All the effort was worth it. A beautiful stretch of meandering river, water cut rock and glorious Autumn colours.

After the bridge I pushed the LHT up the muddy track on the other side to the village of Paxton and then on to Paxton House. It's a fine example of a Georgian country house. Commissioned by Patrick Home and designed by James Adam with interiors by Robert Adam and furnishings by Thomas Chippendale. In 1760s Scotland you really couldn't get much better than that and some would argue you still can't. The romantic part of the story is that it was built to impress a Prussian Heiress. She wasn't impressed, so no luck Patrick. It also advertises itself as having a tea shop. Time for a break.

Unfortunately there was a sign asking for £2 for parking and £8 for entry to the house and grounds. Anyone who knows me can imagine my reaction to this. I hopped over the fence, took a picture of the house and made a tactical retreat. £10 indeed! You missed out on that one Prussian heiress.

On I cycled feeling a bit tired after missing out on a bun. I began to question my frugal ways as I climbed back up from another crossing of the Whiteadder Water. Fortunately at the next junction there was a wee shelter that looked like one of the local bus stops.

Feet up, bran scone and coffee in a little wooden shed... great eh?

Back on the road and on to Foulden and it's Tithe Barn. It was used to store grain that was made in payment to the church.  There's another at Whitekirk near to home.

After the barn I turned left and started to climb again. A slow couple of miles and I finally caught sight of the sea again. Time to put the Buff on under the helmet as I planned a fast descent and it wasn't getting any warmer.

I eventually got back to Eyemouth harbour and cycled along the pier between the harbour and the Eye Water, and crossed it for the final time by the little foot bridge.

Back to Gunsgreen. This house is another Adam building but this one was built for John Nisbet a local 'merchant'. That's a euphemism for Smuggler. The house is supposed to be full of secret hiding places and tunnels. I'll have to get around to visiting one day...depending on the price. 

A great day out. The climbing was harder than I expected but that's the way with the Borders. I lived there for a while and I still have a great fondness for the hidden valleys and open moors but I'm going to have to get the fitness up if I want to enjoy more of it.

Home time. I've missed out a few miles and pics of a diversion I took. I'll try to post that little interlude during the week.

Being judged with the LHT

It was a cold start this morning. When I took Fly for her walk along the cliffs the sun was rising but the temperature was struggling to get above freezing. Fortunately as the day went on it got a little warmer and the sky cleared. After lunch I headed east on the Trucker. 

I have fitted a rear rack, as befits a touring frame, and threw on some old panniers I used to use on the Kona. They are boxy looking but have loads of heel clearance. They also allowed me to pack a flask, waterproofs and a warm top for wearing whilst enjoying the coffee. Oh the decadence!
The track in the above pic is a couple of fields up from the lighthouse which appears in the next pic.

Can you spot the lighthouse just to the right of the stem? After a quick run down by Cockburnspath and Bilsdean, I started the climb up to Innerwick which was a lot longer than I remembered but the mtb gearing worked for me. I just spun away and enjoyed the view.

At the back of Innerwick the old road curves down towards Thurston through trees that are slowly losing their leaves as the days get shorter. It's a difficult place to visit in a car as there is no room for parking but when this memorial was built cars were still in the future. Horses were the power source of the field and the steam engine was just starting to puff its way onto the farm.

In 1887, at the time of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, Richard Hunter of Thurston, a local land owner, had this horse trough erected in the philanthropic way of the late Victorians.

I think this is a wonderful piece. Mr Hunter didn't erect some sycophantic piece of art to commemorate the diminutive queen. No, he had a horse trough built to provide the beasts a well earned rest and provide a little reminder to the farmhands to look after their charges. If you read Queen Victoria's diaries you'll understand that she may have liked the sentiment.

After Innerwick I nipped across the A1 and rejoined an unused road back to the coast. Coffee time in the low winter sun. As I sat at the verge I watched a small flock of Curlews feeding in the stubble and listened to their plaintive calls.

Back on the move and this puddle was a bit deeper than I expected. Wet feet.

The sun was getting low so it was time to push the pedals and get home. This horse looked quite happy and well cared for in his winter coat.

The Trucker did me well too, and was never a drudge, so I gave it a wipe down and a wee squirt of oil when I got home.