Saturday winter miles

I had things to do in Haddington today but as there was no particular time constraints I decided to head along on the trucker and take some pleasure from the trip.

The day had started with frosty pavements and ice in the fields. The peely wally winter sun tried it's best to bring some warmth but it was still baltic, although the roads at least were free of ice. The first six miles are quite flat until the climb starts past East Linton, over the river Tyne and on up Pencraig.

The gap on the tree line on the very far horizon is where I was roughly heading. It's a mile of steady climbing; I kept a slow pace today and I was soon up there looking back across the soggy fields towards the coast.

Dunbar on the horizon and the Edinburgh bus labouring up the hill.

After Pencraig there is an easy descent for half a mile or so and then I got into a steady pace along past Beanston for the next five miles to Haddington. This is where the trucker comes into it's own. Just eating up the miles but perfectly able to soak up the bumps and roadside detritus.

Business taken care of in Haddington, I went for a wee pedal around the town but the shadows were getting longer and there was a glint of frost creeping onto the verges.

I got the head down on the way back but the sun sets quickly at this time of year. Coming back into Dunbar and  the Chinese 'magic shine' light was doing it's job, lighting the way for me, and blinding oncoming cars.

Twenty five wintery miles. The temp was about 2 C but the 'feels like' temp was showing -2C (28f). I was fine with two skinny base layers, Altura jacket, buff and polartec gloves. My feet were cold but that's what I get for wearing lightweight shoes. Still better than being stuck indoors.

Mid week cycle 9th January

It was cold, it was dark, but it was great. I've been procrastinating when it comes to mid week cycles but the weather was calm this evening and the warmish daytime temp' means the frost won't start until tomorrow morning. So no excuses and off I went for an hour on the 'trucker.

My cheap wee Pentax compact isn't much use for low light shots as these noisy pics show. Also there was not that much to see! Most of the time I was quite content in my little bubble of light wandering along in the dark of the countryside.

Back home to the bright lights of Dunbar. The flag flying to the right of the street light is the Stars and Stripes. The building is where John Muir was born. It's good wee museum with various displays and some stuff sent over from California by that famous 'American', Arnold Schwarzenegger.

11 miles, 3 degrees C and SW 12mph.

Another Easy Sunday Cycle

A couple of easy hours on the 'trucker today. I just pedaled along little roads and tracks, taking it easy and following whichever path took my fancy. The sky was overcast so there wasn't much scope for pictures. Despite the dull weather, the car park at John Muir Country Park was busy with lots of folk out with dogs or horses.  There's still plenty of space for everyone. 

Back onto the road and I headed out in a loop by East Linton. This little memorial at Phantassie is dedicated to John Rennie who was born here and studied at Dunbar and Edinburgh before becoming a highly respected engineer. The list of canals, bridges and other civil works he designed is pretty extensive. In the foreground of the pic is the top of a baluster from Waterloo bridge which Rennie designed. Guess there must be a gap on the bridge.

The sky may have been cloudy but this meant that the temperature was up at 7 degrees C (44F) and the rain stayed away! The wind was also a light south westerly. A very relaxed 20 miles.

Update to this post!
As well as the baluster being used as a memorial at Phantassie, stone from Rennie's Waterloo bridge was shipped all over the world when it was demolished in the 1920's. Some ended up in Wellington, New Zealand where it was used to build a drinking fountain and dog bowl to commemorate 'Paddy the wanderer dog'. Paddy lived around the wharves and docks of Wellington during the Great Depression. He was friends with everyone except 'pirates, smugglers and rodents' whom he was employed to chase. Unfortunately he passed away on 17th July 1939. Apparently the whole city came to a standstill for his funeral!

Aye, you can learn some nonsense on the internet.

Things that go beep on the bike

Quick post today. I enjoy being outdoors, cycling, sailing, walking or just nosing around. I also like to try to stay active. In the past I used a heart rate monitor to get my jogging up to 10 miles without collapsing in a sweating heap. The was done through LSD, that's Long Slow Distance and nothing to do with Greatful Dead albums. With cycling I am happy to hop on the trucker and head out for up to 25 miles without really thinking about it. After around the 30 mile mark I tend to grow weary, struggle on hills and try hard to eat. Sounds like I need to improve my endurance; LSD time! I have never tried proper training on a bike so today's experiments with a polar F2 heart rate monitor were a bit of a surprise. 

I set a target zone of 65-75% maximum heart rate and then headed out for an hour to get an idea of what level of effort that was when cycling. Jings! I had to go slowly. I went down to Belhaven bay which looked lovely in the late afternoon winter sun. (oh for a fat bike). Once warmed up I pedaled along to East Linton. This is a flat route and I would normally expect to sit around 15mph and feel a bit of lactic acid in my legs at Tynefield and then it ease off as I got to East Linton and turned around to blast the 6 miles back. 

Today I had the heart rate monitor beeping whenever I exceeded or dropped out of the training zone. This meant sitting at a gentle 10mph and sometimes less. It felt wrong but, 'trust your kit'. I'll aim for 1x1 hour and 1x2 hour cycle in this training zone each week. I'll keep a record here of any great improvements over the next 6 weeks. If nothing happens, then I'll have had a good number of relaxing cycles and there will be a heart rate monitor for sale, cheap, little used!

Cycling for soup

The second of January is a public holiday in Scotland and for a change the weather wasn't too bad. The rain had been lashing off the windows at 7am but by 11 the sun had popped above the horizon for a quick look around, the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped. I grabbed the Trucker and some supplies and went east to Pease Bay.

There wasn't anything going on at Pease bay apart from the ford in the road being impassable after all the heavy rain. I turned around and headed back up this lovely road. I got off to push for the first bit up from the stream. It was quicker than trying to cycle.

Back at the top of the hill I turned off to follow the southern upland way to Cove. The track was really wet and got muddier as it descended. It would have been a lot easier on a mtb or even a fat bike. The trucker managed though.

When the sun came back out I took the chance to take a break on a sheltered bit of the cliff path. No flask this week. Instead I brought along my wee gas stove. Hot soup, a bit of sunshine and miles of views. I'm easily pleased.

In the pic is my new Giro helmet. I still look like a mushroom wearing it but for the sake of marital harmony I'll wear it more often.

Heading home and the wind started to pick up. The cloud cover broke up and the sun shone.

 All quiet at the quarry and cement works today.

A good twenty three miles, not too far, but enough to loosen up and lose myself in the ride. Back to work again tomorrow but only for a couple of days then hopefully the weather will stay fine for the weekend.

Another Windy Weekend

I was busy on Saturday and only managed out for a very quick cycle. 15 minutes from my front door and the rain started to pour down. This combined with the strong winds and I turned around and headed home. Today, Sunday, and the wind was even stronger, often gusting to 50 mph. It was pretty cold too.

Instead of cycling I took Fly for a couple of hours wandering across the fields. At this time of year the fields are often lying fallow which is great for looking for the little scraps of history that are turned up by the plough. 

The blue white pottery is fairly common. Most of it probably dates from the 18th or 19th century. Fertiliser was expensive in those days so it was common practice to use the muck from village cess pits where folk often threw old broken plates etc. The lead ball however is a great wee find. 

In 1649 Charles I had his head chopped off and England became a commonwealth. His son, Charles II landed in Scotland and raised a force of 25,000 under the command of David Leslie. There were various skirmishes around Edinburgh but Cromwell and his New Model Army failed to engage Leslie's army in full battle. The "round heads" we're being supplied by sea through Dunbar and Leslie, outnumbering Cromwell 2:1, saw the chance to cut the supply lines in a decisive battle. On the 3rd Sepember 1650 they met just south of Dunbar. Despite the vast numerical disadvantage Cromwell won. These fields often turn up musket and cannon shot, but this was the first time I've found one. 

This standing stone has three cup marks on the west face. As with all these stones, their original purpose is lost. The people that erected this didn't have a written history but they were a creative lot.  This one is directly east of Traprain where King Loth and the Votadini had their fort and traded with the Romans. At the base there is more modern mark where a groove has been cut in the stone by the cables used in steam ploughs.

It was a good walk and Fly enjoyed herself. I've got Tuesday and Wednesday off, so hopefully the wind will calm down and I can get a few miles cycling again.

The sun also rises

It's been a hard time over the last week. My dad died peacefully but quite suddenly at home on December the 16th. I was filling my thermos with coffee to head out for a cycle when my sister telephoned weeping uncontrollably. She had stopped by on Sunday morning to ask if he wanted a newspaper and found him sitting in his chair. He had quietly slipped away from us all during the night. It's only 12 miles to my dads home but it was a long drive that morning. After the police and ambulance left we were faced with one of the hardest things I have ever done when we went to the hospital to break the news to my mum.

The funeral has now passed and with the support and love of family and friends, and a lot of advice from our minister, we have somehow muddled through. Last night was Christmas Eve, I managed a couple of hours of sleep but there comes a time when its easier just to get up. I switched on the radio this morning and quietly tuned it to a carol concert; then set about baking some bread and brewing the morning coffee. As I looked out the window I realised for the first time in a week that I needed to get out for a cycle. 

It was still dark but I went down by the lighthouse and then back along to White Sands to have my coffee and watch the sea.

The sun slowly crept over the horizon and I headed back home.  El is up crashing around, Fly is wanting out to play with her ball and I'm off to meet up with the transport to get my mum out of hospital for the day. My sister and my niece have hopefully got the turkey in the oven and we will all try our best.
Have a peaceful Christmas.