Across Scotland

This is the full story of the Lighthouse to Lighthouse ride and, as such, it will be quite a long post. I make no apologies for this; it was a long ride. I've split the post into smaller chunks, just as did with the ride itself. I hope this makes it easier to read.
Apologies for the scarcity of photos. My camera ceased to function on the first day and the second day there wasn't much to photograph. The first day was also one of those days where the views were great but capturing them on camera would have been difficult with an ever present haze. So, you'll have to do with mostly words and your imagination.

Getting Ready

I'd like to start by writing about the days before the riding started. I was ready but on my last ride my rear derailleur was playing up. Some of the gear changes were sluggish and sometimes, especially in the lower gears, the mechanism threatened to change gear. Having the transmission sticking and jerking when you're trying to go up a hill does nothing for your rhythm. And I didn't want that spoiling my ride, or worse.
So into the local bike shop the bike went on Monday.They fixed it up as best they could but their assessment was that the derailler had failed. Unfortunately they weren't able to offer a replacement in time for me to have the bike back for my trip west on Wednesday. This left me late on Monday afternoon with a problem.
I have to praise Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op. I bought the bike from them last July and they've been very good to me so far. This time they were able to fit my bike into the workshop the next day to fit a new rear mech and all at short notice. It did mean I had to take another day off work and drive up and down to Edinburgh but, all in all, I felt it was worth it. Not only did they manage to fit me in but they did the job quickly too. The replacement worked fine over the two days although I do think it needs a little tune up now. But that's probably due to the abuse it took late on in the run to the finish line.
Bike sorted we (me and my Significant Other) packed the car up on Wednesday and set off for the west of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. The weather was beautiful and calm which belied the weather forecast which was for easterly breezes on the next day and worse for the day after. Suddenly I wasn't looking forward to it quite so much. Where was the planned south-west prevailing wind?
When we arrived at the Sonnachan Hotel we were set for the next day. Nothing more could be done except eat and get an early night.

Day 1

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse to Salen

Surprisingly I slept well until the alarm went off at 5. Time to force some instant porridge down for breakfast. Not my meal of choice but I knew catering at breakfast time was always going to be difficult, so we had tested this and it was something I could manage. Then up, shower, change, re-pack the car and off to the lighthouse at the Point of Ardnamurchan. The roads got ever narrow and we had to wait for the traffic lights just short of the lighthouse but we were soon in position for me to start.

The obligatory charity shot

What I was actually wearing

And then suddenly, just before 7, I was off. It was a bit of a release to be honest. All the preparation, all the training and almost everything else this year had led to this moment. The traffic lights turned to green as I approached and I really was on my way.
The roads weren't to be my only obstacle during the ride. I soon came to my first one, a flock of sheep. These animals were on the wrong side of the fence and at this time of year there were adults and lambs. If I had been in a car they wouldn't have been a problem; they'd probably just have moved out of the way. But they didn't know how to react to a bike and they ran down the road instead. Eventually they ran out of steam and broke off in groups to the side of the road. It wasn't the best way to start but it did stop me going off too quickly.
The first section through Ardnamurchan was a little lumpy but fabulous scenery and improving light let me enjoy the riding. And because of the early start I didn't meet much traffic on the single track roads. The only downside was the easterly breeze which was already beginning to nag away at me.
The first major climb out of Kilchoan went easily enough, then passed a loch before dropping back down to the waterside. From there the road followed the lochside to Salen going up, down, up, down repeatedly. None inclines were ever too long but it did mean plenty of gear changes. The new derailleur was busy!

Coming down a hill early on in the day

Salen to Ardgour

I met up with my support at Salen and refuelled with bottles for the bikes and eats for the pockets. The nutrition for this ride is the subject of another post. Suffice to say I wasn't trying anything new!
The roads got steadily wider during this section and I enjoyed the run through the trees to Strontian where I got to wave to my support to say all was ok. From there, though, the country opened up a little which exposed me to the breeze. As a double whammy this breeze was now being funnelled down from the pass I was heading up to. The long drag up to the bealach was rewarded with great views of the Glencoe mountains before a pleasant descent to Loch Linnhe. The descent was only spoilt by the requirement to pedal down the latter section of it to keep the speed up. That breeze again.
Then a nice flat few miles along the water's edge to Ardgour and the second meeting spot. Time for the first of many tortilla-wrapped rice cakes. Not the most pleasant food but they did the job over the two days.

Ardgour to Loch Eil Outward Bound

This was the flattest section of the first day and had the one advantage of giving me a spell with the breeze at my back. The irony was that I had been worried about this stretch tiring me out as it might have been into the prevailing wind. As it was the road led up the loch until I could see Fort William. This was the point where the route turned back to the west and was virtually flat all the way back to the main Mallaig to Fort William road. With the helping breeze it was a chance to build some easy speed and try to keep the heart rate down. This heart rate management was a theme of the two days. My theory was that in keeping the heart rate down I would preserve my energy and make sure I got to the end. So no racing; it was all about finishing and staying safe.
With the sun firmly in charge the views on this leg were fantastic. From Ben Nevis and the hills of Glenfinnan to the lochside vistas, this part of the ride was a visual treat. And exactly what I had hoped for. With scenery this good and ever changing aspects it is not hard to keep riding.
Back to the main road and the annoyance with traffic. Until this point traffic had been quiet, another plus point for cycling in this part of the world. The SO was waiting in the appointed car park and was a most welcome sight. Another rice tortilla, more sun cream and another refill for bottles and pockets before I set off again.

Loch Eil Outward Bound to Roughburn

Another short stretch of main road (and the attendant traffic) led to and through Corpach before I turned back on to the minor roads again. Although being slightly lumpy this road ran parallel to the main Fort William to Spean Bridge road but on the other side of the shallow valley. The Caledonian canal was in the glen below and I looked enviously at the tow path. Again the views were superb; the benefit of being slightly higher than the main road. I urge you to go to this part of the world and travel the smaller roads.
Of course, the views came with a price. The breeze! It did have one plus point I have to admit. It kept me cool. Although I had started with longs and arm warmers I had ditched those in Ardgour. I never did ditch the gilet though. It never got that warm! Which for me was just fine.
The road led into Gairlochy where I had my only nervous moment of the two days. A patch of loose gravel on a downhill bend caused the back wheel to slip a little. I kept the bike upright and myself off the tarmac. Phew!
A tough pull up led to the Commando Memorial. This is a popular tourist attraction and with the views across to Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries I can see why. I was glad to get this climb over with and enjoyed the descent into Spean Bridge. This small stretch was on a very busy road but when you're going downhill the traffic never seems so bad.
From Spean Bridge I had no option but to take to the main road across towards Newtonmore and Dalwhinnie. This road was to be my companion for almost all of the rest of the day. And it worried me a little as I know how fast traffic can flow along it. I was mostly hoping that traffic on a Thursday afternoon in June would not be too heavy.
Completing this section of the day required a long climb of around 9.5 miles to Roughburn. Never very steep, and with the occasional slight downhill, it wasn't too bad. But it was a little relentless. The views here were not so good either with trees obscuring scenery for quite a bit of the time. Eventually I arrived at the meet point. And there was the car containing more food and drink. And, of course, the SO.

Roughburn to Kingussie

Refreshed I set off for the last section of day 1. The views opened up again and the hills to the south looked fantastic. At this point the road rolled along towards to just above the Creag Meagaidh car park. This high point of the day gave me great heart as I knew from here it was mostly downhill to the end point in Kingussie. From here though the views changed again as I rode through the trees on the twisty road. It was this bit of road I had been most nervous about from the traffic point of view but in the end it was relatively quiet and I was able to enjoy myself.
One last meet up with support, this time to hand over my camera which I'd found wasn't working and I rode on again. Now I was riding through more open countryside with views now of the more rounded Cairngorm mountains. These hills are nice in their way but lack the rugged grandeur of the western hills. There had been a significant shift in geology as I came across from Spean Bridge.
Arriving in Netwon more signalled just a couple more miles to go and these were nice and flat; perhaps even downhill a little. Despite the breeze I was able to get a little speed up and felt good as I rolled into Kingussie. I stopped the computer at the crossroads where I planned day 2 to start and then relaxed as I rode up to the Columba House hotel.
Day 1 done!

Day 2

Kingussie to Nethy Bridge

Given that I had another early start I was pleased that any aches and pains my legs might have had didn't keep me awake. The bad weather forecast also failed to disrupt my sleep which I was grateful for. The alarm clock went off at 5 and I was soon eating instant porridge again. This time I was just leaving from the hotel, and here I am at about 6:20, all ready to go.

Ready for day 2

Back up to the crossroads, started the computer, and I was off again. The road to Nethy Bridge went past Ruthven Barracks where I came across a highland cow and her calf in the middle of the road. My SO will tell you that I'm not a great fan of cows, and cows with horns I am very wary of indeed. Luckily she wasn't spooked by me and I was able to get past without any great problem.
This first section of day 2 was relatively flat and a delight to ride early in the morning. The odd deer in the fields and no cars to speak of made for a nice easy warm up. The only downside was the weather. The breeze of the day before had turned into more of a wind and the blue skies had been replaced by leaden grey clouds which were threatening rain. So much so I had my waterproof at hand in a small bag on my back.
Arriving in Nethy Bridge it was obvious that it was almost time for the school bus. Lots of teenagers were hanging around trying hard to look cool. Luckily I know I look cool or I don't care, I'll let you decide which! My look needed to change as the gilet needed to be replaced by the wind proof top. In June for goodness sake. The arm warmers stayed on for a while, underneath the top.
After another tortilla and rice snack and the usual bottle change I was off again.

Nethy Bridge to Archiestown

The road went onto Grantown-on-Spey and I passed the high school to which the teenagers were no doubt being taken. Then on along a back road above the river Spey, a source of some of the finest whisky in the world. The only problem with back roads is that they tend to be a bit up and down and this one proved to be the same. But I was away from the traffic and I had a delightful run.
Eventually the road headed once more up the hills and this took me past a number of the most famous distilleries. It was so disappointing that I couldn't stop for a dram. I will admit that it was a little early even for me. And this wasn't the only way I was staying dry. So far the rain had stayed off. But now the wind was really nagging at me and I knew they day was going to get tough later.
One last climb took me up to Archiestown where the most welcome support was waiting. I admit that I needed to spend a little time here with my feet up getting my energy back.

Archiestown to Rothiemay

This was the first of two longer sections. When I had set the route up I knew the last part would be difficult to navigate and I had decided to make it a little shorter. So that meant some slightly longer stretches between support meets.
The one bonus of meeting in Archiestown was that this stretch started with a fantastic decent to Craigellachie. As well as being a lot of fun it made for a few miles of better speed after the slow uphill miles that preceded them. Sadly, as ever, what goes down often needs to go back up again and that was true this time. And again the wind was into my face all the way to Dufftown.
This climb was just a warm up for the day's major single climb. From Dufftown I was heading to Huntly and I had choices. One was one big climb followed by mostly up and down and the other was a flatter route but I would have needed to spend some time on a bigger road. I had decided on the climbing fun. The climb started a little out of Dufftown with a very steep hairpin followed by a shallow incline towards the final climb to the pass. The problem was the wind. The air was falling over the pass and coming straight down the road into my face. So the 1 or 2 percent incline became a real battle requiring low, low gears. And then I arrived at the final bit of the climb. I selected granny gear and started up. I changed up a few gears and got out of the saddle, then back down again to the saddle and the granny gear. I got up in surprisingly good fettle given how tough it was. At the top I was able to wave at my SO and signal that I would meet them at the next scheduled rendezvous. Seeing my support was still a boost to my moral though. And knowing that I could have had a stop had I needed it was good indeed.
Then there was a stretch of mostly down, with the odd up, to the edge of Huntly. One amusement on this bit of road went like this. I spotted a cyclist on an upright bike exit from a driveway a few miles out from Huntly. I was pretty sure I would catch them and after a little while I did, but not quite as quickly as I might have thought. I caught them close to the bottom of a down section, passed them with a cheery "good afternoon" and headed on. Only to have this cyclist overtake me on the next hill. "This bike's electric" she said with a certain amount of glee. "Not fair" said I. Followed quickly by "give me a tow". I knew when I was beaten, gave in, and stopped for a comfort break. If I ever do anything as stupid as this ride again, I'm going electric.
The road to Huntly was easy enough and I found my way on the correct road out easily enough. When the next turning didn't materialise when I thought it should have I stopped and checked with the phone GPS. Turned out that I was in the right place, I had just run out of patience. So back on the bike, find the turning and on to meet up with my support in Rothiemay.
This was a meeting with a difference. Good friends of ours had come to meet us. Giff is an ambassador for Macmillan Cancer Support and one of the reasons I was using this ride to raise funds for them. It was great to see them and a lovely morale boost.

Despite it being all his fault we're still enjoying a laugh

After more of the usual stop place rituals I was on my way. 50 miles to was all I was thinking. It was to be 50 hard won miles.

Rothiemay to New Deer

This was the second long section and it proved to almost be my undoing. From Rothiemay I had chosen back roads to take me to Turriff. These roads wound their way around and went up and down, up and down. No really long climbs (bar one perhaps) but it seemed to me that all the inclines started to be around the 5 to 7 percent mark. And this late in the ride this became a real bug bear. The weather wasn't helping either. The easterly wind was strengthening and the roads became more exposed. The rain that had been threatening all day was finally on the horizon and I could see that it wasn't a question of if but when.
I arrived in Turriff realising that I was slowing down. Exiting Turriff was also tough; a short sharp incline passed the hospital. I didn't need that kind of symbolism. Just out of Turriff the rain started and the wind picked up again. I had to let the SO know I was slowing down. There was nothing good about the riding now, just a determination to get to New Deer.
Sadly the road wasn't done with me. The rain came down and every time I rode over a hill there was another one on the other side of a small dip. And no sign of New Deer. This was definitely my lowest ebb. I stopped at one point to put my waterproof on, changed my mind and rode on. In retrospect this was an error and an indication of how tired I was becoming. If nothing else the waterproof would have made me warmer. And while I felt I was warm enough I suspect I wasn't. Being too cold always creates a performance hit. One to remember if I ever do anything like this again. And a lesson for anyone reading this.
Eventually I arrived in New Deer. With the rain getting harder I put the waterproof on and put the windproof in the car. I wasn't going to worry about changing back if it stopped raining in the last 22 miles.

New Deer to Boddam

This should have been a short, mostly flat or downhill section. I said should. It all started alright and I was happier than I had been in a while. I did know that this section was probably the hardest navigationally because I wanted to avoid the really big roads. And I wanted to go in a relatively straight line.
Sadly I missed my first turning. My inner guidance had gone wrong and I went on for a few miles before I realised. I had spotted a smaller road a mile or so back going in the direction I wanted so I checked my map (I'm not entirely stupid) and saw I could take it. I knew it meant some more climbing but I felt ok in the legs so I turned and went back.
It turned out to be fine, narrow and steeper than I would have liked but it did mean I was travelling in the right direction. I still had some route finding to do and had to follow my nose (with map for guidance) for a couple more miles yet. All this meant I had to let the SO know I was going to be late again. Finally I was able to wave a car down and check. I was in the right place and on the right road. Excellent.
A little more riding brought me to a place where I was finally happy once again that I was on the right road. More communication necessary and then on once again. I took my time and made sure I got it right. Though this made me slower still.
I'd like to add here that this was all done in very unpleasant conditions. The wind was in my face, the rain was on and off, and the roads were hard to find. Road signage in Aberdeenshire is not good. Often the roads have no signs and if they do they often point to places not on the map. Very annoying.
Eventually I could see my destination. Boddam lay directly in front of me. That could only mean one thing. One more turn, one more hill. This was all to get me in the right place to make a left turn onto the Peterhead to Aberdeen road to follow it for a very short distance before tuning into Boddam itself.
Down to the seaside and along the road towards the lighthouse, which I could finally see. I almost had a comedy off with a dog walker and one of those extendible leads but between us we managed to avoid an embarrassing situation.
Then there was no more road. I rode to the lighthouse gate and stopped. Job done.

The wind now making me look fat... (ter)

And the charity shot at the end

Afters

After the photos and recovery drink we put the bike on the car and headed down to Aberdeen where we were expected at friends in Aberdeen. After a clean up and change we had the most delightful evening. I even managed not to fall asleep over dinner. Good evening, you know who you are, thanks...

If you've got this far, thank for reading. I salute your persistence. It has been nice to write about the trip and all the training. Please come back I'm not done blogging.

Road user awards

Gold Stars

Thanks to all of the really great drivers who gave me space and respect. Your driving is much appreciated.

Not so good

The good number of drivers over the two days who made decisions for me, made me hug the kerb or hedgerow and just generally made my life uncomfortable. Your driving is not appreciated. At all.
Surprising I have to include a large number of motorcyclists in this category. Given the call for us drivers to give them more respect I was disappointed I didn't get theirs.

Idiots

Two real idiots I want to bring to your attention. I'd love to think that they might read this and change their ways but I'm more of a realist than that.
On the first day I was going along on the single track road between Ardgour to Loch Eil when a camper van came into view. They were right beside a passing place and had I been a car I'm sure they would have stopped in it and waited. Of course a cyclist doesn't warrant that and they kept coming. I needed to stop just off the side of the road for them. I do not regret the question I asked through their open window. And, yes, it was polite. And, no, I haven't got an answer.
On Friday afternoon I was overtaken by a van bearing the legend and crest of Highland Couriers. They were too close by a very long way, there was something coming the other way and the road markings clearly showed that no overtaking was allowed. The company will be being contacted.

The Rides

In case you've missed the earlier posts here are the rides from the two days.

Day 1

Day 2

L2L Day 2

In a similar vein to the post on day 1 of the challenge ride this one will be short. Although I'm posting it the day after I'm still a little tired so will recharge and put all the thoughts of the two days on a single longer post tomorrow.
Suffice it to say that this was a hard day of cycling. The easterly breeze of the day before had turned into an easterly wind and the weather had also turned for the worst. Luckily the rain stayed away for most of the day.
Missing a turning in the last section of the ride also didn't help. That cost me 5 miles extra, some extra ascent and quite a bit of time as I sorted myself out.
Here's the horrible truth....

L2L Day 1

This will be a short post about day one of the Lighthouse to Lighthouse ride. I'll do a bigger one describing the whole thing when I've recovered.
Day 1 has gone pretty well. The weather was nice with a mixture of sunshine and clouds; no rain. The one irritation was the easterly breeze. As the route was going from west to east for approximately 115 miles of the 129 it did not make for the easiest riding. However, the forecast for tomorrow is worse so maybe I should keep quiet about how tough it was until I measure it against tomorrow's wind and rain!
Here's the ride details for those interested.

Final Training Week

I'm sure it won't be the last week's training I'll ever do in my life but it has been the final training before the L2L ride. The weather wasn't great which was a shame but hopefully that means the weather won't be too bad this coming week. I have all my fingers and toes crossed!

Monday 4th of June

After golf the day before it was back to the bike on Monday. Another change up ride the main thrust of which was to be a fast 10 mile effort. I don't know if it has been the training and the golf on the days before but when I tried the fast section I found that my legs wanted to stop before my cardiovascular system. I guess that is a good thing for an endurance effort, but I think once this is all done I might work on my power a bit more and see what I can do with the speed over smaller distances. Did I hear someone say time trial?

Tuesday 5th June

The one and only weights session this week. And a very easy one too. 1/4 squats, push presses and roll-outs left me plenty of time to do a more important stretching routine. It definitely had the feel of a taper week.

Wednesday 6th June

This late in the training I wasn't going to take any chances at all. This became a recurring theme of the week. So instead of going out into the murky and wet weather I went to the gym and rode an exercise bike for 1:20. I put in some hill repeats by upping the resistance. I did this in the middle 40 minutes with 20 minutes easy riding either side. The pattern for the hill was 6 minutes against the stronger resistance followed by 2 minutes of very easy spinning simulating the trip back down the hill. The benefit of the exercise bike is that I get my cadence reading which I don't on a spin bike. I managed to keep a decent spin rate while not stressing out my heart rate too much which was exactly the point of the workout. Excellent fun.
Note that Strava has a problem with dates and stationary bike workouts that results in the ride having the date of the day before.

Thursday 7th June

I did want to get out on the bike and the forecast for Thursday morning was ok so up I got. Only to find some low cloud and mist hanging over St. Andrews. Lovely. I went out anyway and headed off for my intended route down towards Crail. As soon as I got to the top of the hill out of St. Andrews I realised it was a no go when I couldn't really see more than 200 yards. Again my no risks policy for the week left me no choice but to go and do my miles in the town. With the schedule asking for 30 miles this became an exercise in mental fortitude. Endless loops of the road at the beach and a couple of loops of the town and the road out to the edge of town gave me the mileage and turned out not to be too dull.

Friday 8th

The forecast of another very wet and windy morning made me decide on Thursday night to go to the gym on Friday morning. As it turned out it was wet and windy overnight but might have been ok in the morning. Still, it was only a recovery ride and it was easy enough to spin the legs over in the gym. As I had some company on the bike beside me for a while the time went relatively easily.

Sunday 9th

After a welcome rest day on Saturday I had my last training ride to do on Sunday morning. With only 20 easy miles to do I took the option of riding down to Crail and back home by Anstruther. All quite sedate trying to maintain a decent cadence in a gear that kept my heart rate down to the right levels. So no records broken on this one.
The legs felt a little tired early on but after 40 minutes or so they started to feel more alive and the pace and heart rate was good on the hills home.

Onward

With all the training rides it is now time to get organised for the upcoming challenge. I'm back feeling a little nervous about it now but if I'm not ready now goodness knows how I would have done more for it. So I have to be confident in the plan that was provided for me and just go and do it.
I'll try and blog some after each of the day's riding but it will be connection and time dependent. Oh, and if I can stay awake to do it!

The last big week

This week's training was different again, which was good. It was the last big mileage week but had an interesting variety of routines to help me keep focus. It almost worked, but not quite as you will see.

Monday 28th May

I had a lot of fun with this one. The workout was supposed to be hard. With an easterly breeze the opportunity was there to do the whole 20 miles using nothing but the big chainring. I also imposed a limit on the biggest sprocket I was allowed to use. I set it at the 21 tooth gear which meant that the chain didn't suffer too much cross-chaining. The ride itself was hard, as evidenced by the heart rate readings but I felt very strong. I have to admit that later in the day I did feel tired. Good training I guess!

Tuesday 29th

All change on Tuesday with a recovery ride. To ensure I wasn't tempted at any point to push it I just rode around the town enjoying the flat roads and trying to avoid the potholes. I did feel relaxed when I finished this.

Wednesday 30th

As a change I only had one gym session this week and this was it. It was also the last time for this set of exercises. I was sorry to see this lot go as I have really enjoyed this set of exercises. All apart from the side planks that is. Planks are my second most hated exercise, with lunges being my least favourite. Give me squats any time.

Thursday 31st

This ride was horrible. Not because of the ride itself but the weather was truly awful. Some of the roads were more like rivers. As a cyclist you are supposed to try and avoid puddles. No chance; there were just streams running down the road. The day was supposed to be hard; well it was both physically and mentally. On the plus side the waterproof jacket definitely works.
The bad side I found out later. The weather has helped cut holes in my tyres and there was so much rain that there was water actually in my wheel rims. When I rotated the rear wheel I could hear it slooshing around. I had to take the tyre of and shake it dry. I'm still not sure I've got it all out.

Friday 1st June

June has arrived. I'm not sure how it managed to sneak up on us but here it is. It seemed such a long way away when I started training last July. I celebrated by taking a day off work so I could get my training miles in.The plan had two easy 60 mile rides for the weekend but I had agreed to play in a team golf competition on the Sunday so something had to give. Work seemed like the obvious option.
I had a lovely ride, traversing north east Fife from north to south. The easterly breeze hurt me a little on the way home but I enjoyed it all. And I felt good. I have noticed over the last few weeks that I appear to have more strength for getting up hills. It's a strange thing because I don't feel that this has been a gradual change; it's like it has just come on now. The oddity of exercise and adaptation I suppose.
A highlight of the ride came when a couple of road traffic policemen decided to see how fast I was going through Cupar by pointing their radar gun at me. As I was going slightly uphill at the time I was in no danger of speeding and the three of us exchanged some banter about it. Luckily they hadn't been operating at the other side of Cupar where the result might have been closer to the speed limit!

Saturday 2nd

Here was the flip side of Friday's ride. Another easy 60 mile ride, this time to Edinburgh. I just never felt good at all. The bike didn't seem right, I didn't seem right and I found it really hard to enjoy the cycling. Having said that, the numbers told a different story. My heart rate was comfortably low, my speed was ok and I wasn't suffering physically other than not feeling quite right. That and having to take "comfort breaks" far too often for my liking.
I finally got going just outside Kelty and managed to enjoy the trip down to the Forth Road Bridge, especially blasting down a hill where I get to race the cars.
Thanks have to go to my lovely Significant Other who provided support in Kinross yet again. I enjoyed the meeting up and was very tempted to throw the bike on the top of the car. I didn't though, so maybe this week's riding was really characterised by a strong mental refusal to give up.

Sunday 3rd

No cycling but a game of golf. I was surprised by not playing too badly and not disgracing myself. Maybe there's hope for me yet on the links. I'm beginning to miss the it which means that this break from the game is probably doing me good. Another plus point for this cycling lark!