Edinburgh Again

With life requiring me to be in Edinburgh on a Saturday afternoon most weeks and this week also requiring me to be there on Saturday night and Sunday morning it was a no-brainer to decide to ride to Edinburgh for my training this week. As with my last ride to Edinburgh I needed to lengthen the more obvious routes to get the mileage I wanted. This time I was looking for 65 miles. So I decided to go to Cupar via Ceres and then head north before coming south via Glenfarg again. This time I would head out of Glenfarg by a steeper hill and go to Milnathort that way. That would give some climbing practice as well.
We suffer of the east coast of Scotland from a strange meteorological phenomenon called haar. It's caused by low cloud that rolls in from the sea as the land cools, and often occurs in the spring here. It makes for limited visibility and causes problems for drivers as well as cyclists. So it was on Saturday morning. It wasn't too bad in St. Andrews but gave patchy visibility all through Fife. On the high points I could have done with wipers for my glasses. I felt lights were a must, but I was in a minority even amongst the other cyclists I saw. Odd!
I didn't feel that good between Cupar and Abernethy. Perhaps the result of a spin class I went to on Friday morning. I'll need to keep that in mind as I continue my training. After Abernethy I improved (perhaps helped by the juice I picked up in Newburgh) and I enjoyed my climb up to Glenfarg. The hill from there that I had selected was initially very steep but this section was short and it unfolded as a route that climbed gradually never seeming to stop coming. At least I didn't have to look at it; visibility was down to around 150 yards.
In Kinross I had a rendevous with my support for the day. My Significant Other was there when I arrived and a quick sandwich was gratefully munched. I refilled a water bottle and picked up some more flapjacks. It was lovely to have a short break.
Kinross to the Forth Bridge was a delight. A couple of short climbs but mostly fast flat or downhill sections. By the time I got to the bridge I was feeling fine. This weekend the cycle route was on the east side of the bridge. I hadn't done this before and enjoyed the experience.
From the bridge I had determined to do a new route to Edinburgh, this time to Kirkliston down the old A8000 which used to be a really busy road but is now pretty quiet since the new interchange has been built. From Kirkliston it was a lovely cycle east to Edinburgh. And all of a sudden the route was complete.
My door to door route was around 70 miles in the end and I completed it in just over 5 hours including breaks. I'm very happy with that. If I can manage that kind of pace in June I'll be very, very pleased. There is more climbing to be done on hose days though.

The Ride

Observation

I can't help but notice the difference between cyclists north of the Forth and those south of it. All through Fife I exchange pleasantries with all and sundry. South of it almost no recognition at all. Very odd, and slightly sad.