A CYCLE IN THE MIST

1. 

 Now that i have finally gotten over the nasty virus that kept me in bed last weekend it was time to get the giant out for a run, and get some decent hill climbs in to blast away the cob webs.

The route i decided on was a quick loop that goes through stenton and passes east linton and is 20.3 miles long with some nice views  of the countryside, i used to do this very same route as a training run when i was a roadie, and would complete it in about 1 hour 15 min, but today it would be 1 hour 45 min of wheezing and coughing.

I left the house and cycled at a steady pace towards spot, the long steady climb into spot village was quite tough and i was glad to reach the top where i again settled into a steady pace and headed to stenton, Once i made it to stenton i struggled on, the steep climb at the west side of the village really zapped my legs and i still had a few steep climbs to come but despite a little wheezing and coughing i made it to the top.

This picture of East Linton was taken just after the climb up to lugget farm, where i was despite the mist enjoying the views and if being honest resting my now very shaky and tired legs.

I was now free wheeling down towards east linton, and it would be another 20 min tough peddling into an easterly wind to get home, where chocolate and coffee awaited.

Todays cycle really hammered home how unfit i have become, hill climbs i once could negotiate quite easily have become a real challenge, i plain to repeat todays feat at least three times a week from now on until my lungs and legs get stronger.

GIANT TCX 2

Today (sunday) i had planed to take a new addition of my expanding bicycle collection for a test ride, a Giant TCX cross bike, this bike will replace my rock lobster mtb, as my go to trail bike and commuter.

As i said i had planed to go for a longer test ride of this bike today, but unfortunately i awoke at 06:00 this morning with the start of another bout of man flu, i decided to carry on regardless but after a couple of miles my headache got the better of me so i folded and cut the ride short.

Disappointed i headed back into Dunbar along the backroad, it as you can see was a stunning morning with a light but very cool westerly wind and a beautiful sunrise,
I still have a couple of days off, so hopefully i'll feel better tomorrow and i can get out for a decent ride,

JOHN MUIR COUNTRY PARK, SINGLE TRACK RIDE

With the recent high winds its been hard work on the bike the last week or so, but today was perfect with light winds and mild temp, so it was down to john muir country park with the pugsley and another hour or so ride around the sandy single track, the scenery at john muir park and belhaven beach on the right day is absolutely stunning and this area is my all time favorite place to ride my pug, before i got this bike the beach was off limits and i did a lot of trail centers such as glentress and also quite a bit of road cycling, i'm now putting the cash aside for another surly bike thats even fatter, at the moment i have four bikes a bianchi road bike which hardly ever sees the light of day, a surly disc trucker, a rock lobster xc bike which i use for my daily commute to work and of course my pug, the pug is my fav bike to ride and is by far the most used out of all the bikes i own, sometimes at belhaven beach the sand can be very soft especially after big tides and even cycling the pugsley can be really hard work, hence the reason for fat bike number two, the above video was shot with the go pro the music is by public image ltd, the song the order of death.

SANDY SINGLE TRACK

Monday morning was a little windy with the occasional shower, but with the wind coming from a south westerly direction, i knew the woods and dunes at john muir country park would offer me a little protection for my morning ride on the pugsley, so i crossed the beil burn and cycled along belhaven beach into the wind until i reached the tyne estuary, then i turned on the go pro and headed along the sandy single track as fast as i could, this area is known as spikey island, during high tide on big springs around 5.5 meters the whole area can be surrounded by water which has caught out many a dog walker, for a small area there is a lot of winding little sandy trails which are great fun to blast around with the fat bike, also there wasn't another soul about today so i had the area to my self, the video is recorded in HD the artist-DJ Shadow, the track-stem long stem.

NO PHOTOGRAPHS JUST A QUICK FILM.

Thanks to losing my charging kit for my panasonic compact camera, i only had my go pro to document my cycle on the coast today, still i haven't used it for a couple of months and to be honest i have been enjoying my beach riding without feeling the need to make video or take pictures, although making a film is quite an enjoyable experience so for the first time in months i thought i would do just that, and had a couple of hours ride today along the scart rocks and out to saint margrates point and along to belhaven, the weather was perfect for a beach ride with light winds and calm seas, i even bumped into a young seal playing in the small surf at belhaven beach, unfortunately my camera didn't pick this up very well so i decided to remove it from the video, however i have had the idea for a while now of getting in the water with these beautiful animals and getting some video of them in the wild as they are abundant on our coast, should manage it in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting.

SHORT BUT SWEET

Time was something i didn't have in abundance on friday morning as my younger sister was getting married at two o clock at the Rocks hotel in Dunbar, however i surfaced early and managed to squeeze in an hours beach ride around john muir country park and Belhaven beach, it was a glorious morning a little overcast but not a breath of wind.

 I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the weather, There was a small surf running and this lone sup rider was catching a few waves on to the beach.

As was this guy on his longboard.

I continued my ride to the tyne estuary, and as you can see the sand here is very soft indeed, see how the tires of the pugsley float compared to my footprint, quite amazing really.

I pushed on through the soft sand and stopped for the occasional photo and enjoyed the still morning not a sound apart from the surf on the beach and the birds song, i hope to get out on the pugsley during the weekend as my week off work is almost over.

Once off the beach i sought out the single track that cuts through the woods and peddled as fast as i could to work up a little sweat ducking to miss branches and swerving to avoid tree stumps, the little paths that cut through these woods are great fun if a little short and at this time of the morning not another soul about.

Once i caught my breath i stopped for a quick picture of the pine trees and then it was home to sort out wedding clothes for my sisters big day.

QUICK AUTUMN CYCLE

Autumn in East lothian is probably my favorite time of the year, the cooler temperatures make cycling a little more comfortable, the autumn swells are more frequent and combined with the shorter daylight hours it means that its dark to quickly for the Edinburgh and glasgow surfers to get waves after work,
which is fine by me as i have spent many an Autumn evening surfing Belhaven bay in glassy 3-4 ft perfection with just the local wildlife to keep me company,
Tuesday late afternoon i decided on a quick hour or so ride on the pugsley so i  cycled down to Belhaven and out across the beach, where i bumped into this young gannet above. and managed to maneuver myself into position and get a decent picture before he squawked loudly in disapproval and paddled off into the surf.

I continued along the soft sand until i eventually run out of beach stopping for the occasional photo. and decided to head along the john muir way to east linton

The river tyne

Hard to spot, but a nice sea trout waiting for the cover of darkness to head up the river to spawn.

 Preston mill

Prestonkirk manse

I continued my cycle to the village of East linton and stopped to take in the views of the linn rocks.

I have not fished this far up the river this year, and as the sea trrout and brown trout season will shortly be coming to a close i promised myself i would come back with my fly rod,

An enjoyable ride on the bike but now it was time to head for home.