SURLY DISC TRUCKER FIRST RIDE.

Today was the day i picked up my surly disc trucker from colin at belhaven bikes, and decided to go for a test run to check it out, so with the bright sunshine mild temperature and light south west wind i grabbed the chance for a quick ride on my new steed, once i received the bike from colin and made a couple of little adjustments to the saddle and seat post i was good to go, i headed east along the cycle path towards torness point which is my usual commute to work each day, my mtb bike has front suspension and although the LHT has a comfortable riding position the bumpy cycle path combined with the steel fork up front made it a little uncomfortable on the arms but this being the first time i have rode the bike wasn't a major concern as i'm sure i'll become accustomed to the different riding position.

Looking back and down towards the coast lies barn's ness light house, and the north sea.

And a little further inland lafarge cement works.

A quick picture of the LHT disc complete with panner racks and mudguards.
I continued my cycle east along the old closed off A1 out towards the power station which lies about six miles from Dunbar.

And out along the break water at the point, the picture above shows the dolaces which are laid individually to protect the shoreline around the power station from coastal corrosion......

They also protect the Dunbar lifeboat which is moored in relative safety from strong northeast storms like the one we had here just last week, the lifeboat is a trent class capable of a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 250 nautical miles, it's powered by two mman turbo engines.

While out on the point i took a quick pic of st abbs head in the distance....

.....And one west towards barns ness and the bass rock.

With my stomach beginning to rumble through hunger i decided to head back to Dunbar for food and a mug of steaming coffee, total ride distance of 12 miles and time on the bike was one hour 15 minutes, above one last picture of the surly LHT disc,
The components list
Surly disc trucker frame (steel)
Deore chain set 48/36/26
Hollowtech bottom bracket
Slx rear mech
Slx front mech
Slx rear cassette
Die compi brake leavers
Shimano 160mm rotors x2
Shimano front and rear disc brake calipers
Mavic 717 rims built with halo black spokes and Slx hubs
Continental gatorskin tires x2
Sks mudguards x2
9 speed sram chain
Turtec front and rear panner
Pro 110 stem
Ritchy comp drop bars
Chris king head set with carbon spacers
Brooks b17 leather saddle with suspension seat post
Dura ace bar end shifters x2
Deda green bar tape.

BATTERED BELHAVEN BAY.

 After the heavy seas we had here last week its been interesting cycling along the coast, with lots of debris washed up on my local beach at belhaven, the sand was also heavy and soft due to the heavy rain, but as you can see the pugsleys tires make light work of peddling over this type of terrain.

Can't remember the last time i have seen this much kelp washed up here, it was over two feet high in some places, Autumn now and the summer kelp bloom is dying away and the winter swells have wash it ashore.

There was also lots of wild life that suffered natures wrath, these sea urchins have been up routed and washed ashore over the hard ground which has removed most of the spines, lots of dead young sea birds where also lying on the beach.

A razor clam shell with the inhabitant long gone.

There has also been lots of sand moved about, hardly surprising with the sea state here last week.

Most of the local creel fishermen have reported lots of damage and some are even missing gear, this is a parlor creel so called because of the parlor trap at the end, the lobster is attracted into the trap with fish which is tied in a bait band found in the centre of the creel, the parlor trap is in the top left hand corner of the picture, a soft eye is tied into the netting which the crustacean thinks is away out, once it passes through the soft eye closes behind and the lobster is then trapped, these creels tend to keep 90% of what crawl into them making them the ideal lobster pot.

I cycled around the point and back in along the beach towards john muir country park, now the rivers and burns have receded and returned to there normal levels, the only thing left to remind us that there was ever a storm here is the odd uprooted tree and lots of drift wood scattered along the tyne estuary.

Surly 3.7 larry with large marge rims make beach riding possible and lots of fun.

Still going strong after nearly two years abuse, and lots more sandy fun to come.

I then decided to cycle through the park and make my way home, another enjoyable cycle on the coast.

A WET DAY ON THE PUGSLEY

The rain was heavy when i left the house this morning to embark on my beach ride along to seacliff, by the time i reached the tyne estuary i was soaked, no worries though as i planned on getting a lot wetter, i stopped along the way to take a few pictures, this one is of wild fire reef

As i made an attempt to cross the river tyne the sand was very soft not unlike quicksand, and on my first attempt i sunk up to my knees, the rushing water of the river was almost up to my waist, but after some perseverance i eventually made it across.

 Another picture of the tyne estuary.

Drift wood is common here after a wet summer like we have just endured, the sand along the edge of the tyne was virtually unrideable even on a fat bike like the pugsley.

However once over the other side and the mussel beds gave fantastic firmness and grip, quite a contrast to the previous side of the river bank.

Once i made it across i stopped to take a picture of the bike, sometimes i still cannot believe it's possible to cycle on terrain like this, the surly pugsley is without doubt the best bike i have ever owned.

The crustaceans.

So i continued my cycle along the rugged coastline.

This is the wreak the ss ponderosa, the only visible part of the vessel left is the boilers.

A very enjoyable days riding on the coast, by the time i turned around and headed for home the rain was pouring and the wind had started to pick up from the north, it would be well after three in the afternoon before i made it home with tired legs, sleep will come easy tonight.













Here is a quick video of the days riding.

AUTUMN BEACH RIDE

Early evening was bright and sunny here on the coast and i decided to grab my surly pugsley and head for the beach, as you can see from the picture above the high tide didn't leave much sand to ride over,

                                     

                                                                                                      I love the different colors that come with the autumn afternoons here in scotland, the view looking west to north berwick law 

Someones handy work, a nice little beach shack made of drift wood.

Interesting sky, not sure what you would call the cloud formation, no doubt peter with his yacht master training would be able to name them.

Doonhill and the views east as i rode back towards home, tomorrow i plan on heading along to sea cliff beach on the pugsley and take advantage of the big tides as i've not ridden this bike enough during the summer months, low tide tomorrow is at 1203 BST and 0.8 meters which will leave plenty of sand to explore.

GULF STREAM SIMMOND'S QUAD.

The board here is a copy of a mcallums m-ford, jeff mcallum is a californian surfer and shaper that makes some stunning surf craft, but unfortunately for me these come with a hefty price tag to match, but i was lucky enough to find this little 6'0 board on magic seaweed, so i e-mailed the owner and we agreed on a price, three days later it was in the north sea and it goes as good as it looks, the board was shaped by jools at gulf stream surfboards, gulf stream are an English company that resides in cornwall and as you can see they kick out some beautiful boards themselves.

SURLY LHT DISC.

• So last week i managed to get most of the components for the LHT build, as you can see it's almost built up with the exception of the Dura ace bar end shifters, bar tape and drive chain which should arrive shortly, so will hopefully be rolling by thursday next week, i do however have racks and pannier bags to purchase  along with mudguards and of course a decent pair of peddles, at the moment i haven't made a decision which type to choose, spd's or flat peddles as i'm a newbie as far as touring cycling goes, here are some more pictures and once i have the build complete i'll post a component list next to the finished bike.    

SUMMER 2012

Now that we are into september and summer is all but done i made a little video of some of the things i got up to in 2012 with my tachyon camera around the coast, from the R,N,L,I to cycling along the coastline on my surly pugsley to cruising along the high tide line on my stand up paddle boards or riding the waves on my surf boards, people moan and complain endlessly about the wet summer, well mine has been wetter than most and i love it, soon the nights will draw in and it will be dark at four in the afternoon, the wetsuit size will increase from a 3mm to 6mm and the cycling gloves and thermals will replace shorts and tee shirts, i can't speak for everyone but i can't wait as i love the seasons, soon the autumn swell's will arrive which is great if you live local, but its to late for all the people that live in edinburgh and glasgow to grab a surf after work, as a result of this the crowds thin out and leave more waves for me and my mates, roll on autumn.