I posted up the photos from Easter Saturdays ride with Caleb for the Easter egg hunt and trip to the shore but the long weekend continued with a couple of more rides.
Sunday after getting some stuff done in the morning then watching the tour of Flanders I headed out on the Merckx for a while, nice evening but again just beat the rain back. Good to be back out on the Merckx and getting a few quicker miles in.
Then on Monday around lunch I headed south to meet up with Brian and have a ride out around the Beauly Forth. Glorious sunshine when I left but about an hour or so down the road it was a solid wall of grey with it snowing to the west. the hills were getting covered the closer I got to Brians. We quickly loaded and decided to start around Redcastle area as everywhere else was whitening up and thought we would ride into Ness. We pushed on into the mother of all headwinds, and after a quick stop at a bakery to have a sandwich and a coffee we decided on a ride back the way we came but at a much faster pace due to the freezing rain coming down. Still we got a ride in, albeit a shortish one. This time I was on the Mercian and Brian was on his Bertin, so even the rain couldn't spoil a ride on these.
So not a bad weekend, 3 different rides out on three different machines, time spent with family and with friends, this topped off with a Quick Step win in Flanders. Roll on spring now
Took the Inbred out for an exploration of some local trails, have recently changed the drop bars to risers, the rigid forks to suspension, and gone from 1x1 to 1x10.
A weekend at home spending time with the family but still managed to get a couple of rides in.
Saturday after lunch Caleb and I put in some miles in the sunny but quite cold wind on the Big Dummy. We managed to avoid the haar that had been hanging around most of the day just off the coast and in some of the low lying areas. T shirt weather in the sun but Helle Hanson and jacket out of it. A good couple of hours out with my wingman.
Another straight section with it starting to cool down 4 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
Today after lunch and getting other things sorted, that you just have to sort I managed to get out and put a few hours in on the Trucker, just riding for the sake of riding. My Trucker never fails to put a smile on my face, really love riding it anywhere. I should have been down with Brian and another group on the Great Glen Way but unfortunately at the time Heather and I had some stuff to get done. In the end it worked out well as I got stuff sorted had a ride, met up with Heather and Caleb mid ride for a coffee and scone out at John O'Groats and still got back around 5.30 which left enough time to put Calebs trampoline back up after winter and sort a few bike parts for sale. My ride out took me along an inland sort of zigzagging route with some gravel tracks thrown in and one of these was about a mile of straight section in the middle just like a few of these tar ones near me that have miles of straights on them. No imagination
Was speaking to a couple of guys at Groats that had just ended their Lands End - John O'Groats ride with one them being on a Long Haul Trucker as well. After chatting for a while and complimenting each other for our clearly good taste I had to start heading home as by now the haar had come ashore and it was really thick as well as cold. Luckily I was no longer heading into the wind so had a slight tail wind for most of the run home. Must be a good weekend
Hope everyone else managed to have a good weekend whether riding or not.
Our ride on the GGW started in the haar, and it didn't clear until we had climbed about 900 feet.
But there were compensations. Stopped up Abriachan at Rory's cafe for a feed.
Yup, that's the cafe.
Lashings of good food.
And, yes the lad holding my bike is on a trike. Awesome rider.
Then from there a longish road section so we could hurtle down Abriachan.
I learned one thing. If you take a mtb geared singlespeed on the road with bikes with road gearing, then a cycling term for the equivalent of valve bounce is needed...
Great day out, and my legs got more of a workout than intended.
Back from Friday/Saturday at Fat Forth. Unfortunately couldn't stay for Sundays ride, but had a great one today. Zigzag even showed up to bust his fat cherry.
Looks a great one and shame I just couldn't make it this year. First one I've missed and judging by the photos it was a good weekend.
Would have been good to catch up with you guys as well.