Hogmanay...

This Year`s getting in the bells will be for me a solo one by bicycle from a nearby hill watching the fireworks across at Edinburgh and around the surrounding County while emptying the Pugsleys Hip Flask of Glenmorangie...
Then the now Annual New Year Day Beachride...
Maybe see you on the Coast next year...all the best for 2011

2010 Retrospect...

This year i have made so many new friends,mostly through cycling forums and Ride outs and a lot of online friends here via blogs...
Hope you all enjoyed the ride this year and will come along on many more in the New Year...
Here's some links to my favourite posts of 2010, An idea from fellow East Lothian Blogger friend Al

In his words;
"What are your favourite posts over the last year? What have you written that you're most happy with, proud of, satisfied by? Or what have you posted that gives you great memories or that you feel defines what your blog is all about? There might only be one or two or there may be loads of things that you've found satisfying. Why not post links to them - lets say a maximum of ten - and they must have been published this year"

Why dont you give it a try?, not that easy to limit to 10 as been so many good times,

And here's mine... Oldest first.

1. Biking with Tommy
2. Highland Daytrip
3.Netherlands
4.Midweek sunset beachride
5.TBC Pentland Hills midweek trailride
6.Road Trip; Ft William UCI MTB World Cup
7.Biking the Kintyre Way
8.Battle of Britain Day Sept 15th,70 years on...
9.Harvest Cycle
10.sea and sky...and (this time ) sunset...

See you next year...

Festive feet up...

Rewind to last Sundays snowride around my local woods and heres the film with pictures used taken by friend Mike...



And then some returned for more with a nightride on Wednesday evening...pics are not very good im afraid but what there was was an amazing big moon and colour in the cloud...



The snow was a bit soft and steering was a bit hit or miss including on the pugsley But we had fun and passed the hip flasks about at stops...






So a day away from `The Big Day` and were still locked in this cold snap.
The snow still hasnt shifted as temperature`s have never risen above freezing.
Heres a set of the daily pictures from the week at work...










Daily the cycle to work and home is like a micro adventure in these conditions..

And the skys and snow scenery is just breath taking,folk just need to slow down and have a look around...we may never see this here in East Lothian like this again...


Xmas Day i spend on my own this year with the family get together on Boxing day.
Weather permitting allowing safe driving conditions- as forcasts are now for more snow on sunday.
My xmas day will be spent out riding on the pugsley at daylight with some snow and sand riding with my own thoughts for company then home for some whiskey and reflect on lots of things...which this year i look forward too...could be some big changes and moves for myself next year...we shall see..
With only the weekends off work over the festive period the weekends a chance to relax and enjoy some quiet time,some cycling,evenings in front of a roaring fire and a Whisky...or two...

Winter Wonderland...Round 2...

So we got a good dumping of snow 6-8am on Sunday morning.
Around 4-6" of lovely dry powdery stuff which fell on frozen ground...
The country once again in the grip of a wee blast from the Artic...

Perfect for winter cycling...
I arranged to take friends out biking around my local Binning woods on Sunday as there local riding areas having been deeper with snow than here and then bad with ice from the thaw afterwards.
The woods here were to be ideal as little ice and no mud so everyone looked forward to a bikeride...then it snowed and apart from a risk of driving everyone still turned up and really keen to get out!.
All wrapped up we headed along the short road section to the woods...yes there is tarmac under that snow and this was midday...

Nice to meet some new faces too...


A group pic- theres always one though ain't there!...

A bit cold for doing that as temperatures stayed below 0C!.
Will return to this ride later as friend Mike (moony boy) had his camera and took some good pics which I'm awaiting sent to me and will post up,along with a wee bit film. Everyone enjoyed getting out and enjoyed the snow trails which were ok as not too deep for a regular bike...


The temperature has been so cold the snow has dried out alot more overnight and i was up early to work on the pugsley and snow ploughing then gritting then home early so went home via Binning Woods again, scenery was stunning with no wind to have blown the snow off of the trees...




Into Binning woods and yesterdays bike tracks were just visible under the snow that fell in the afternoon as we rode back to my house,we did 2 laps and today being drier snow it was alot easier to ride so i planned to do a few laps around the wood and hardpack a snowtrail as no more snow is forcasted for the week and temperature`s are to remain low. Been some forestry work on going here lately...
Move over...real monster truck coming through...-:)

Heres what the trail looked like on my 1st lap round...

the snow scenery is fantastic with the trees caked and sunlight filtering through the leafless trees...


Another 2 laps and the trail was packing down nice...

This shelter has been standing a few years now...

Mates will love riding this on there regular bikes now...hope to do a Night ride this week with those who can make it...

4 laps and job done, a hardpack snow trail about a foot wide, not sure how long it is,2-3 miles i think...

Heading home i wished every winter could have commute days like this...


Cant complain 2 years in a row now...

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning there is a Lunar Eclipse at around 6.30am - 7.30am,
There is to be a glow in the sky caused from this so better take the camera...

Frozen Beaches...

Saturday and our coastline was frozen solid!, as well as everywhere else gripped by a bitter cold caused by a Northerly wind. last week daytime temperatures were up to 3C but if felt colder than the -6C of the previous week with it being damp.
by Thursday everything froze which was good as it has dried the ground out.
The snow forecasted was moved forward each day but this morning (Sunday) we have a fresh coating of a few inches...
Yesterday i rode along the coast at Longniddry bents.Down through the woods the ground was solid and frozen leaves and frozen snow out of the sunlight crunched under the tyres...

I bet these fellows are warm in there thick coats!

Onto the coast at Gosford bay and lumps of ice line the tide line,its freshwater from the numerous burns that exit into the sea...



Riding around to Ferny Ness point and the well preserved WW2 coastal defence anti-tank blocks...you can follow them all the way east and west along the coast here though many are nearly buried in sand.


Onto the sand and it was frozen solid!, this dog was enjoying it and there was little if any footprints left from these horses...


Onto the John Muir Way which runs above the coast and this is a lovely mile or so of sandy singletrack trail.

Frozen solid and about a foot wide it was rolling fast here and i filmed this bit on my return.Further on is a section of trail which once was a path along tops of sand dunes and has been covered by Sea Buck thorn, a thorn covered invasive plant with its bright orange berries which gives it its nickname by children of `the baked bean tree` i did a bit film riding along here using the helmet camera as it was rolling fast being frozen although ice in places the Pugsley just ate it up...
Music is by Zero 7, a band i recently came across via friend Mike...



Onto the rock solid sand of Seaton Sands-below the famous holiday camps and i found this on the tideline,must have been a duck race in the summer-maybe on the River Esk which Estuary is a few miles west along the coast on the County boundry,
No 921 i have your Duck!

At a small burn are lots of shells,dont know why they are all in one place here,maybe the currents,

And there was alot of ice from the burn, looks amazing!

Returning i rode the full lenght of beach at the tide line and below the Golf Course and coast road at this point once was a diving pier,Victorians encouraged Sea Bathing
as believed to improve health-oh they did this naked in Winter!, jeez imagine that today at -3Celsius!


It was cold enough today just cycling and i had the full kit on minus paclites and thicker gloves...

There is always alot of wildlife along the coast here,today on the shoreline was Oyster Catchers,Mallerd,Wigon,Curlew,a Cormorant,and alot of smaller waders...


Getting near Hightide...

Although not that high tide levels this now as usually its up to the tank blocks i looked for a way through the Sea Buckthorn at the East end of Ferny Ness as an alternative to the JMW trail and raking about i found this!,never knew it was here...

Its a WW2 Spigot Mortar which was part of the Coastal Defences of WW2,
a solid steel tube about 7 inches tall with a thick steel base set into a big lump of concrete, the Mortar would slot onto it and then be set up to hit the main Road, about 75 Yards away from here.
In the event of an Invasion enemy troops moving inland along Roads would have been shelled with these at strategic road points like on Hills-as here on the Coast Road and narrow bottle necks where Vehicles would have been slowed down, No one i have sent this too knew there was one here,there are a couple more on the old A1 near East Linton and on Pencraig Hill, Great finding stuff like this!...
time to head to see the folks via the woods again...a great couple of hours spent on the coast...

And this morning we have a winter wonderland again,

Here we go again! a White Christmas?