The coast has been quiet of late with Fatbikes. I guess most folk are busy with summer holidays, kids etc...
I was along the coast on Thursday evening (no camera stops ride) and there was no tracks on the coast anywhere.
Also the Counties trails are bone dry so it has been great conditions for trail riding compared to last year.
I stuck a post up on facebook for a beach ride on Saturday and there were a few posts and messages to say `see you on the coast somewhere`.
After a Roughstuff ride (Pt1) i rode the 6 miles by road to Aberlady into a stiff warm wind. Harvest is underway, gotta be quick to catch the combines as they are so big and fast now. Took these pics during the week at work on my work mobile, an i phone, it takes ace pics...
Here a field i passed on route to the coast on Thursday evening has been cut and bailed in under 48 hours!...
Down into what i call The Plain of East Lothian. Not quite as big as the Merse in Berwickshire, but East Lothian has a flat plain of rich Agricultural land from North Berwick to Musselburgh, you can see it from the air if you take a Microlight flight which is not as scary as folk thing and a great way to see our county...
After riding some of the John Muir Way dropped onto the coast at Gosford Bay...
A 0.8 meter low tide is low - anything under 1.0 meters is not to be missed, as it allows to ride under nearly all the rock head points on our coast and basically ride on the sea floor. Flat sand riding may seem boring to some folk but looking `inland` to the coast is something i always think is pretty cool.
7 miles of flat sand riding to Yellowcraig, yeah i can handle that, and splashed through an inch of sea water across a Gosford Bay which was still draining...
Miles out...
On the ipod i was listening to `Good Morning Vietnam` soundtrack and there was indeed `Nowhere to hide` out here...
The Peffer Estuary looked deep was only about a foot deep as i splashed through wetting my boots, why i wanted my old boots from work earlier...
2 miles of sand bar, a bit rippled for a while until i got onto a smooth bit...
The local seals i saw from a distance had legged it as i approached...
But the seals bobbed up and down watching me and as always followed me for a bit, making myself asking are they seals or once Selkie`s ...
A lot of birds on the coast, not the type i would like to meet who have an interest in the coast but the feathery type... -:)
The WW2 XT class midget submarines wrecks were beached high and dry and i had to ride `inland` to them...
The XT subs wrecks blog post i wrote is the most read post on my blog with nearly 6000 views in only 20 months...
I am always in awe of what the men who piloted these WW2 ships did. When you see the size of them, and what they did in Operation Source to try and destroy the mighty German battleship Tirpitz..
How did 4 men squeeze into these things that are only 5 foot in diameter for hours at a time?, imagine the claustrophobic atmosphere...
If you have an interest in WW2 history then Patrick Bishop`s books are i think the best realisation of some of the amazing things normal people did during the dark times of WW2, and his account of the missions to try and destroy the mighty battleship Tirpitz, and what the guys, who volunteered to go in these tiny things did, we owe so much to these people who did these things, Operation Source was just one of many dangerous missions (they were all volunteers too)...
David v Goliath...
Onwards and riding east...
Amazing colours on the rocks...
Anyone lost a MX helmet?...
Near Eyebroughty Island a text from friend Gavin, reply; see you soon...
Gavin`s tracks
Barry was with Gav too having seen the call on FB...
Fatbikes approaching...Mike and his partner...
Running friend Mary stopped for a chat, (Mary was out running not walking!) and Peter was at Haddington running the half marathon. After a brief chat Mary continued while we bumbled over the rocks and along to Yellowcraig...
A good blether then along to North Berwick...
Into NB and watching the seaside washing drying...
And some Luca - East Lothian made ice cream...
Along to Church Car Park where Gav was parked up near Law Cycles...
Hendo cruised by on his Pug...
Barry and i rode home on the JMW, and once home i thought washing down the Pug i should make my own beach from all the sand i bring back...
what a great day on two fat wheels, and great to see friends back out on our coast... -:)
You loose half a point for not having a strawberry & Vanilla 2 scoop cone! :-D
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic and by the way the washing is blowing in the wind, you were assisted all the way back from the subs??
Luca ice cream is nice though Mark -:)
ReplyDeleteYes tail wind assisted along the flat sandsexposed at low tide was sweet! -:)