Thursday 31 March 2016

The March Commute, nice while it lasted...

 Check out that big East Lothian sky of Saltire blue and big fluffy clouds drifting past...


Wednesday dawned clear and cold with an air frost and was the first day of March i cycled up to work after the recent problems at work and the return to do basic maintenance...
I gave up commuting due to the recent late winter road conditions brought about by the lorries driving soil from fields at Haddington  to Stonelaws and a Quarry being back filled has made both roads i can use to commute becoming a quagmire in the wet winter conditions. Never before seen so bad commuting conditions and along with the drive chain being destroyed by the slop it was the spray off the lorries. I was arriving at work covered in spray. I just had enough of it and started to take the car daily to work.
That and i have seen a different type of morning commute car driver-the type that just bombs through puddles opposite you sending dirty water into the air and over you.  8am starts see these type of people, always in a rush and driving far to fast on country roads, they pass youthe same time whatever the weather conditions!.  Yep i look forward to summer hours starting on 1st April and quieter roads to work beforw the idiots appear.

So back to today and with the high pressure weather i pumped up the tyres on the Dawes Ultra Galaxy and rode up to work under clear blue skies...






And it felt good!, if not  bit cold, Great to be back out on the Dawes again. This bike was a present from good friend Gary B, and it is a real smoothie to ride...good to have it back in it`s own parking lot in the shed...


Up on the hill and what a lovely morning...





Here is a film i shot from the cairn...my office view...

Whitekirk Hill 360 view from coastkid71 on Vimeo.




Work finished and a short bit of `Roughstuff` across `Becky`s Strip` Byway to North Berwick for some milk...





Now you see plenty of pics of the Bass Rock on this blog...
But how about a real cool film ON the Bass?
Alan Kayaked out to the bass and with permission landed and he took his Drone with him,
Check out this ace film of `The Sentinel of the Forth`...



Shopping done and back home enjoying the springtime scenery, sadly another nights heavy rain last night would see me back in the car today as the roads returned to slop...





More soon...

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Another Midweek cycle... Ridge road...



Another fine evening if still a cool wind, great where you can cycle and see in an hour or so riding in your own back yard. I headed up the Garleton Ridge Road to Barney Hill to check out the views and big sky of moody looking clouds. from there i dropped down via the Plantains trail then a short ride along the old A1 and climb up to rejoin the Ridge Road and after a nice freewheel dowd i turned off at Atherstaneford Village and via the Saltire Flag centre made my way home via some field boundaries...


Towering cloud over Lammerlaw...


Masts in the distance at the top of the Ridge road...


Fortified house marked on old maps as `The Grange`...




Fiery sky...


Barney Hill...






Descending to the Plantains woodland single track trail...


Past the continuation of the old Ridge road...


Buff sweet single track...




Never found out what this building is for...


You can see the folly front as you climb the road to Barney mains farm...







No sunset today with low cloud to the  west, down then up to Athelstanford...


Springtime; Barley being sown...


And Daffodils...



Saltire Centre...









Cherry blossom at roadside on way home...



More soon...