Anywhere you go in Scotland, a shop, garage, pub, or meet someone out in the countryside and 99% the first topic of conversation will be about the weather...
Probably that is because its always changing here, warm and sunny with big blue sky's one minute then next thing it can be pouring down-sideways...
The forecast is always changing and it isn't always right!,
Take last Tuesday and Thursday, torrential rain with widespread flooding like here at East Lothians principal town of Haddington, at the River Tyne...
The Linn Falls at East Linton were on full bore...
It has also caused chaos with the on going Harvest and tractors have dragged a lot of mud out onto the roads,
And then again this week on Tuesday (yesterday) it poured down again!, over 2 inches in 24 hours is a lot for East Lothian, Scotlands driest County,
Outside for 3 hours i got soaked at work, then my pac lites gave in cycling home and i got soaked again in under 5 minutes, but i still went out for an evening cross country cycle despite more looming clouds,
I have not been riding the 29er much this year and after a rainy ride last Thursday it has rekindled XC riding again, my local loop from Athelstaneford village up over the Garltons then along the Tyne to East Linton is a nice route, Athelstaneford is famous for a very special flag...
10 minutes after taking these pictures the heavens open as i climbed up the ridge road, but the warm temperatures made for a fun 2 hours ride, and arriving home i was filthy, but happy -:), riding from home in this weather is the best idea as you can hose the bike down then strip off manky gear and get showered straight away,
Some film of the trails, soaked and over grown and slippy under summer semi slicks...
I have been thinking about getting a drop bar big wheel bike for commuting and faster A-B speeds for a while, drop bar for cycling into the winds we often get here in the flat(ish) centre of the County, and more road speed for going to the shops/visiting parents/friends etc...
I don't want a pure road bike as the roads around here are quite rough and there are always new pot holes appearing, i also want a bike that can take panniers without my size 11 feet getting heel contact like on MTBs, moving the panniers back to clear always make the handling even worse,
Cyclocross bikes like the Surly Cross Check spring to mind, but i think i would end up using it off road too much and end up wrecking it,
So maybe Surlys Tourer the Long Haul Trucker, both these bikes are very versatile in typical Surly Bikes style and have good tyre clearance and mudguard/rack mounts etc...
However I'm not to keen on the parts spec of both and i remembered a bike of a friend, sold to another friend, which was supposedly for sale,
An icon British tourer, hand made in England from finest steel,
Bought for less than a years road tax of a Ford Fiesta plus dog sitting Andrews German Short Haired Pointer Pup for a week, i am now the proud owner of a British racing green mid 1990s Dawes Super Galaxy...
The bike has its original MTB Shimano deore LX gears and brakes which i like, as i understand!, chainrings,cassette and chain were replaced but used once...
I have spent about £100 getting the bike rolling, i fitted new Schwalbe Marathon 700 x 32mm tyres and Continental 28" Scrader tubes so i could add some Stans Juice to help eliminate punctures, both items reduced in the CRC sale,
i fitted a B17 Brooks saddle and a frame pump i was given, the frame has a headtube lug for the pump,
Also in a sale a pair of On One Midge bars at £15 give a nice comforable bar, i managed to re use the leather bar tape, the bar end shifters are original...
I needed a seatbag for tools and stuff so bought a Carradice Barley bag...
Carradice are another old English bicycle company, who like Brooks make some nice stuff...
The bag is a bit bigger than i thought but means i dont need a pannier for commuting, theres enough room in there for waterproofs,
i needed to space the bag out from the seat tube as my legs were touching it, maybe because i cycle with a very high seat post/straight leg,
The bag,seat and bars suit the classic looks of the bike, and like people who talk about ride quality of a classic steel bike, it does ride really smooth, unbelievably smooth on the bumpy tarmac country roads, and it corners like its on rails,
a dynamo front hub and lights are going on in the future,
Im really pleased with this bike and its ride, definitly will be a keeper...
After last weekends Friday bivvy at Holy Island i decided to go have a ride along the Northumberland coast across from the Island and again bivvy then return next morning,
High tide times were all wrong with a 8.15pm high tide but it was a weekend off for me and i have the bivvy bug again and wanted to get away,
Being August it is now the English holidays and i knew the beaches would be packed with folk so i made a plan to ride mid evening to sunset, bivvy from dark to pre-sunrise, pack up and ride out back to the car, this way i should have quiet(er) beaches and solve the problem of a small section of coastal path between the last beach and planned camp site that is marked on the OS map as a footpath,
In England it is of course verboten to cycle on them, so it would have to be a beach blitzrieg/viking raid (minus the rape and pillage) and only my tracks would be left, As it would turn out there were lots of cycle tracks on that 2 short footpath so i don't know why i was worrying...
Everywhere down here on the coast is pay and display but i parked west of Bamburgh where there were no signs and rode down onto the coast at Budle Bay,
with the tide in the sand was soft in places and slow going down on low gears...
Onto the big beach at Bamburgh and there is the most dominating feature of the skyline, Northumberland is famous for its coastline of big beaches and castles, and Bamburgh is one of the most impressive, here i also saw these WW2 coastal defence anti tank blocks painted as dice!...
Further along and some good beach art...
Up on the dunes are two WW2 machine gun pill boxes, two of many i would see...
Another half mile or so of beach to the small seaside harbour and holiday town of Seahouses...
looking out to the Farne Isles...
Seahouses is a busy holiday small town, it has loads of fish and chip shops and there was the roar of a fairground, i pressed on and dropped onto another beach to a lovely wee place with a nice harbour, Beadnell Bay...
Where i was treated to an amazing sunset...
Another shot from along Beadnell beach on top of the dunes...
Then it was a race against the light along Beadnell beach and down to Low Newton-by-the-Sea...
Planned bivvy stop was ahead at the ruins at Dunstanburgh Castle...
Along a path past a complete WW2 machine Gun Pill Box and up below the ruins...
Looks like no ones at home... -:)
Stove on, unpack and have some pancakes and honey with a mug of tea, yum,
It got dark quite quick and being up since 5.30am for work i was asleep in no time...
Up at 4am and packed up pre-sunrise...
As i rode along below the beach holiday chalets to Low-Newton-by-Sea there was the sun coming up between a cloud bank...
It was real quiet and not a soul about...
Onto Beadnell beach and only a friendly dog walker on the whole beach,
there was a nice sky looking across the bay towards the harbour...
And then the sky erupted in a gold glow as the sun popped out from behind the cloud...
Beadnell Harbour...
From Beadnell i took the road the few miles to ride through a deserted and peacefull Seahouses and dropping down onto the beach i enjoyed firmer sand on a now wider beach with the 3/4 incoming tide...
A dead baby Porpoise lay on the high tideline,washed in last night...sad to see...
Offshore the Farne isles glowed in the morning sun...
I only met a few early rise dog walkers from here all the way along the shoreline passing below Bamburgh Castle, and you know what?, everyone said morning and was friendly and All of them put there dogs on leads when i neared,
something a lot of dog walkers don't do here in East Lothian...
Eider Ducks, The UK's heaviest and fastest flying ducks...
Nearing Bundle Bay i caught a glimpse of something i missed riding out, a big WW2 Gun emplacement up above the dunes...
The construction below it i have not seen one before and unsure what it is ...
And that was a great ride, there is another short overnighter bivvy ride to do near here out to Ross Point sometime...
I was back at car for 7.30am and away before the world had a awoken!...
The Dusk/bivvy/dawn ride out Beach Blitzrieg idea worked great and i was back home and unpacked, all cleaned up for 10am!, and by midday it was raining sideways as was forecasted,
Northumberland has a nice scenic coast, though quite soft going at high tide for cycling, the views make up for the effort, also friendly folk, and i have been told much better fish & chip shops!,
The access laws In England of where to cycle are frustrating compared to Scotland`s Open access (with responsibility) and there seems to be `Private` signs everywhere esp around houses and free parking (or overnight parking) is hard to find anywhere near its coast,
Small grumbles for the stunning coastal scenery,
But there is a lack of stuff to see on the big open beaches that we find at home like shells and driftwood and odd things etc washed in on the tides...
I think were maybe a bit spoiled for the variety and often empty coastlines north of the border in Scotland...
I live in East Lothian, S.E. Scotland.
I fill my time with my hobbies, interests and passions. Often cycling along the coast here. I ride steel bikes with big wheels, I like to enjoy all interests of the coast, Its scenery, wildlife, local history, with my other interests in art and music when out and about...
I was diagnosed with Relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis in August 2018, it`s early days but i plan to continue to live my life as i have and show that having a medical condition like MS does not mean you need to stop enjoying your life,
Please excuse the bad grammar, i am working on it!
