im coastkid and im a sand cycling addict...
i cant get enough beach time on the pugsley this now,im loving it,maybe also because everything is so damp and muddy this now,the country roads to work,the ground at work is pretty sticky underfoot,the leaf covered trails too,not much drying this now and a real dampness in the air..,while the beach is so clean,unfortunately the weather forcast didnt look promising at all...
forcast for the weekend was winds and gales satuarday,calmer though on sunday,
satuarday turned out nice as the approaching black front of rain missed the coast and passed over the lammermuir hills to the south inland,i had abandoned the beachride i had planned further down the coast as i want to make a film there so will probably go mid week when im on a winter weeks holidays soon,and the tides were all wrong too with high tides midday over the weekend,so it wasnt until 1pm i went down the coast,an hour after hightide,i opted for the 6 miles of country roads rather than the saturated muddy trails of late to ride directly out to the reserve again leaving midday at the time of high tide but this time on different trails from the usual favourites,stopping after the bridge i read the newsletters posted to see whats going about this now..
the reserve was scotlands first local nature reserve...
i headed out onto the coastline after a bit filming which is mostly rough grass with sand pools between,not the best riding but a change of route...
then instead of riding round the coast i rode through below the big grassy dunes to the WW2 coastal defence anti aircraft battery which is nearly covered by sand now,it will be gone in a few years time if not dug out which would be a shame,along a bit are the anti tank blocks...
some have writing on them from when they were made in 1942...
here is a picture of them being made during 1942...a sentry stands gaurd over a POW..
there are lots of sandy paths along the tops of the nature reserve dunes ridable on the pugsley...
it was nearly sunset by 4pm...
irode along some sandy trails through the tops of the dunes-about 60feet up,some bits are too narrow to cycle and the pedals dig in but mostly it is ridable on the pugsley,i filmed riding the dunes and descended down onto the beach with only 3 people out walking...
i was only riding along to freshwater haven anyway then cutting through the estate there towards home but i hung around on the beach for the sunset..
just below gullane cliffs was a marker bouy washed up so i walked out to have a look, its from seacliff about 10 miles down the coast and must have broke loose in the recent swell...
with the light fading i headed along the coast from gullane towards yellowcraig filming the cool trials type rocky trail along to freshwaterhaven beach...
leaving the beach i rode through the estate woods to dirlton village for the road home,sun now set...
so i was suprised to hear at this time of day a familiar noise and put the foot down to get alongside to film something a bit diffrent,and a nice end to an afternoons ride...
Yet again some fantastic views there.
ReplyDeletehi redbike,yep its a lovely coastline indeed, little visited considering so close to edinburgh,only sunday affys get busy!,
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