A Grand Day Out...

So i posted an invite to a rideout on MTBscotland and Singletrack world mountainbike forums for a days riding here in East lothian for Sunday,out an estimated 20 riders 15 turned up on 14 bikes...puzzeled?...Jeremy came on his Tandem!,i worked out a route in my head which could be shortened here and there if weather,bike breakdowns or stuff occurred but we ended up having a trouble free day bike wise and was blessed with Indian summer style weather despite a cool North easterly straight off the coast...
but first saturday i was down the coast at for 7am to trim a few branches on the secret trail...moon was still out when i left...
yep i haven't ever seen a field of Pumpkins before in East Lothian either...

was a lovely morning...


back home and it was off to the shops for essentials...jelly babies,whiskey and cake...lots of cake...

Sunday dawned cloudy as forecast but dry..clear out to sea and offshore wind i knew it would later clear as it did...with everyone arrived who could make it we headed up onto the Garlton Ridgeroad...

at the top of the climb at Barney Hill a few sips of Hip flasks and sweets while we had a breather...then we headed to descend down to Haddington through the roadside woods...time to switch on the camera`s...here a rear view mount under the seat...



East of Haddington an old road descends from Trapain Law to Hailes Castle...

dual power!



then it was along the Hailes trail to East Linton...some film...



alongside the River Tyne east of East Linton...

and joining the John Muir Way we winged it to the cafe at Tyningham for food...


the cafe is in the old blacksmiths beside the now closed village Post Office...

Jeremys cannondale tandem..had a wee shot and its real different to a regular bike...has a big turning circle!...i really like it...

Earl Grey tea for me today (old chap...)

then it was off down to the coast to show everyone some of the coastal scenery here...think they were impressed...



i was impressed at all the MTb`s in East Lothian...bet this is the biggest organised ride around here ever...

all this was on video...including the secret trail...




riding the rocks while we re-group...


next through Binning Woods heading for Sherriff Hall woods and The JMW again...



caught on camera...



stopping off at mine for more tea,coffee & cake!

then the last of the trails back to drem railway station...


we rode 55Km...over 6 hours...
pinched this via Andrew...via Tim!...

and we all felt tierd...riding home alone again i hoped everyone went away having enjoyed my local trails...North Berwick tp Tyningham and inland to Haddington has become my backyard since moving to the centre of here and im really glad...and lucky to live here and have all this accessable countryside on my doorstep...


have a read through the thread i posted for this ride...gives you an indication of the friendship and humour of these guys...organising lifts etc...some great pics from friends and a pic of me on the Tandem!
Singletrack World Forum...
great folk to spend a day biking with...

First Light...

Last week i have been watching recorded documentaries on the Battle of Britain shown as part of the 70th anniversary of the the Battle week.
One such programme was a BBC drama documentary about Geoffrey Wellum, who at 19 years was the Youngest RAF fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940...


The film is based on his memoirs published as a book `First Light`...


Here is another youtube upload about the programme...



He flew with 92 Squadron during the battle,
Wellum would not only survive that summer but also received the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his bravery...


Wellum would later fight over Malta and survived the war,
Now aged 89 he describes himself as `a survivor` not a hero...

I copied the film and have uploaded some of the highlights as i know outside of the UK you cant watch BBC I player, sound quality isn't very good I'm afraid,
Narrated by Geoffrey the film recreates his first flight in a Supermarine Spitfire,
You can sense the Adrenaline and rush of the that first flight in his Spit, at the time the fastest fighter in the world, an all metal construction 1000 bhp interceptor mono plane fighter, Wellum narrates the feeling of flight...



More training on the ground and flying hours then he was posted to duty,
Then his first combat with his Squadron and his lucky escape, as he discovered the 14.3 seconds of ammunition doesn't last very long, and he was lucky to survive being pounced on by a German Messerschmitt ME 109...

You really get a feeling of the fear those young men must of felt, in fact you have to wonder just what was going through there minds as they waited at there Dispersal huts for that phone to ring with the order to scramble, and then as a group of 12 they would fly up to often face 200-500 axis forces Bombers and fighters...


The odds were against the RAF but these young men's bravery would over the summer of 1940 help to turn the tide of the war for Britain...



Whatever side they were on they were all heroes...

Heart of Darkness...cycling,Whiskey and jelly babies...

wednesdays evenings TBC pentlands hills rideout was a cracker...
Was a smaller turn out by us guys than the girls who meet at Bonaly store at the foot of the Pentland Hills on the edge of Edinburgh,
we had a great ride via Allermuir hill as it got proper dark...my photos didnt really turn out too well but the view over the glow of a street lit Edinburgh was cool...

as was the gusty wind up there and cloud blowing through...



the desent N.E. of the summit was one to remmember...bombing down a steep grassy trail into the dark the 2 riders in front were ahead that i could only see with my own light and the rear tyre on the 29er was locking up on the wet grass and i was speeding up down a trail i hadnt before ridden with the seat up full height... to say i was buzzing as the trail levelled out was an understatement...as was everyone else judgeing by the yells and screams from behind...despite all getting front or rear or both wheel slides and cross rutting we all got down upright which is good...need to get that descent on film in daylight...
was quite a climbing ride with a bit pushing but a sociable ride for being so...
jelly babies and a nip out a Hip flask is great for bonding friendships....
heres a climbing graph i pinched from friend Rob`s flickr page...

i tried my camera in woods later filming friends riding by and it filmed ok so next time i will need to go ahead and film riders passing to put together a night ride film... name the tune then!



some good pictures and some film up on Allermuir Hill here on friend Robs Flickr page

Sunday Trails...

After a lazy Saturday at Home out in the man cave getting the pugsley ready for this winters beach riding i headed out around trails in Mid lothian with 4 friends on sunday for some woodland singletrack biking...
The trails through the woods here seem to go on forever...

well they take about 5-15 minutes to ride then its not long to the next trail...
overnight heavy rain left a slick slippy surface and we all had the odd dab and slide...
takes a few rides to get back into the way of feeling the bike sliding about under you...still big grins all round...




still alot of stubble fields out here..harvested later than on the coast...

trails were muddy but temperture was warm and it dryed off the overhanging branches as the day wore on..


a short road section took us onto the old railway line past Roslin station and a lunch break near the old chapel above the wooded glen...



for me salad and a can of cider!...

next was the trail that descends into the glen via steep switchbacks and is muddy in places and a couple of fallen trees and climb out via steep steps...



it takes over 20 minutes to ride,half an hour today with a puncture to fix...

heres a film of some of that trail...Youtube wouldnt upload the song so on vimeo...love The Cure...song is parentry (extended)
am amazing trail...

some of the excellent woodland singletrack in Mid Lothian

miles of smiles today...



we rode for 6 hours and had a great day,thanks Andrew for leading and good coffee and Tea with biccy`s...
my turn to lead a ride out around East Lothian next week...