Friday Night Coast Bivvy...

So how to cram loads into a weekend off?, beach ride, sunset pics, bivvy, and getting on with some landscaping in the garden - a result of a project planned for winter brought forward due to 2 weekends off riding bikes with an injured toe and a chest virus cough that has been slow to shift, not to mention poor weather for July. Also i have been wanting to get some early morning photos of my old home village of Aberlady for a future `Now and Then` blog post...

I decided to do a bivvy on the coast Friday after work and packed the pugsley frame bag and added water bottles on the forks and the bivvy on the home made bar mount and 1 season sleeping bag on the rear rack for a back pack free set up.
Delayed by a bit of faffing and this week a growing interest in watching the Tour de France on TV as history being made with Britain's Bradley Wiggins the first British winner of the worlds hardest bicycle race - now i am not a Lycra road rider but you have to don your hat to the riders of this event, and it could not have been won more impressively than Wiggos team supported ride and his time trial stage wins...

Finally i got rolling after 8pm, an overcast sky was forecast to clear and towards the coast a sunset looked promising..

`Think i will take a short cut` i thought to avoid the main road down to the former WW2 RAF Drem airfield...

Bad idea as after all the rain of Wednesday a border around a potato field started off dry then turned to swamp, the sticky clay soil stuck to the pugs tyres to the extent that i had to push the bike out and even the front wheel started to jam, the weight was unreal!...

Not to worry as i knew of a nearby hose at the stables around the old airfield and hosed the bike down as well as my boots. Onto Gullane and up to the top of the hill, golfers enjoyed the warm calm evening...

Looking good for a sunset...

Then it started to happen, the sky started to change colour and that red glow appeared...

Down to the rock at Jophies Neuk and the setting sun slipped down below the cloud line...

Onto the beach...

I rode along the tide line towards the sub wrecks. As you will know i do take and upload pictures on my cheap Canon compact on Auto setting and do not use photo shop etc...
The light was amazing...

With the sun set in around 10 minutes the glow moved from the water onto the clouds...

1 minute film which captures the amazing light...

The Remains of a Ford Model T is raised out of the sand this now showing the engine...

One careful owner... just needs a little TLC... -:)

Doing a loop i returned to the rock at Jophies Neuk above the sea and rolled out the Bivvy kit, an Alpkit Hunka XL bag and Karrimor 1 season travel bag, no need for a thermorest with the soft grass for comfort...

Sat for ages wave watching, love this, you become emerged in the rhythm of the sea...

With a cool wind getting up i grabbed the bivvy kit and bike and walked over to the next cove to get out the wind, set up i got in the bivvy with a rock on my back and sat up for another hour to midnight sipping on Glenmorangie and listened to Boards of Canada on the I pod as the waves rolled in...
Around 3 hours sleep and i was up at 3.30am pre sunrise...

I had to forget something and it was the windshield for the stove, still attached to the larger canister i use for car camping, no matter, i boiled some water for an instant porridge, these are ace, wrapped in some cling film it can be used when finished to keep your frame bag clean, more water boiled for a cup of hot chocolate as i packed up...

 Packed up i rode across the Reserve as it got light...

Light was very flat but that would soon change...

Along at Sea Green at Aberlady again the light soon changed to a red glow as the sun started to rise, it was now after 5am...

With the street lights off and it light at 6am i took some pics of a deserted village for a future post,will post this soon...

Leaving the village to ride home, long shadows in the rising sun...

Through Drem ride and the view south over the Garlton Hills, it was as forecast going to be a lovely day...

Around the Peri track (perimeter) at the former WW2 RAF Drem airfield...

Click on the link for a film i made of this airfield that is quiet today but played an important part in WW2; RAF Drem Now and Then ...

Quiet today, this airfield was 71 years ago at the front line of defence on the Firth of Forth, as Spitfire and Hurricane Squadrons stationed here were scrambled daily to intercept the bombing raids on Roysth Docks and the Clyde by German bombers from occupied Norway...

For only one evening away from home i had soaked up a lot of scenery and in only 20 miles round trip as i headed for home the world slowly woke up to the day as traffic appeared on the roads, home for 7am for coffee and pancakes and then some work in the garden...