Midweek catch up... Ready for Forth Fat...

All the T-shirts from previous East Coast Fatbike Gatherings, including the first Gathering at Holy Island...

One more day at work then it`s Forth Fat Fatbike Gathering 2017!,
Ready to roll here, with just one more day at work, some pics this week...

Monday i loaded the new Surly Pugsley to take to North Berwick to sell, it`s off to a good home as friend Markus`s brother Matthias has bought it, and Markus is flying it out to Germany this week for him.
Matthias did not need a test ride as he has already ridden the bike having borrowed it for the Capital Trail event last October.
I have probably rode under 100 miles on the bike since then as i only really ride my original Surly Pugsley Fatbike that has both 29+ and Fat wheels, and the new Surly Wednesday which now also has a pair of +wheels.  Time to thin the fleet and pay off money owed and move on...

Built up the other spare Surly 29+ Rabbit Hole rim and Surly Ultra 135mm hub this week to use as a front 29+ wheel for my old Pugsley... previously i was sharing the front 29+ wheel between both Pugsley`s...

Friend Colin popped round yesterday evening for a loan of a tool to get his Pugsley cranks fixed for this weekend and i had him grinning after a spin around the street on my Pashley Speed 5 :)

Car to work today and around the coast to North Berwick, blossom is out on the trees, like the Cherry trees at Whitekirk church...

Lovely morning views...

Be a few tyre tracks on the beaches around here by next Monday!...

Busy day at work with usual jobs...

And also prepping for this weekend`s CANTEEN Street Food Festival,  Link here...

The Forth Fat posse is stopping by here for the air display at 2pm and a bite to eat and a pint of Ale from the resident KNOPS Brewery...

Got some `me time` this evening to chill out as things kick off tomorrow-Thursday evening when arrivals will be around North Berwick.
All those popping up for one or more days have a safe journey here and see you on the beaches...

More soon...

Surly Wednesday, first ride with the 650B+ wheels...

A planned day on trails with the Surly Wednesday i cut short after i managed to have a big off leaving  a sore grazed arm, hey ho.. but still it was a good first impression of how the Wednesday rides with 27.5+ wheels...

Everywhere is still bone dry despite a short downpour on Friday afternoon, first irrigaters  i have seen this year were watering potato fields...

I headed along the John Muir Way (JMW) turning back to the farm to let someone know one of there calves had got out the field!...

I planned to do some film riding through the Craig Wood and infact filmed the whole wood nearly to the little bridge after the off camber hill, the bike was riding nice with the 3" tyres and i was thinking just how drifty the trail was with all the dust and grit, i wanted to warn folk of the corner before the trail flattens out after the bridge and shouted out knowing you would here that in the film...

As if on purpose and i can deft say it was not! i lead by example and the front end washed out on gravel  and i went down like a sack of spuds!,  been a while since i have come off cycling and again your reminded your not 15 years old, 9 stone and made of rubber anymore!
I was rewarded with 2 small holes in the RH knee of my trousers and grazed knee and shin, and a nasty graze on my right forearm!...

And for pure entertainment value here is some film with the crash!
 if the quality is pixilating then click on the Vimeo tab to open on Vimeo, not sure why it is doing this


Surly Wednesday 650B , JMW and big off! from coastkid71 on Vimeo.



Best thing to do when you do something like this is keep riding because your going to stiffen up so i continued at a reduced speed! and rode a loop around the estate...

I was riding when i noticed i had trashed my coffee cup bell - nooo!!!

Springtime is nice in the woods but only before the nettles are up so today i cut through some of the many tracks still nettle free like this one from the dog cemetery...
`Song is 224th Day` by Working For A Nuclear Free City...


Surly Wednesday 650B+, Springtime in the woods  April 17 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


Leaving the estate i rode through another estate (Leuchie) and over Becky`s Strip Byway to Whitekirk,  i needed to get home and get the grazes cleaned so headed back happy with the bike...

Stopping for a `bike hanging from sign` pic Dave rolled up in his VW bus!...

Well cool...

Bike pic done it was home for a hot Redox bath with salt added to clean any dirt out the grazes, which nipped like hell!
Be back out mid week to do some marking for Sundays return route to NB  and will be fine by then...

Hope this high pressure weather continues!...

More soon...

Saturday Cycle to Seacliff

Spring has sprung, and the lambs are err lambing!...

:)

I rode down to Seacliff on Saturday with Craig to pre ride some of the route of next weekends Forth Fat Fatbike Gathering, on route we met friend Stuart, on his new Trek Farley 27.5 Fatbike riding south on Becky`s Strip Byway...

 

Quite a bike, and real light!, we left Stuart who was on an inland xc ride and we headed down to Seacliff where there was a ship offshore , and this rig out in the Forth...

With an overcast sky behind the Bass Rock came alive with Gannets visible...

This ship offshore had just anchored a new marker bouy...

Wee film riding to Seacliff,
Song is `The Sun Smells Too Loud` by Mowgli...


Saturday Cycle to Seacliff from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


Moving on from the harbour we rode along the beach at Seacliff before riding inland avoiding the incoming high tide...

Dropping back down onto the coast at Scoughall Farm and deserted beaches...

And the dunes at  Peffersands look sweet and ready to roll next Sunday...

View from St Baldreds Cradle before heading inland for home...

Tattie fields now sown...

Home and i did a few jobs including fitting the 27.5 (or 650B)  wheels to the Wednesday for a blast tomorrow...

Ready to Go...

More soon...

Week to Forth Fat Fatbike Gathering 2017...

Pic by Tommy - Netherlands `Patient Zero`  first Fatbike owner...


With a week to go until Forth Fat this weekend will be spent out pre running the weekends routes and   everything is ready to roll...

So just turn up on the days you can make it at the scheduled time ready to ride as the info recommends and enjoy the ride...

Details are opposite on the badged label, or for those short sited on large monitors click Here...

Midweek Cycle; Stuff the Rat Race!, a wee Detour commute...

After two days of the Rat race around the Edinburgh Bypass to attend a spraying training course i can honestly say who would want to do that every day!, i find it hilarious that people tear past at daft speeds in big luxury cars (always one person per car) to then sit in queueing traffic! lol!!
I personally have already said on here how happy i am to opted to stay out of that type of lifestyle,
I would not do that every day for twice or more my salary!, stuff that!,
If i wanted to work in Edinburgh then i would live there,  2 hours a day stuck in a car doing that?, no thanks!

Happy to be back to commuting by bike locally around 6 miles each way on relative quiet roads...

These boys heading off to prepare new fields for potato planting will soon slow down the odd car driving like a twat! :D

Anyway away from all that nonsense and with the days work done i headed for a wee loop through the grassy `Savanna` dunes on the Surly KramPug 29+, not a long loop in miles but with no one else around it was ace to have such a scenic place all to myself...

With views like this what`s not to like?, beats the rat race!...

Off road loop done i headed home,
With Boards of Canada playing on the iPod i just switch off and go into a relaxed kind of cycling meditation...
I describe it as `losing myself and finding myself`...  cycling is my Yoga? :)

Something about those farm wind turbines that catch my attention and i take my eyes off the road and transfix on them whirling away... all to the beat of BOC on my iPod...

Wee film riding through the dunes, as usual i now make films a max of 3 minutes long and edit songs to that length of film,
Song is `Music is Math`  by Boards of Canada...

Surly KramPug; Midweek detour commute April 17 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


More soon...