Al Training ride 06 April 2013

Well the aim of the ride today was to reach the sea. Recon that will be a challenge for Bobby to replicate ;0)

I looked on Google maps to see what was the quickest route to the coast (the firth of Forth), great its 15 miles… Perfect thought I. Route to the Sea

Looked at the map and reckoned it would be a great cycle to the coast and once there I can take a pics for the blog and then uphill all the way back. Grind….

I decided to add a wee bit more weight today. Upped it to 18Kg. Recon this will be fairly close to what I will be carrying in Skye but I will have to do as Bobby has and weight out the kit to be sure.

I set off and wend down to the Union Canal, an old favourite from last year’s canal path training.

View along the Union canal

 The cycle along the tow path would be bliss, the wind behind me and on the flat…. BUT…. I had forgotten about the pedestrians and there dogs, prams, children, etc. I was ruining the bell and saying “Thank you” a lot. I always feel saying “Thank you” to the people you pass is a good move and some have told me it is refreshing to have it said.

Its a busy place

Once in town I turned off the tow path and on to the city roads. As I was passing Tynecastle football stadium (home of Hearts) I hear the biggest roar I have heard in many a year (The won 3-1 I believe).

City cycling. This is where I heard the roar

I then wound my way down to the Roseburn Path near the Murryfield stadium. Murryfield stadium is where Bobby and I finished out Glasgow to Edinburgh ride a few years ago.

View back to Murryfiled

The paths through Edinburgh run along the old railway network and are great. Also my route was generally downhill. I got to the 15 mile mark and had not come to the sea but to the very nice Victoria Park…. Where did I go wrong? There had been a fork in the path a few miles back that I had taken but decided it was the wrong way and doubled back to this route. I realised I had got it wrong. Darn it. I could smell the sea but I had a fixed time to be home by so I stopped for a drink of Hot chocolate. Actual Route

The ride back felt a lot longer as it was a constant uphill until I made it back to the tow path but then I was head to the wind so it felt just the same. I kept plugging away and kept the average speed up.

The canal had some lovely sites and I did stop a few times to take pics.

Stats

Distance: 32 Miles

Cycling Time: 2hr 39mins

Total Time: 3hrs 10mins
Average Speed: 11.7mph

Max Speed: 26.6mph
Extra Weight: 18Kg

Wine Gums: 5 (yum yum in my tum)

The maps are split to reflect the slightly different return route I took as I had run out of time.

scrub a dub dub....

On the 7^th April I did some bike maintenance and my wife took this pic of me cleaning the rear wheel. I went on to adjust the front breaks, replace the rear brakes, remove and clean the rear freewheel then clean and re-oil the chain. It was all needed as it had been about a month since the last maintenance session but at least this time it could be done in the sun.

Bobby and I have also agreed the route for the cycle and I have added it to the home page of the blog.

Also Bobby has arranged for us to support the Neaves Fund charity this year. I have also added that to the home page with the donate link.

Also I have moved some of the posts on to separate pages on the blog to make them easier to find.

Well that it for now.

Al