Saturday Run to Bothy

On the 1st Saturday of each month there is a run to the Bothy. With wet snow and slippy roads I held off a bit but eventually headed there along the Bogside at first then up by Ruthven where it was very slippery in places.
Kept on along by Shanzie where cycling was ok in the fresh snow but treacherous in the car tracks. Finally got to the bottom of the Hill of Alyth where the road was a bit better but with some rutted ice to contend with. Nobody at the bothy; no big surprise. Was getting the fire on and the bacon on the go when Ian turned up.
Got the place nice and cozy, couple of bacon rolls and tea then headed home back down the icy hill to the 5 ways roundabout at Alyth where the roads were clear all the way to Meigle and along main road to Forfar.

Looking out from the Bothy

Cold and icy looking Isla

Wednesday Evening Pub Run

It was a fine evening, quite cold but hardly a breath of wind as three of us(Charlie, Dave, and Gus) and  headed out to Memus by BattleDykes, Justinhaugh, and Baldoukie. Ron, Tom, and Keith were already there. The log fire warmed us up and we had a fine evening before heading home by Shielhill Bridge and Hornycross.

Sunday Run to Montrose

Sunday started off dry but the air was cold and damp as six of us set off to Montrose.

Always looking for a slightly different route we headed out by Shielhill Bridge and continued on by Baldoukie and Careston. There was a bit of a stiff climb out of Careston followed by a long descent into Brechin.Once past Taranty we turned up the Hill of Stracathro then down by Muir of Pert  to Gallery where we crossed over the North Esk and into Marykirk.

Turning off the main road at Taranty

Heading up the Hill of Stracathro

Sheltering at Morphie Farm

Looking down towards Morphie Mill

Descending from Stone of Morpie

Turning right towards the coast we then climbed high above the Esk into a chill breeze that turned into squall. There was a sharp descent into the Den of Morphie followed by a steeper climb out, and once at the top we regrouped and sheltered for a few minutes at Morphie Farm. Another descent with fine views of the river took us down to the Mill then back up again to the Stone of Morphie. With the weather looking wild over the sea we dropped down again to the viaduct to have a look at the recently completed cycle path. A short dirt track took us on to the old railway viaduct then along a grit path above the main road and along by the old aerodrome. As it was wet and miserable we chose not to follow the path down by the shore and instead joined the main road into Montrose and along to Tesco for some food and hot drinks. With little improvement in weather we opted for the direct route home and enjoyed a tail wind all the way.

The next Wednesday Night Run (1st February)  is to the Drovers Inn at Memus .
The Sunday run on 5th February will be down to riverside in Dundee. The route home will depend on the weather.