St Andrews 27/10/13

With the clocks changing we had an extra hour in bed and got up to bright morning after a night of heavy rain.  The first 20 minutes were fine then a brief rain shower forced the water proofs on.

We were heading on an unusual route to Dundee, up the Dundee Loan, a right turn to Douglastown then a left up the hill to Kincaldrum, and left along to the Glamis Rd.

Angela turned, heading for Kirrie the Gus turned off heading for Newtyle leaving three of us to take the long grind up Lumley Den crossing the dual carriageway then down to Burnside of Duntrune where we turned left passed through Balumbie Golf Coursethe Michelin Factory and down to the Tay Bridge.  We stopped at the cafe for a warm up and by the time we left the sun was out.  We took the reverse of the route we normally follow into St Andrews where we had, probably, the pepperiest bowl of soup ever in the Whey Patt.

Heading for home we were into the wind up to Strathkinness but then we had the wind behind us most of the way back to Forfar.  We had to stop to put the rain gear on just before the bridge and we had some pretty heavy showers to go through before we got home.

The light was beginning to fade as we entered Forfar  as we entered Forfar we had completed 73 miles, a good total for the day.  The route is here if you fancy giving it a go.

This coming Sunday the plan is Kirkmichael starting at 9:00am from the leisure centre.

AGM - Ardler & The Belmont Arms 20/10/13

With the clubroom still under repair from the flood we met in the Osnaburg with the club treating the membership to bacon rolls, tea & coffee - not something we could have in the clubroom.

Ron and Mary had previously announced that they were standing down as president and secretary so a change of leadership  was the main order of the day.  Charlie was nominated and accepted the position as President and Brian Batson moved from Vice President to Secretary and Raymond Moug is the new Vice President.

The rain had stopped and it was a nice mild day by the time we headed off from the Littlecauseway.  Ardler was the planned destination and we headed along the Bogside Rd at a gentle pace until the first of two punctures gave us a wee rest.

It was getting to opening time and there was a distinct change in the pace after the second stop.  The main group was just nearing Ardler when the breakaway 2 came back to us with the news that The Tav was not serving food today so a quick discussion on a new venue resulted in the Belmont Arms being chosen as the new venue.

We hadn't been there for a while so it was a welcome change. The Belmont Arms has gone through many changes over the years and is now back in the hands of the Kinpurnie Estate, if you have £1.5 M in your back pocket it could be yours along with 50 acres!

The bar staff set up a table for us and the food was fantatstic!  We headed back out into the sunshine for the 17 miles home at a steady pace getting back into Forfar just before four oclock.  A good day out!

Next week we meet at 9:00am for a run to St. Andrews.

Inversnaid Bunkhouse Weekend

The club descended on the Inversnaid Bunkhouse on the Friday with big Stewart the first to arrive by all accounts having left Ron's CTC tour nearby a little early.

Some travelled by bike, others by car and train or a combination of all three.  We sat down to a fine three course meal and were joined by a German who was walking the West Highland Way but did not know the bunkhouse was closed for the season we made him welcome before he retired to his tent for the night leaving the rest of us to enjoy some light refreshments.

A noisy night in some rooms had people up at all hours and after breakfast the groups headed out for the planned runs, the long run going to Callander via Aberfoyle, the others went down to Stronachlacher with some taking the boat down Loch Katrine and others cycling both ways before we all joined up back at Stronachlacher for a cuppee.  Then for some it was the pub at the Inversnaid Hotel and the steep climb up the hill back to the bunkhouse.

Another fine meal was served up in the evening and a quiz prepared to entertain us along with some additional entertainment from a hen party next door.  Brian thanked all the organisers, cooks and bottle wahers  for giving up there time to have everything run smoothly.

Sunday saw us head from home, with some biking to Comrie for another night, others having a bike ride in Callander and others straight from home.

St. Cyrus 29/09/13

Normally we would come back from St. Cyrus via the coast and Montrose to take advantage of the wind but today it was pretty light with a hint of sunshine so we headed down the Montrose Rd before  heading left towards Bridge of Dun stopping for a brief regroup and a breather in front of the House of Dun.

We had a wee bit of a climb into the wind after the Lower North Water Bridge and were into the Old Bakery Cafe at 24 miles just as the soup ready.  We had a huge bowl of soup and headed out into the sunshine and headed to the Hill of Morphie,  Swirlie Den the old hospital and then up Kirkton Hill, from Straightbraes farm we enjoyed a long gradual descent into Marykirk where we turned right then left onto the B9774 heading for Fetercairn passing a tea room at Balmakewan which will need investigating for the shorter winter runs.

We crossed the A90 still heading for Fettercairn turning left at Luthermuir and zigzagging past Primrosehill to the old base at Edzell Woods where we turned left down the footpath.  It was pretty rough but we negotiated it safely and crossed the old shakkin brigg.

The next destination was Finavon for a pint!  We headed for Little Brechin, Careston, down the long brea past Nether Balgillo and left into the Finavon Hotel where we rehydrated!

From the hotel we we headed back via Horneycross and into Forfar at just under 64 miles - the route is here if you fancy it

The Bothy 15/09/13

Arriving, on time for once, at a deserted leisure centre I thought everybody  was very keen  and had headed off early into the rain.  It was tempting to head home for a lazy day with a few newspapers and rolls from the shop when Charlie arrive.d saying he wouldn't normally go out in the rain but as it was only to the Bothy he wold give it a go.  We reckond that Ron would go straight there, Dave was Audaxing in the borders, Gus was sleeping in and the rest had seen enough of the rain on their 10 day tour to the west coast.

As well as the rain there was a strong south westerly wind so we decided on the Bogside Rd for a wee bit of shelter, that worked well and we stayed on this road for a while before turning right up past the remains of Ruthven Castle and stopping at the bridge over the River Isla at Dillavaird.

From the Bridge we headed through Alyth u by the Den of Alyth and turning right up the steep brae to Newton of Bamff then down the Alyth Glen Isla road, as we approached the Bridge of Craigisla we met Ron who was leaving the bothy.  It didn't take much persuading for him to come in for another cup of tea and a warm up at the fire.  Lee joined us in the Bothy having cycled up from Glamis.  Lee was heading straight back and the three of us headed for Kirriemuir getting soaked in a heavy shower of rain the dried out by the sun and wind.

We stopped for a cup of tea at Ron's house where Pat showed her new map of of the Callander area and the routes for the bunkhouse weekend.  From Ron's we headed back to Forfar via Ballindarg and Drumgley.

A short day and home early afternoon, just 40 miles for the day with just a couple of testing little hills.  The route is here if you fancy giving it a go.

Finavon on Wednesday and a VC's surprise next Sunday!

Dunning - 08/09/13

The sun was back out as we headed towards Kirriemuir from the leisure centre and much warmer than the previous two weeks.  Ron was back in action after having the stitches removed from his hand to make up a foursome.

We joined the Bogside Rd at Padi School with Ron taking us along at a steady pace, he was only going as far as Alyth so we all took the steady climb from Meigle up to the five road roundabout.  Ron headed into Alyth for a cuppee and the rest of us turned left for 5 miles on the A road into Blairgowrie and on down to towards Perth.  The road was pretty busy and we were glad to turn off tight and across the bridge over the Tay.  After a brief refueling stop at 27 miles  we carried on round by the Ballathie House Hotel to Stanley and Luncarty and the bridge over the A9 to Methven via Pittcairngreen.

A brief pause before we crossed the A85 and down Station Rd heading for Findo Gask. As we crested the hill and the trees cleared we were afforded fantastic views down Perthshire to Stirling, it was a pretty steep twisty descent down to Broom of Dalreach where we crossed the A9 and got on the road to Dunning.

The stop for lunch was more than welcome after 50 miles.  We got some supplies at the shop and a found a wee spot  in the shelter.  Refueled we headed for Perth and a couple of steep testing climbs before enjoying a long descent into and through the Fair City.  We took a route to avoid the worst of the junctions and traffic and passed through without incident.

The never pleasant grinding 400' climb from the Bridges up to the aerodrome was next but we had a slight breeze behind us from time to time to ease us on our way.  The road was busy and it was a relief to turn right at the MacDonald Arms in Balbeggie and get on oto the B and uncassified roads back to Forfar.  Charlie took to the front through Kinrossie and the hamlets of Saucher, Campmuir and Kettins flew by before we had a wee breather.  It was only our third stop of the day, after 76 miles we had only had 29 stationary minutes including this one!

We headed straight for Newtyle and home and had a rare sighting of a red squirrel just before Balkeerie.  We rolled back into Forfar at 91.99 miles, the fourth longest run of the year.  The route is here if you would like to try it.

Cupar 01/09/13

Autumn arrived with a cold start today, putting a few folks off going out.  Ron was at the leisure centre but was recovering from an operation on his hand so was not going out.  This left just three of us to head to the Kingdom of Fife for a run to Cupar.  Thankfully it was not raining but there was a strong wind from the south west and we had to pedal just to keep moving down Carrot Hill as we headed for Dundee.

 We stopped for a roll and a hot drink at the Tay Bridge Cafe before heading for Strathkinness and the second climb of the day.  From Strathkinness we turned right and into the wind for a couple of miles.  We turned right at Pitscottie a mile early to get a bit of shelter but it was a busy B road into Cupar.  Unlike Forfar, Cupar has hardly any Cafes and both were shut so we headed up to Cairnie Fruit Farm.  It was a steep climb and felt more than the 10% warning sign which was at the top!

We were lucky with our timing as it got really busy just after we tucked in to large bowls of pasta soup and strong coffee, it was certainly welcome after 40 miles!  After warming up we headed for home, it was cold but there were some climbs to come to warm us up.  The wind was generally behind us so we warmed up fairly quickly, a brief stop before we headed over the bridge into the wind, we were buffeted by the wind but it was not as bad as we feared!

From the Tay we headed up through Stobie past the Morgan and  out to Fintray, Bridge of Duntrune, as we climbed up Todhillswe discussed the route home.  Normally it would be via Glamis from this point but Charlie suggested Nether Finlarg, it is a dead end but there is a farm track which takes you through and down to the Inverarity road.  From there we headed straight back to Forfar over the Whirlies and had planned to head in via the Farm track but there must have been an event on as the rod was clogged up so we went down to the Glamis Rd and in via McDonalds.

Back into Forfar we had completed just under 70 miles and climbed nearly 4000'.  The route is here if you fancy a lumpy day!

This coming week is Dunning, meet up 9:00am at the leisure centre.