Keith, Paul and I arrived at Glasgow Green at 7am, and joined the queue that stretched in front of us, leading to the start of the 100 mile Pedal for Scotland Ride.
The ride was from Glasgow Green to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh via Kilmarnock.
We had decided to ride as a group of 3 for the first 20-or-so miles, and see how we felt after that, then decide what we were going to do.
The rain that was promised hadn't appeared by the time we crossed the start line at 7.15am, and the sun was trying to break through.
The roads out of Glasgow left a lot to be desired, with a lot of pot holes. Every set of traffic lights seemed to turn to red as we approached them.
After about 15Km I had pulled in front of the other two, with Paul further behind Keith. Then the heavens opened. This combined with the strong wind made for an unpleasant ride.
I tried to put on my jacket while riding, but the wind kept on catching it, so i decided it was safer to stop and put it on.
Keith caught and passed me while I was doing this. I tried to bridge the gap he had made, but he was now sheltered in a large group, and i was being battered by the strong head wind on my own, so no chance of that happening.
I peddled on until another group caught me, and i joined them. After doing my turn at the front, I made my way to the back where I was reunited with Paul once more.
After a few miles, the rest of the group fragmented, and it was Paul and I on our own all the way to the first food stop at Louden.
I wasn't planning on stopping at Louden, but Paul had an upset stomach and needed to use the toilets. We had been working well together so I decided to wait for him, and replenish the gels I had consumed so far.
I lost about 5 mins here, but i reckoned I'd easily make that up working with Paul rather than being on my own.
The next section towards Muirkirk was tougher than the section from Glasgow had been. It was now a side wind, and the rain horizontal. The road surface left a lot to be desired too. Paul had fallen behind again until i dropped all my gels on the road while trying to get one out of my pocket. By the time i'd picked them up, he was on my tail again.
The next section towards Muirkirk was tougher than the section from Glasgow had been. It was now a side wind, and the rain horizontal. The road surface left a lot to be desired too. Paul had fallen behind again until i dropped all my gels on the road while trying to get one out of my pocket. By the time i'd picked them up, he was on my tail again.
From Muirkirk, the road headed East and there was a bit of a tail wind. The road twisted and turned over the moor, so with every corner, there was a different wind direction to contend with. Again, for most of this section I was on my own battling the elements.
By the time i reached the next feed station and the 50 mile mark at Douglas, Paul was no where to be seen. I decided not to stop as i was feeling comfortable, and I needed to make up some time if I was ever going to catch Keith. The rain had now eased to a light drizzle, but with the wind, it felt heavy at times.
The next section I was familiar with, having grown up in the area. There was a nice tail wind until the turning south for Carmichael. This is the steepest climb i've ever ridden, but fortunately not too long. The photographer, half way up,was all the motivation i needed to make it to the top without pushing.
The route then headed North East, finally reaching Carnwath and the last feed station at 75 miles. A quick replenishment, and I was on my way again on the Lang Whang.
The Lang Whang is the road from Carnwath to Edinburgh. It's a bit lumpy, but with a tailwind for almost all the way, it was very fast. I even ran out of gears descending a couple of times. (My GPS was reading 55kmph!)
The Lang Whang is the road from Carnwath to Edinburgh. It's a bit lumpy, but with a tailwind for almost all the way, it was very fast. I even ran out of gears descending a couple of times. (My GPS was reading 55kmph!)
I then reached Balerno and the city traffic, something i'm not use to living and cycling in the Borders. Although it was fun, i'm not sure I could do it every day. I did see one rider lying on the road after being knocked off his bike by a car. There were already 4 other riders looking after him, so i continued on my way through the traffic eventually arriving at Murrayfield,
What a grand finish arriving at the home of Scottish Rugby was.
I really enjoyed my first long distance event, and will definitely do more in the future
I'm very happy with 153km or 94miles in around 6 hours.
Keith was about 30 mins faster, with Paul around 20 mins slower
A map of the route can be found here
