Saltire 200k Audax

Before yesterday, I had never ridden an Audax.  Before yesterday, I had not even ridden 100 miles, but when my wife suggested we (meaning I) decorate the bathroom, I needed to find something to do, and quickly.

A swift reply to my email from Martin confirmed I was able to ride his Saltire 200 permanent, so I popped the payment and envelopes in the post, and a couple of days later my card had arrived.
Coming from the Borders, I decided to start my ride from Innerleithen.  I checked the weather forecast before I left the house, and although it was to be dry, there were strong winds of up to 20mph expected  :o  I half thought of heading north to Musselburgh or North Berwick and starting from there so the hardest sections were early in the ride, but it goes against 'green' in me.

I got my receipt from the Co-op at the back of 8, and headed north up the Leithen water. It was dawn, and my lights were needed.  I was expecting to ride 'The Granites' but the route sheet took me right towards Heriot.

I reached the famous Ford at the border with East Lothian, but opted for the bridge rather than ride the rest of the way with wet feet.  :)  The road was really muddy here with all the farm traffic, almost unrideable, and the descent to the ford was fun :o

I was conscious that I needed to make good time on this section, so I was pressing on through the x-over point towards Haddington and Athlestaneford, reaching North Berwick in just over 2.5 hours.

Another Co-op and another receipt.  I was now on my way south-east, through the picturesque villages of Dirlton, Gullane (is this the windiest place in Scotland?), and Aberlady.  The wind was really strong here, and I passed several cyclists all heading in the opposite direction, all gave me a knowing nod. 
Next up were Cockenzie, Port Seaton and Prestonpans which were a bit more sheltered.  Finally, I passing the race course and arrived in the Honest Toon.
Greg’s this time for lunch and another receipt before heading south east towards Tranent.

Major road works in Tranent must have added 10 mins onto my journey.  :'(
I once more arrived at the x-over point between East and West Saultoun, where there was a vapour trail in the sky in the shape of the saltire.  Made me smile.

I then headed to Gifford and struggled with a wicked side wind, but this was nothing compared to the next 13 miles.

 I had never been on this road before, not even in a car.  I thought I’d ridden the toughest climbs in the South of Scotland, but not this one.  The 30mph head wind, and the 120km in my legs weren't helping either, and I was really struggling.  Just when you think the worst is over, another climb presents its self.  As I left East Lothian and crossed back into the Scottish Borders, I had a rest and re-fuelled.  This was the low point of the day, and with hindsight, It I probably should have left this for another day.

Anyway, I felt a whole lot better after the long descent into Longformacus, and was soon In Duns.
I have family who live in Duns.  I've been here 100's of times, so why couldn't I find the Co-op that I’ve used often?  After cycling round for 10 mines, I asked someone for directions and with another receipt in hand, was soon munching on some Tandoori Chicken Wings, washed down with some Irn Bru.

The next section back to Innerleithen was event free.  Shortly after Westruther, I had cycled my first ever 100 miles.  I celebrated with a cheer much to the annoyance of the sheep in a nearby field ;)  
I stopped in Lauder to put my lights on.  I am familiar with the next section as I cycle it often, but usually in the opposite direction.  I don't know if knowing what lies up ahead is good or not, but I was soon over the common and descending to Stow.

Again, the climb out of Stow to Stantlincraig reservoir is normally not a problem, but I had to stop half way up and have a rest. 

Once at the top, the descent to Thornilee in the dark was interesting - my hands were sore from holding the brakes for so long, but I was soon at the bottom and heading along the A7, through Walkerburn and into Innerleithen for a bag of crisps and another Co-op receipt.

Looking back this morning, I don't know what all my fuss was about, until I try to stand up  :'(

At just over 11 hours, I was expecting to be quicker; I’ll have to try it again on a less windy day.

A Map of the route can be found here

Thanks to Martin for a good circuit

Ae Trailquest

Gary and I made the trip to D&G for the last round of the SMBO 2011 series.

Although we were 2nd in the overall series, we were too far behind 1st to take this years title.

Much to the relief of Gary, it was a 3hr event.

The day weather was a bit overcast, and we'd driven through a few showers on the way down.

We were one of the first teams to set off.  I had decided to play it safe this time, to avoid the time penalties we encountered by being late at Wark last month.

The plan was to start of on the Seven Stanes Red route, move onto the Blue route, and pick up a few points on the forest roads before heading back to the start/finish.

All was going to plan, until i miss-read the map.  Not only had taken a wrong turn, by the time i'd realised, we had cycled past and missed 50 points.  As they were both uphill, we decided to press onwards. 

We recoveded well, made it back in time with a respectable score of 270, with no penalties.

This not only gave us 2nd in the event, but 2nd in the overall series.