Following the useful guidance offered on another thread, I did indeed take the A70/A73 to Abington and thence to Wanlockhead this morning. There was a brisk breeze (mainly from the side), but the skies were blue and the autumn colours spectacular and it was a pleasant trip down. I did have a moment of trepidation when turning on to the A73 for the first time to find it very wide and fast-looking, but traffic was very light and it soon turned back to something more like the A70.
From Wanlockhead I trundled slowly up Lowther Hill, slightly disconcerted to see that my Garmin showed the elevation profile as vertical at the top. It wasn't that bad, although it was bonkers windy at the top: the wind kept grabbing the front wheel and trying to put the bike in the ditch. The descent was not the free-running blast I was hoping for, because I was keen for the wind not to get a second chance at putting the bike in the ditch.
Lunch was a pasty in the bus shelter in Leadhills. Oh the glamour of cycling in Scotland. There's actually a shop there, which I wish I'd known earlier as the only reason the rest of the ride dropped down to Moffat was to allow a chance to restock supplies.
Having stocked up in the shop in Leadhills I then road down the old A74 to Moffat. It's a popular place for fancy cars: two Lotus (Loti?), an Aston Martin, a Mustang and a Jag that genuinely snarled as it came by distracted me from the <Rule 2> <Rule 2> 'infrastructure'. Why in the name of holy Sir Chris does the country's major north-south bike route include narrow fence chicanes and a 'give way' notice when it crosses the entrance to the service road to a windfarm. I dutifully rode on it for a hundred yards or so before getting fed up with the slimy, unswept, rough surface with all its stupid <rule 2> signs and chicanes then went back on the (deserted) road.
From Moffat it was the familiar route up the Beef Tub and home on the A701. Lovely evening, although like @gembo I did seem to have a headwind most of the way.
I have learned that I don't trust Strava's Fitness & Freshness assessment: it says that this weekend I'm in the best form I've ever been despite doing very little riding for the past month (and I do agree that the week before last I did feel very lively on the bike) but my performance today suggests that I'm not actually as fit as I was a month ago.
I have also learned that it is unwise to ride 200km on a brand new Brooks saddle that you've not previously made any attempt to break-in. The ischial tuberosities are a bit nippy this evening. I am unused to saddle discomfort: this has been a rude awakening.
Total distance 129 very pleasant miles (saddle and wind notwithstanding) in 11h:59m:45s (which is particularly pleasing as I has told Mrs G it would take 12 hours.
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