Well done that man. That's a pretty heroic distance. Oh to have been capable of it.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.
Riding to St. Abbs this weekend
(176 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
-
Well done that man (and his cycling buddies)! Cycling such a distance on a very hot, sunny, day deserves admiration and doffing of bunnet. Hope no-one discovers they're lobster pink after it all.
Well done, Uberuce.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Fantastic...good effort. Well done. I expect you're knackered, and sleep will not come as easily as you think due to the endorphines. Sleep tight though.
Posted 12 years ago # -
It's hard enough in the heat and the sun when you've done this kinda thing before on a number of occassion. And you've brought a bike with a wide selection of gears! So bunnets off to Uberuce for heroic effort and showing the climb out of Cove who's boss.
Some of my photos grabbed with my phone - one of those days where the weather does all the work behind the viewfinder
DaveC - "Bl**dy Nora, it's hot!"
Bnananstop. Near Innerwick
Torness
Cove
Windfarm under construction on Coldingham Moor
St. Abbs harbour
St. Abbs Head
Elemford
Garvald
FinPosted 12 years ago # -
The memorials to the Eyemouth disaster were very tasteful and very moving. There are little cast women and children, huddling in shawls and staring out to sea at all the villages that lost men that day (189 in all). Apparently there's one figure for every woman and child that lost a father or husband that day...
We saw the ones at Cove and St. Abbs, which lost a handful of men each. 129 never made it back to Eyemouth, that must be quite something.
Men were lost from Newhaven (24) and Fisherrow (7). I must have a look to see if there are memorials there too.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Rest of them are here, but that St. Abbey Road shot is the best of my bunch:
Posted 12 years ago # -
That's going to be one of my highlights of 2012. And thanks for taking photos. I have some scenic ones I'll put up later.
Great route Kap. I hadn't cycled beyond Oldhamstocks before. Wherever the route encountered the A1 Kap had planned a quiet, back-road alternative. St Abbs Head was the most southerly point we could see from Crail when I was growing up. From close-up the cliffs were impressive. But there's so much to see and do there that we're planning a family visit as soon as possible (by car).
However "epic" I thought the ride, one more epic and much more impressive was happening in front of me. Uberuce; riding that on a single-speed, flat barred bike with a courier bag slung over your shoulders - respect. Had we swapped bikes you would have been looking to go around again. I would have been a DNF.
And as we approached Duns, I spotted a farm with a chimney off to the south. So I'm going to have to go back. Edinburgh to England anyone?
Posted 12 years ago # -
A big thanks to all the guys who dragged us round the course. I finished up with a distance of 114.04 (can't forget the .o4!) More than twice my previous best. Got up at 09:00AM this morning, that's the longest I've slept for a long time. It really does make such a difference when you are with a group, and yes I would do it again (contrary to what I said yesterday!). A big well done to Bruce Almighty, 120 miles with no gears, is he mad! Well YES, obviously. Time to get yourself some gears Bruce. Hope to see you all on our next expedition.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Edinburgh to England anyone?"
Funny you should mention that.
Randomly looked at Berwick to Waverley tickets for a couple of weeks in advance -
£5.10
Posted 12 years ago # -
Edinburgh to England anyone?
Tom's Cross-border Chimney Raid.
It's possible to get into England and back via Duns / Coldstream for roughly the same distance as yesdterday.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes, exactly what I was thinking. The easiest way would be out and back by Ellemford and the Whiteadder Reservoir but a circular route taking in Redstone might be more interesting.
Now which of these is Spain, which is St Abb's Head?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Thankee kindly Tom and Numptie, although I freely admit I wasn't feeling epic, impressive, almighty, mighty, or even got-just-a-wee-whiff-of-might when the last decent incline loomed up at me.
The thing that had really knocked me on my backside was the tailwind, perversely enough. It just took too much energy to keeping spinning away at 110-120 rpm to keep up with the group. I was actually glad of the dinky wee hills since they slowed everyone down in mph so my high rpm problem was replaced with the low rpm one, which I can handle much better.
Even so, my legs just said Can't at the aforementioned last climb, making it the least of the three hills that sent me onto the bike's third gear. Ate my third and final wee cake bar while doing so, which lifted enough of the fatigue that I had the energy to make it home, although even that's only because Kappers kindly chummed me on the last stretch. No, really:
There was a roundabout just before the Innocent where I couldn't figure out why he'd stopped because in my zonked state I hadn't the sense to look to my right for cars. If he'd not been there I would have sailed right on oblivious. So a huge thank you for babysitting me through the wilds of central Edinburgh. After he peeled off at his street, I took it very, very easy on the ~400m that weren't decent cycle lanes or the canal itself. As I rolled along and the speedo ticked over the 120 mark, it occured to me that I could have just overshot my flat to about Hermiston Gait and pootled back, bagging my metric double century too. Was I tempted? No.
Numptie certainly impressed me with his performance; he was keeping pace with the Voight-Kampf-testable Tom and Kaputnik all the way till his peel-off, I and I'll wager was perfectly brisk home, too.
Amir was a great source of encouragement, and also the day's funniest line, as he spun past me walking up from the lighthouse: "I'd join you, but I've got too many gears"
DaveC is now my new favourite uncle; one of those cool ones that's only a few years older than you, but looks after you anyway. Ta for the anti-cramp stuff and checking on me every so often.
What I learned:
- My Brooks fit the Uberucindan posterior almost perfectly. It's probably my least sore part.
- That I when I wrote about learning to make sure you carry the absolute minimum, after the Portovelo ride, I should have should have listened. This is a classic example of the n00b/newbie difference, with a side order of Inception.
- Yes: I relent, I admit it, I U-turn, I confess, I retract, I give up, I yield, I surrender, I volte-face, I need gears. *mutters darkly about Amir* A lovely Alfine 8 hub is now very much planned to nestle between wee blue floofy's beauttocks.
- I need one of those clever tops with pockets in the back.
- I need to eat even more than DaveC. Might not have bonked so badly if I'd have that Cullen Skink too. Even if I had, it smelled lovely.
- I need two bottle cages with great big bottles in them. Thanks to Kaputnik for a lend of one of his.
As for the ride itself, I really can't recommend it enough; if you're going to take a gamble and stretch your distance out anywhere, the lands twixt us and St. Abbs are a darn solid call. Just about every wee town you go through is a lovely wee nestle of red sandstone, and every direction you look is rolling countryside that reminds me a lot of my home turf in Tayside, except for one bit approaching or maybe coming from Gifford, which looks like it's on holiday from the Highlands.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Tom - the farm could have been Broomdykes.
It certainly has a chimney and was near enough to the route and in the general location you describe.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes, that or one of these three just east of Duns:
Posted 12 years ago # -
Some great photos of the ride guys, it was one of those times when everything was just spot on, weather, scenery, route, company, lack of a headwind, it was hot, but not baking hot. I kept wondering when I was going to run out of steam, but as we entered the last few miles before I broke from the group I felt I could do a couple more hours. Amazing the difference it made to my ride when I was on my own. If like me you can manage a 40-50 miler on your own then you can certainly double it in a group. As you can tell from the tone of all the posts it was a day none of us will forget in a hurry. Hope to catch up with folks on the next ride. So, where are we going?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Sounds like an amazing and highly memorable day, chaps. Excellent effort!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm officially a lobster!! I even have a sun burned rectangle on the back of my hands and fake liver spots where the string cycle gloves let the sun though.
That said it was an awesome ride and I really enjoyed it, right until I started to bonk as we passed Pencailand. I know now I should have done my usual Audax food stop in Garvald when we stopped at the pub. I would not have bonked to soon after.
Thanks for organising it Andy. Note from memory are lots and lots and lots of steep hills. Every time I weeee'd down a step hill to another ford/bridge I groaned at the steep up hill to come! Then groaned even harder as Uberuce sped past on his single speed as I ground up the hill in granny gear.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Here is a photo at St Abbs cafe:
I was so inspired by the scenary yesterday (as well as the efforts of Numptie and Uberuce) that I went again today (in the car). As well as walking through the lovely St Abbs reserve we popped into Cove Harbour (only accessible by foot and through a neat tunnel). Here are some more photies:
The mysterious Mire Loch:
Guillemots at St Abbs Head:
The tunnel at Cove:
Leading to the Harbour:
Posted 12 years ago # -
Nice one guys - looks like a fantastic day out! Chapeau.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Tom well if there's 4 chimney farms to go and bag then a ride definitely needs to be scheduled.
Would it be feasible to do such a ride setting off via the Granites? Or does that add too much on to the distance.
I always under-eat on rides and was suffering for it towards the end, I couldn't face any of the bigger, more substantial lunches everyone else had, but there are only so many bananas you can carry in your back pocket (4 yesterday). If I had dispensed with the unnecessary gilet, I could have crammed in a few more I guess.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Well done you all. I'm just a wee bit jealous!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Next time Riffian. Though Kaputnik did very well to get the weather fixed.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Me too I was in a tiger onesy roaring at my neighbours from a jungle float being towed around Balerno by a tractor (our jungle float was first equal with a carnival themed float). I went to the beach at Cove once on a very warm day, sheltered and quiet, you can just see the smugglers.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@gembo coincidentally we were remarking in the cafe in St. Abbs how that part of the country would be perfect for writing a famous five novel, with coves, caves, tunnels, lighthouses, cliffs, smugglers etc.
Tom washed his lunch down with a lashing of ginger pop.
Posted 12 years ago # -
It is bit like a bygone era (apart from the nuclear power station). East Lothian and borders very sparsely populated but good to hear the caff has ginger beer as that is my favoured tipple. Works quite well combined with eighty shilling for a ginger beer beer shandy
Posted 12 years ago # -
I mapped a theoretical loop out through the Granites to Innerleithen, east to Duns via Galashiels locality and then back via Whiteadder and it came in at 110 miles.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Starting from argyle place? Would be good, last bit back to Balerno for me would require my granny for sure
Posted 12 years ago # -
110 miles? I'll definately have to eat at 5pm then.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Granites aren't strictly neccessary though, they might just add on diversion for diversion's sake. Out via Redstane to Duns and back via Whiteadder or vice versa would mean more time / distance exploring backroads of Duns-shire.
Posted 12 years ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
posts
