Bletherers Ride Saturday Report
Winter ice has kept the Saturday group on the gravel trails, but this week we were back to normal serviceon the roads with a spin round the Carse. After a quick discussion of the route we decided we would go the slightly longer loop and head to Glencarse v St Madoes, up to Rait then head for a cafe stop at the Horn. After a pea souper in Birkie, Kenny was pleasantly surprised to see it had cleared up in Invergowrie and was turning it to a much better day than the forecast.
Steve, Yvonne and myself were joined by Graeme and after some mechanical fixits we set off towards St Madoes.
Steve and Graeme set off at a steady pace (about 26kph) in to a very light headwind, and Yvonne and Kenny followed close behind but after about 5k of this “steady pace” we concluded we were feeling pretty knackered and a wee bit worried about sustaining it considering how little we had been on the bike recently and how far we were going today! However no sooner had we discussed slowing down a wee bit, the boys up front must have read our minds and had already settled down to a much more “blethery” pace The ride to St Madoes was uneventful and pleasant, despite the cold we were all wrapped up well and were enjoying the sunshine and dry conditions.
Once we reached St Madoes we crossed the A90 to Glencarse and continued on the path next to the dual carriageway to rejoin the nice quiet road and head up towards Rait.
The sun disappeared and we were in a rain mist cloud for a bit, but by the time we got to Rait the weather had cleared. We then headed back towards the flyover for the Horn. Steve and Yvonne took the lead for a bit and Graeme and Kenny had a wee blether. However, during our chat, Kenny started to think obsessively about the massive bacon roll awaiting at the Horn. So much so, that Kenny became a bit distracted and unaware of his surroundings and thought we were already over the flyover when Kenny gave the group instructions to turn left up the wrong road!
Kenny quickly made the excuse that he had deliberately done this to make sure they were all paying attention! Once over the flyover we did turn left to go to the Horn then disaster……it was closed!
The pain on Graeme's face matched the group leader’s disappointment but we made a quick u-turn to head to Cairn a Mhor. A not-so-massive but very nice bacon roll and cappuccino hit the spot and soon we all got engrossed in blethering in the cosy cafe whilst enjoying our food, so much so that we stayed for nearly an hour!
When we did finally get up to move, Kenny had seized up completely and there were definitely a few groans, and surely a couple of the others did the same.
We headed down towards Errol then enjoyed the tailwind for an effortless spin to the turn off for Longforgan where we left Steve to head back to Invergowrie as we headed up towards Castle Huntly.
Then it was back under the A90 to head back via Flocklones and Yvonne’s favourite - the long drag back up to Fowlis, where a very happy Yvonne headed home and left Graeme and Kenny to head back up towards Birkhill with a quick wee detour through Backmuir woods.
Another great and enjoyable 55k with good company.
If you or anyone you know is interested in starting cycling or getting back into the sport, these Bike & Blether runs are great fun!
We usually go on a 20-30 mile loop, with a slightly longer ride or MTB/Gravel every few weeks and use various starting points rotated round Dundee. We always match the pace of the slowest rider so no one will ever be left behind or dropped. Everyone is welcome on any bike!