Dover Durness Day 8: Kinross to Newtonmoor

 
Distance today        90 miles in 6hrs 50mins
Height Climbed      4577 feet burning 2354 Kcal

Distance so Far       687 Miles  in  51hrs 32mins
Height Climbed      27,869 Feet Burning 19,107 Kcal

We watched the weather forecast this morning. Sunny until lunch time then heavy showers, moderate north westerly. Just the right weather for a mountain pass then? Yes, I know it has a trunk road and a railway over it, but they both get closed due to weather, they even have snow gates. It is very open over the top.

I started on the same B road out of Kinross, but soon turned off onto a walking and cycle friendly road. There was no traffic, no cars, cyclists or walkers. There was the odd settlement, there were cars parked, but no one to be seen. Quite remarkable.

The route comes close to the A9, and uses back roads and roads that were once clearly the main road, now bypassed. Sometimes I could

see it, sometimes hear it, as I could the railway.

There was a section which stated it was "Road Closed". Please NO! The alternative is the A9. I am going to have to give it a try. The closer is not far. I get close to it, ready to carry the bike through, but there is a pedestrian way. Not advertised at either end of this 5 mile section of road. Not good enough.

At the end of the road as I came into Dunkeld I met a car on a blind bend. The road was narrow and he slowed and pulled over. The next car, a white fiesta with a blue bonnet was hugging the inside of the bend, my side, and moving quickly. I headed for the hedge, swearing loudly, and he/she corrected for the other side of the road, and they missed me. I stopped and looked back. They stopped. I gestured to come and have a chat. They drove on.

Through Dunkeld and onto Pitlochry and Blair Atholl. Climbing a little all the time. The valley was wide but protecting me from the wind along with the trees. Finally the back road alternative was over and it was onto tracks, many of which were at first abandoned sections of the A9, ox bow lakes of road. I climbed out of the trees and into a blocking headwind. Don't panic and twiddle the pedals.

Then there is a sign warning me of how exposed the path is ahead. How high it is, and if it rains that I will take the full force of it.

I can see where I am going to go as I can see the lorries on the A9 on the side of the vally. The river is getting smaller, I can see a man

on the other side. He is tiny, dwarfed by the mountains behind him. I turn to the north, the wind is now on my side, making headway a little easier. I am tired of going up now.

Finally I am at the top. There are signs on the cycleway, the road and the railway. All proclaim a different height, as indeed they are, but the cycle way seems to have lost a few metres in the climb from the first sign.

The route down is glorious. Brand new tarmac and a wind that appears to have turned to behind me. I’m off, I love to go fast on descents and the surface is great. I nearly overshoot a left turn coming off one of the many wooden bridges, leaning and swearing I stay on the tarmac, noticing the skid marks of others who have clearly gone into this corner too fast. 

 

It is a lovely run down into Newtonmore. Tired but happy. I have driven over this road many times and watched the course of this cycle way, finally I have been able to ride it. 

Dover Durness Day 7: Ford (Etal) to Kinross

Distance today        99 miles in 7hrs 55mins
Height Climbed      2023 feet burning 2821 Kcal

Distance so Far       597 Miles  in  44hrs 42mins
Height Climbed      23,292 Feet Burning 16,753 Kcal

View south from Ford

Ford is an estate village based around a castle. I left though the castle grounds and down the drive. Well what was the drive, historically, I freewheeled very slowly down the moss covered drive to the road wondering if the gate was open. There was an entrance lodge, a fine pair of gate posts but no gate. Release.

Onward and its not long before I cross a river and into Scotland. Confirmation that I am getting somewhere but it is big country. 

Back on the road and more rolling arable land. Bit of a tail wind. I'm getting a bit tired, it feels slower than it should do. I appear to be 500 feet above sea level. I have been climbing slowly for ages. But not for long, one short desecnt and I am back at sea level, through a ford (which was deeper than expected) and then climb back up.

Dunbar and it rains, not for long, but long enough to remind me I have turned into the west wind which is throwing the light rain at me. Haddington and down to the coast. Edinburgh next.

Edinburgh's Sea Side

I think the cycle route into the city from this way is along the coast. This is into the wind and the occasional shower. Whilst on the promenade this is fine if slow, but the crinkly bits of the country parks is no fun. I cut a corner on the planned route, and it appears that I have had this thought before and had routed myself on the main road. The traffic is heavy, the drivers courteous, but the potholes big and scattered all over the road. I push on into the wind, I know somewhere there is a cycle path. Finally it comes, smooth, wide and traffic free, if on a long low grade of up.



The traffic free path ends,  but I am on suburban streets, many dead ends except for cyclists, then on road side cycle paths. Since the last rain the wind has changed as forecast. It is now from the north and moderate to fresh.

Well it is definatly fresh and full in the face as I cross the Forth Road Bridge, now only open to buses and taxis. Bikes use the cycle path. I last used this cycle path 36 years ago when I rode LEJOG after my A Levels.

After this it is a B road with aspirations to be an A road. The M90 runs parralle, sometimes I can see it, sometimes hear it but it is there. I appear to be in heavy local traffic, I check the time it is rush hour.

Passepartout has checked into the hotel. We have been put on the first floor about as far from the car as we can be. They have charged us an extra tenner for the dog, which we weren't told about. I have a moan and after I produce their email to me we are moved to the ground floor closer to the front door. Still less than ideal, an tenner down and the dog doesn't even have her welcome pack!

Dover Durness Day 6: Crook to Ford (Etal)

Distance today        93 miles in 7hrs 38mins
Height Climbed      6873 feet burning 2663 Kcal

Distance so Far       498 Miles  in  36hrs 47mins
Height Climbed      21269 Feet Burning 13932 Kcal


I enjoy the traffic free nature of the recycled railway lines, but the surface can be variable. Today I spent the first 18 miles on a railway line which went from gravel down to fines which is smooth but quite slow and needs effort to move along, to a short section with large lumps of stones pretending to be cycleable. So the first 2 hours were run off at just under 11 miles an hour: unhelpful when there are annother 70 or so to go.

Once off the railway line the hills start in earnest. The route created on the Garmin website suggested just over 4000 feet of climbing. On the bike it was just short of 7000. Oh good.

There were big hills and rolling hills. Whatever power I had for hills went days ok. It is just sit in a low gear and peddle. It gets me there in the end. Not pleasant on busy roads though.

The route was better today. I think there was more variation in the landscape. I started in arable, moved into cow country where the land went from brown to green and then up to sheep country.

I didn't notice the wind really. It was there, but I think it was behind me all day.

The problem with rolling hills and straight roads
is as you come to the top of one, you can see the downhill but look ahead and there is the hill to go back up. This results in going as fast as possible down the hill, and then trying to get up the other side as far as possible before having to put some effort in. There was one where I managed to get back up and over the top of the next hill without peddling on the uphill, and it was quite a big lump too. Made me smile.

There was another puncture today. I could feel something wasn't right and some bouncing on the bike revealed a soft front tyre. I kept going as Passepartout was waiting up the road. I came into a small estate village with a corrugated iron village hall in light green with a covered porch with two tables and seats. That will do. I sat, had a gel and set out the wheel. I had messaged ahead but Denise had no signal so came looking for me. It then rained so we had a sandwich looking out at the rain in the shelter of our porch. It stopped and I went on. Only rain today. How lucky was that?

Dover Durness Day 5: East Cowick to Crook

Distance today         105 miles in 7hrs 40mins
Height Climbed       3619 feet burning 2713 Kcal

Distance so Far       405 Miles  in  29hrs 09mins
Height Climbed      14396 Feet Burning 11218 Kcal

Today wasn't a particularly hard day in itself, but on the back of the last four days, it was hard.

I am tired so this will be an illustrated summary.

We finished mid afternoon Sunday in a hotel/wedding venue/restaurant on a quite country road. This turned into a very busy A road with plenty of heavy commercial traffic on Monday morning and I had to go play with it for the first three miles. A few lanes after pulling off the road and the sustrans route was the old taxi way round an air field now used for gliders and a earth track to the main road. 

Selby was easy to go through, and the cycle route nicely avoided the worst of the A14, and then pulled away to the north.  A lovely tarmacked route with in places tree roots pushing up the surface to provide a surprise/traffic calming feature.

This brought me to teh edge of York and its horse race course which the path crossed over at about 7 furlongs from the fiish line. On past the Terry's chocolate factory, now closed, and through by the river. So easy and traffic free to cross the city. Even had traffic lights for cylists.

Passepartout was waiting Beningbourgh Hall, just north of York. I felt my front tyre going down and limped the last 1.5miles to the car to change it and have a sandwich.

It then rained. About 40 mins of steady rain, and then it started to get hard. I don't recall much after that. The roads remained quite. The wind dropped during the rain, but came back after stronger, It was from the west and strong enough to kick the front wheel sideways at any gap in the hedge.

I joined a B road. I was striaght, busy with fast cars and had what felt like large hills in it which I could see coming. Crossing Bishop Auckland in the rush hour was challenging. Not dangerous, but I saw more traffic in 20 mins than I had the rest of the day. I emerged onto another railway track/trail and turned off this about 2.5 miles from the accomdation. 2.5miles of up, 2.5 miles in the lowest gears, just willing it to end.

Dover Durness Day 4: Burton-le-Coggles to East Cowick

Distance today         87 miles in 6hrs 16mins
Height Climbed       2428 feet burning 2238 Kcal

Distance so Far       300 Miles  in  21hrs 29mins
Height Climbed      10777 Feet Burning 8505 Kcal

Fourth day and wind really got going today. It started where it left off yesterday, a moderate south westerly and turned to moderate to fresh westerly as the day went on. As I was zig-zagging,north then west, taking turns at riding into a block head wind, and then a cross wind.

The day started with pretty much standard: Up a hill, down a hill, across a dual carriageway sheltering in the central reservation, then up a hill. Turn right the Garmin says, but the road said unsuitable for vehicles. It looked rough, but no real potholes. The map suggested the alternative was the dual carriageway. I'll chance the potholes. A couple of miles of weaving at walking pace and back on a normal road. So much for my careful planning on "paved roads".

Further on I picked up a Sustrans route on a canal tow path. This started well with a good surface, then filled with potholes and dog walkers. I put the wheels on the edge of the path, the smoothest part and pushed on. Canal works on a lock put me on a railway. A line of compacted mud in short grass, smoother and faster than the tow path.

 

More roads. I'm not going well. It is all an effort. I know Passepartout is at 40 miles waiting, but at 30 miles I need a rest. I really like bus shelters, and I find a nice wooden one with a seat. The view is not great, but it is clean and I am out of the wind. It's nice to sit still. I have an eat, drink and watch the cars. I assume a bus won't come. 

I have a sandwich with Passepartout, climb another short hill and have a wee. My body to come back to me and refreshed I move on. It really is a day of two halves.

For the second time today I come across wet roads. I have seen rain to the left and had the odd drop, but not got wet. The road now has water in pools on the sides. It really has rained, but I've been lucky.

Passing by a massive coal fired power station that is clearly off, I ride onto roads which I last rode in 2010 on the Lands End to John O'Groats. The only place I recognize is the pub which I finished the day at last time. Then it was closed and looking sad. Now it is open and very smart. An unusual direction.

5.5miles to go and a road closed sign for somewhere ahead. I push on. A car comes towards me, flashing its headlights. I push on. The road is wet, there is some water in the air. Three cyclists come towards me. I move across the road and ask about the bridge. They stop. You can walk over. Stress for nothing. They are soaked, I thank them and 2 miles after the bridge arrive at my destination.