Mountain Bikes And Life

back for now anyhow

2008-07-07T14:35:00.002Z

bought myself a new phone a lo and behold it has internet access. I am using my tv as a screen and with any luck i will be able to pick up a keyboard for it soon

Girvan to Barr

2007-09-10T22:52:00.000Z

Managed to get an hour and a half on the MTB yesterday, Doug wanted to go down to Girvan to get some photos of the new memorial to the Russian warship Varyag, so i stuck the bike in the car and off we went.

Sheee, the first part of the trail out of Girvan is a killer, maybe that's because i am now in winter mode, (true meaning, fat git) anyhow, i got about two kilometres in when the rain came on, so using this as a good excuse, i did a quick about turn and headed back down, thankfully it was mostly downhill

The section back into Girvan would make a great downhill race track, its fast, twisty, and brilliant fun, next time i will make it across to Barr.

As i sit catching a pixel tan, i can feel a pounding headache coming on, had a real cracker on Saturday, i just put it down to a cold coming on, but i don't have any other symptoms at the mo, ah well, it could be a lack of getting out on the MTB

Ayrforce One

2007-07-30T21:00:00.000Z

Finally got out on the MTB, not been out on it for months, well it seems like it.I knew it was going to be a good day when i reached the steps, and flew down them, i was half expecting the trail to be a mudfest, indeed some parts where, but in the main, it was dry.

Headed along the promenade, and was surprised to see some hardy souls already hitting the beach, now i was out at seven thirty, maybe eight by the time i reached the shore, and there were bodies already pitching tents and windbreaks, sheee, just goes to show you, one little bit of sun, and you cannot move for peely white bodies.

Ok whats with the council down here, i know i have mentioned this before, but what clown thought this one up, part of the cycle path is, guess what, no cycling allowed, like duh.
I managed to reach Failford today, and boy was i chuffed, was even tempted to go in and try their real ale, but thought better of it, maybe next time.

Got back and started to graze as soon as i got out of the shower, its amazing what you can stuff down your features in a short time, crisps, Mars Bars, milk, energy drink, toast, spread thick with butter, then coffee

Hope to do it all again tomorrow

Damn, This Trail Is Getting Big

2007-06-23T13:45:00.000Z

What a day so far, not that i got out on the MTB, got a phone call from Paul, as per usual we gibbered about everything under the sun, he did mention that he would like to get out on his MTB, however, life seems to be getting in the way of that happening,i might have to go up to Glasgow and kidnap the sod, that's probably the only way he will get out on the MTB.

What else, had an idea to put my trails on either a website or on a Word document, that way others will be able to follow where the hell i have been, got the idea from Wheemax, his site has been a godsend for me, found more than a few trails on it, and he is quite willing to let you know where there are good trails, thanks bud.

So if i do go down the route of putting pen to paper, i might rope in some help, already asked Craig, he is another unfortunate that life stops him getting out on his MTB, also might ask Ronnie, don't think he has a bike, but he has written a few good short stories, so i know he can at least string a coherent sentence together.

So, been looking at maps, and reading emails and websites that show me more trails down here, (Ayrshire), and now it seems that i am heading into Dumfries and Galloway, damn this trail is getting big.

I have now been pointed in the direction of a couple of longish trails down by Glentrool, which on the map, look so damn shiny, problem is, if i do them, its going to take at least a day, maybe even two to complete them, and, (should be a drumroll there) i have spotted that the Southern Upland Way joins the cycle track close to the Big Country Trail, which means that i can now rejoin the trails here, and go either across country to Girvan, or follow NCN7 back to Maybole, damn i am beginning to love this trail, hell i say that at the moment, wonder if i will be so happy when i have to ride the damn thing.

This trail is like those Russian dolls that you get, every time i think i have it sussed, another bit appears, dear god, no more, who the hell am i kidding, gimme more, more i want more trails to add to it

Trail Is Getting Bigger

2007-06-22T12:37:00.000Z

Never got the chance to go out today on the MTB, however, not too long ago, i got an email telling me about a long route down at Loch Doon, it seems that my proposed trail comes out somewhere near the middle of it, and it was suggested that i try this trail out, so if i like it, i might add it to the Ubertrail, (dear god, just how long is this trail going to be).

Checked on the web awee while ago, and found out that it is an official trail, (shiny), and its called the Merrick Circle, what a boring name, when you consider what the names of other trails are called, The Soor Plooms, The Bombhole, The Ginger Beer, and whats the long route called, the Merrick Circle, sheee.

Here is the links, its in three sections, section one, section two, and finally section three, this is not the route i will take, i will more than likely join it about the witches Bridge, now i don't reckon that it is possible for me to cycle this in one day, so it looks like its time to start either reading up on how to camp when mountain biking, or find some B&B's close to the route.

Its funny how things work out, one minute i am having a problem with one section of the Ubertrail, the next, the trail has almost doubled in length thanks to advice from fellow MTBers, at this rate, i can see it crossing the border into the Lake District, hey, it ain that far from the Galloway forest to the border, now that would be an Ubertrail and a half, and dont forget, i am seriously considering adding the Southern Upland Way, and the West Highland Way, if i ever, get that far, then i will consider adding some sections in the Highlands, oh i do know that there is a cycle trail along the Great Glen Way, and onto the Speyside Way, but hey, i am not that ambitious, hell who am i kidding, i would love to be able to ride the entire length of those trails, from my front door all the way up to The Cairgorns

New Trails

2007-06-16T09:45:00.000Z

Well the weather has been lousy for the last couple of days, wet windy and frelling cold, typical Scottish summer weather i suppose, so not out on the MTB, sigh.

One thing did happen that has perked me up quite a bit, i got an email from a fellow MTBer, who suggested, some trails that i might like to add to my Ubertrail, seems he has been following my blog, and when i mentioned that i was looking down at Kirkoswald for trails, that could lead to Girvan, he asked if i was willing to make a detour to get to it, hell yeah was my reply, i want to make the Ubertrail a couple of days worth of riding, with shorter sections within it, for quick blasts.
So he has sent me a description of the route, not a detailed one, he will send that later when he can find the book that has the routes in it, seems it is a walking book, rather than a MTBing one, but one has to adapt.

Quick description, no distances as yet, but from a quick glance at the map, it looks long enough.
Kirkoswald to Craigdow Loch (i know about this section, just have to get onto it and find out its condition)
Craigdow Loch to Craigdow (hill i think) swing around the hill and head towards Glenshalloch Wood, once in the woods, (after looking out for bears, marauding ramblers etc) swing north to Craigfin Wood, passing through the wood, turn west and exit onto the road.

Cross over the bridge ??? then swing north till you come to another road, (this is national cycle route 7) now turn south and follow NCN7 till you reach The Witches Bridge, here you leave the road and head west into the forest, (never to be seen again, hopefully not) following the forest trails till you reach the road, then swing south again till you reach Stinchar Bridge, then its follow the road south again until you get back onto NCN7.

Then a short distance down the road at Cairnfore ??? there is a right turn into the woods, follow this until you come to Fardin, then its straight on ??? till you come to Ferter, then swing south.
until you arrive at White Clauchrie, (are these names made up)
Now follow the trail west till you come to Shalloch Well then its north westwards till you pass the cairn, then its westwards till you come to a road, which you don't follow, here you swing north westwards once more along a path till you come to Pinmore Mains, at the B734 turn left, and at the A714 turn right.

Follow this till you see a minor road on your left, follow this till you see a path on your right, its just past a farm, this path runs north eastwards for a while, then swings back to the northwest, where it comes out just South of Girvan.

OK, that ain't a brilliant description of the route, but at the moment its all i have to go on, i have checked it out on a map, and boy does it look hilly, and in places, damn lonely, there is no frelling way that i could do it in a day, so its time to start looking for B&B's or possible campsites.

Good thing is, now i can get to the cross country trails that lead to Patna, which is what i was trying to originally, now its just that i am getting there, the long way round mind you, but i am getting there.(is that not a song)

Oops

2007-06-12T19:31:00.000Z

Sunday went down to Kirkoswald on the lookout for some new trails, might have found a way to get to Girvan, granted its by road, but they are all little country lane type back roads , err things.
Anyhow, its looking promising, sometime during the next week or two, i am going to head down to Dunure, and see if there is a path along the coast to Culzean Castle, not too impressed with the trail over the Carrick hills at the moment, its overgrown, chewed up by cattle walking on it, its a good route, but maybe its not worth the aggravation, (my word for today).

Today, well i headed along the Ayrforce One trail, and boy it was a real pleasure, most of it is fast flowing tracks, however, me being me, i have put a couple of hard push bits in, i am just perverse that way, i don't think a trail, well to be more accurate, a long to medium distance trail, is any good unless i have to get off and, lift/push/carry the bike for a while, not too much i hasten to add, i am pervers, not a frelling massochist, i spotted a load of other cyclists out on the trails, hmmmm, some of them had better learn the rules of the trail, lost count of the times that i had to slam the anchors on, seeing as i was enjoying myself, i just laughed it off, and went on me way.

Had one of those embarrassing crashes, i was on a single lane road, and a car was coming up behind me, so i pulled over to let it past, put my left foot down on the grass verge, and errr, well there was no verge, the damn grass was covering a ditch.
In ultra slow motion i felt myself fall over, and then because its me, there had to be a frelling thorn bush lining the ditch, now, anyone else would have had a normal hedge to fall onto, but not me, i get a thorn bush.
As i lay there cursing, and turning the air blue around me with a few choice expletives that i have picked up over the years, i hear the car driver running over to see if i was all right, give her, her due, she did seem concerned for my well being, after i convinced her that it was more damaged pride than anything, she finally drove off

Burned And Tired

2007-06-10T09:11:00.000Z

Been taking advantage of the good weather, (a rarity in these here parts) i don't think there has been a day since i came back from the Starfury Decalogy convention in Blackpool, that i have not been out on the bike, well that's not strictly true, i slept for about two days when i got home, far too much Dublin Soup (Guinness)and food.

Its not my fault that the Norbreck Castle Hotel put on a eat all you can carvery, now is it, and i don't know many folks who sleep during a convention, if they do, its a few hours at most, anyhow, back to the MTBing.

Loaded up my Camelback, and headed out yesterday, and boy was it a good day, sun was splitting the skies, it was roasting, very little wind, and what there was of that was a godsend.
Started out on the Lowtrail, and i seemed to fly over that, so feeling good, i headed up to the Hightrail, this was a mixed blessing, the first part was superb, however the next part, from the masts to Maybole was overgrown with deep grass, ferns and frelling flies everywhere.
So it was a bit of a push at times, and its always at the uphill sections that the damn undergrowth was at its worst, (note to myself, see if flamethrower can be fitted to bike)

The thing is, this section of the trail has so much potential, all it needs is a decent path to be built and it will be superb, loads up downhill sections, and some nice climbs.
Got to the end of it, and made a decision that next time i am going to take the path up to Howmoor Cottage, from where i was sitting having a well deserved rest, (knackered absolutely bloody knackered to more honest) i spotted the path that leads up to the top of the hill, and round to the cottage, (bad description i know), so i will have to add that onto the route.

Made another decision yesterday that i regretted, i was tired and running out of energy, so i decided to take the A77 from Maybole to Ayr, my thinking was that it was downhill most of the way, bad bad move, don't get me wrong, the car drivers were superb, giving me plenty of room, no horns, no shouts, no fingers, its the road itself, boring, boring, boring, endless tarmac, dear god i was praying for something to relieve the sheer utter tedium, it was that boring it was sapping the energy right out of me, anyhow, made it home, and that's when i realised that i was bright red, as in, tomato red, thing was i was not burning, so hopefully i have not burned myself

Maybole Or Girvan????

2007-05-28T08:41:00.000Z

My trail hunting has been going great guns of late, for a while there, i was getting nowhere fast, hell, i go nowhere fast even when i am out on my MTB, so there ain't a whole lot of difference, every damn trail seemed to dead end, or was a complete waste of time, however, since i have hit Culzean Castle, i have found a really cool loop, and a brilliant piece of wooded singletrack, even better, i have found a way into to it, that does not involve having to cycle down the main road.

Oh, i have still got a few refinements to do, a tweak here, and a tweak there, but most of the Culzean Section is done and dusted, the preliminary route is as follows, enter the Castle grounds at MR/NS 26150 10830, from there follow the track till you come to the turn off into the woods, MR/NS 24431 10470, its not that easy to spot, especially when you are flying down the track.
I am still fine tuning this section, but from what i can see, it comes out just next to the steps that lead down to the beach, if this is the case, then i can follow the trails up to the track that leads past the dear enclosure, and then down to the Cat Gate.

Just before the Cat Gate, there is a trail that runs to the right, you cannot miss it, there is a wooden statue of four otters playing on a helter skelter a short distance in.
From here i follow the trail to the end, and turn left, its downhill most of the way to the gate at the bottom, at this i do a right turn and follow the cliff trail till i reach the top of the steps, (you did not seriously think that there would be no carrying somewhere along the trail, now did you).

At the top of the stairs, there is a path that leads to the right, follow this downhill through the woods till you reach the track at the bottom, and then turn left, its the same track that you went down.
Follow this back up the otters statue, here you turn right and follow the path around a pond, at the end of this, a quick right, and then through the Cat Gate all the way up to the old railway line.

Follow the line till you reach a wooden bridge, come off here, and follow the track that runs to your left, this again is mostly downhill, at the bottom turn left, and follow it up to the main road, MR/NS 23307 08584.

From here i am toying with the idea of either heading up to Souter Johnnies Cottage, and going offroad through the woods that surround Craigdow Loch, and from there, onto the National Cycle Route 7, where i can get back to Maybole, or, i can follow the back roads to Girvan, from where i can follow the cross country trail to Patna, decisions, decisions.

Well now that i have found my trails, maybe its time to hang up my Kit Carson hat for a while, and actually try something radical, and ride the damn things, after all, the long days are here, was going to say, long hot days, but this is Scotland i am talking about, where if it gets into double figures, we call it a heatwave.

Let me see, what else have i been up to, went to watch all the lovely Harley bikes and trikes parading down the shore front on Saturday, what a sight, and what a glorious sound, i could have happily spent all day looking over them, the detailing on some of the bikes and trikes was outstanding.

Ayrforce One

2007-05-15T19:33:00.000Z

Yesterday and today i had a blast along part of the River Ayr Way, from where i live its actually better for me to head towards Rozelle Estate, through Belleisle park, then down to the promenade.

I struck lucky weather wise, yesterday and today were brilliantly sunny days, only one thing that i truly do not understand, maybe its just me, or maybe its a perfect example of one council department not talking to another, i suppose i had better explain.

There is a section of the Way that runs alongside the river, and past some flats, nothing wrong with that you might think, however there are signs that state no cycling, and yet this is supposed to be part of the cycle path that leads to Auchincruive and Craigie, work that one out.

Yesterday, i tried returning back along the section that runs along the golf course on the other side of the River Ayr, its a pretty good section, and i will have to add it to my Ubertrail, sheee, more trails, more distance, who am i kidding, i love finding and adding new bits.

Wheemax has given me another idea that i need to add to the trails, somewhere to eat, and possibly somewhere to stay

Culzean Castle Exploring

2007-05-14T10:18:00.000Z

Was down at Culzean Castle yesterday, and spent six glorious hours searching for trails, and i am happy to say that i found some, yippee.

Still got to work out a few kinks in them, but they sure do look good, basically i start at the old road that leads into the caravan park, then follow that a bit, then onto a lovely piece of singletrack that runs through the woods and down towards the castle, (this is the bit that i will have to double check)

From there, up towards the main gate, but i turn off to my right, and fly down a wide old access road that takes me down to the cat gates, i then plan to follow that up to the old railway line, back along it, then come off at the next bridge, and fly down another old track that will take me back to the Cat Gates, from there, well that's still to be explored.

Got talking to one of the wardens, or park rangers, cannot figure out what the call themselves nowadays, anyhow, finally found out why they have banned MTBs form certain trails, at first i thought it was to protect the wildlife, but it seems that some cyclists, and i mean all types, roadies, MTBers, etc, have been flying down the roads and not taking care when passing pedestrians, and ripping up the trails.

Now i am all for having a good time on the trails, but even i know that you do not destroy the trails, not do you fly past folks with inches to spare, Culzean Castle is a tourist attraction, and tourists tend to wander around staring at things, thus their attention is not on whats flying up behind them.

The rub is, if they don't start behaving, ALL BIKES WILL BE BANNED FROM THE PARK, and can you not just hear the outcry from all the decent cyclists out there

rant over

Longish Post

2007-05-12T10:54:00.000Z

Well what can i say, my bad for not posting enough, in fact my very bad but i have a good excuse, and i am sticking to it.

Whats my excuse, well i have been out looking for trails once more, and at last its all beginning to fit together nicely, in my opinion.

The first part of my trail is completed, yippee, (Lowtrail 24Km) the next part, Hightrail is almost done, really original name ain't it, almost as good as calling, the earth, The Earth, the moon, The Moon, and the sun, The Sun.
I have got as far as Howmoor Cottage, up in the Carrick Hills, and now i am looking for a way across to Culzean Castle from there, Wheemax has a route that i will have to check out, his route comes out at Drumshang, while i would like to come out a little bit further down, closer to the Electric Brae.

Been down to Culzean Castle a couple of times of late, been busy looking for trails, the place is full of them, problem is, some are out of bounds to mountain bikes, thing is, they have a good reason for it, so i cannot complain, its all to do with protecting the wildlife that inhabits the park and i don't mean the local winos enjoying their tea parties.

Finished most of the the River Ayr Way, and so far it has been superb, only one niggle, at the moment, its an out and back run, however, that will all change, when i get the next section done, this should run from Muirkirk to Wanlockhead.

Then, i should say, when that is finally done, i will follow the Southern Upland Way back to Stranraer, and then i will have to loads of looking and exploring to find a way cross country to Girvan, from there, there is a cross country trail to Patna, when i finally reach this point, i am going to have to pick peoples brains to find a way back to Maybole, cross country fo course, from there, well its downhill all the way home, (mostly)

On another subject, me and a couple of the guys are heading up to Fort William for the UCI World Cup, tickets are a really good price, thing is, we cannot agree which day to go on, and its beginning to look like it might end up the full weekend, which for me would be the best solution, more me to see the XC and downhill races, and the most important thing, BEER, loads and loads of cold BEER, oh and i think there might be food available however i believe in the motto, never put solids in a hydraulic system

Failford To Mauchline, Well Sort Of

2007-04-24T18:43:00.000Z

Was out on sunday checking the Failford to Machline section of the River Ayr Way, to be quite honest it was a disappointing, the trail started off looking very promising from Failford, lovely piece of singletrack, then it just deadended, and the rest was on C class roads.

Wrote an email to people in charge of the Way, and the sent a reply saying that that section was still under construction, and the way i went, was only a temporary detour, so looks like i will have to go down and check it out in a couple of months to see whats been done to it.

Looking For Even More Trails

2007-04-20T19:37:00.000Z

Well the over the last week i have been looking for trails, this has meant that i have been meandering all over the place, not really going anywhere, just back and forth, back and forth, yep its been that exciting, well to be more exact, it sometimes can be, but this week, its just meh.

Let me give you an example, i went down to check out the River Doon section that runs from the Tam O Shanter bridge, and yep, its the one from Rabbie Burns' poem, and its the first time that i reckon that i needed to add a chainsaw to my tool kit.
There were that many trees across the trail, that it was more of an obstacle course that a MTB trail, but the thing is, it still has so much potential.

Oh and i finally found a map of the River Ayr Way, and the surprising thing is, its actually not to bad

Trail Hunting

2007-04-13T12:45:00.000Z

The weather for the last couple of days has been fantastic, and i have taking the opportunity to scout out some new trails, (mostly farting around), most of them dead ends, but one or two might be worth adding to my Ubertrail at some point in the near future.

Tomorrow, i am going to go out for a couple of hours, and see what i can spot up in the Carrick Hills, those couple of hours could turn into an all dayer if i end up enjoying myself, which i nearly always do when i am out on the trails.

My mate G pointed out something that should have been frelling obvious, if my Ubertrail does take a few days to cycle, i had either arrange transport home, or start looking for campsites or B&B's i was like, duh, i hate it when i overlook something, especially something as glaringly obvious as that, sheee

Made a decision about the exercise bike, decided to send it back, and get a refund, that's twice its developed a fault, granted, Argos have been superb in picking it up and delivering a replacement, and i cannot fault thier customer service, but hey, it should last more than a week before something gives.

Rain Stopped Play

2007-04-09T11:21:00.000Z

Got up lovely and early today with the intention of heading out onto Ayrforce One today, the plan was, head out for two to three hours, then do a U turn and head home, well the weather put that idea to rest, frelling weather forecasters, let me out it this way, the rest of the UK is basking in sunshine, and its raining here in Ayr, b******s, jammy f*****g b******s, ah well, i suppose there is always tomorrow.

However, (Blogger needs to put a drum roll sound in) as i sit hunched over my computer, getting a pixel tan, i can see that the sun is beginning to burn through the clouds, I HATE RAIN.

I don't care how good the manufacturers say that their waterproof MTB clothing is, i always sweat like a blind lesbian in a fishmongers when i wear it, i don't know what's worth, the rain, or being wet and sticky

Finally Done

2007-04-08T09:42:00.000Z

Ok this is the third time that i have tried to write this post up, and the first two times my computer froze on me, so i ended up pulling the plug on it, well, it was either that or it was going to go through my window, and i have been assured by those in the know, that this is not good for computers, nor windows for that matter, well here goes again.

Friday, yep Friday, i got up nice and early, and headed out along the Ubertrail, it was great to have the roads and the trails all to myself, and this lasted most of the day, later on in the morning, i did see a few folk, but by that time i was on my way home.

Started off on the Lowtrail section, which takes in, the set of wooden stairs at the start of the off road section, when i first attempted to go down the stairs i was hesitant, now i can take them with ease, just shows you what a bit of practice can do.

From here the Lowtrail passes through Rozelle Estate, Bellesile Park and golf course, the Schools out section, onto the Secret Garden trail, Storming the Castle, the Iron Horse section, Doon the Water, and finally the Hidden Bridge section, i hate having to use the word trail and section all the time, but when you put a few trails together, its about the only way, damn, really need to find a better way to put, well, trail and section across.

Another thing is, i really need to get a new computer as soon as possible, so that i can transfer my trails onto Google Earth, the online maps do not show the trails properly, Wayfaring is good, but for some reason i cannot download my GPS data onto it.

The trails are in superb condition at the moment, lets hope they stay that way, and my local council are upgrading a load of the walking and cycling trails, the only bit that i dont like, is the start of the 3M trail (Masts, Maybole, Moiser), and the reason for this is, just after the mast compound there is an electric fence, and then to make it worse, a boggy patch, grrr, granted after that, the trail is good, apart from maybe one or two small sections.

The rest of the Ubertrail is taking shape nicely, all the walks and cycles that i have been doing of late, have been helping to add data to the GPS, and i was surprised to see that all of the Lowtrails, most of the Hightrail, and a good percentage of Ayrforce One are completed, damn roll on the summer when i can get out and do them all

Delivery

2007-04-04T17:59:00.000Z

Was expecting a delivery today, so got up nice and early and headed out on the MTB, don't i wish, had to stay in and wait for the sod to turn.
Now it was supposed to be simple, pick up the faulty item, and bring a replacement, guess what, it did not go to plan, oh they picked up the broken one, but had not got my replacement, so, i might have to stay in tomorrow yet again, and the weather is frelling brilliant.
Maybe i should take a chance and get up early, and have a quick blast on the bike, hell if i miss the delivery, i can always phone them, after all, i reckon that they owe me one.

Just had a look at my Ubertrail, its beginning to look like its going to take about three to four days to complete it, now thats what i call shiny.
I was looking at the Muirkirk to Wanlockhead section on the web, and reading up on some of the history about there places, and a name for the section of the trail popped into my, too often empty noggin, i am going to call it after the Lord Of The Rings, hope it fits into the theme, but if not, hell i can always change it.

One thing i am going to have to do, is to buy the official guide to the River Ayr Way, well, i will need it to find the section that leads from Failford to Muirkirk, still kind of embarrassed that i cannot find it

Getting There

2007-04-03T21:20:00.000Z

Well, i have been out checking trails in the last couple of weeks, its been a mixture of cycling and walking to check them out,with loads of stopping, backtracking, going to pubs, eating a lot, and talking to any locals that i meet, hey, they have local knowledge, which sometimes can lead to new and unexpected little gems of trails.

Got to admit, that the River Ayr Way has proved to be an eyeopener, there are some real cracking sections on it.
So far i have managed to get up as far as Failford, at this point i lost the trail, yep, that's right, i cannot find the next section, and that's with a GPS, might have to try and use the old fashioned way, and use a map.

OK a quick recap, the section from Ayr to Auchencuvie is an easy section, nothing technical in it at all more is the pity, but on the way back, its good that its nice and easy,oh and its mostly flat.

The Wagonway trail is good, a couple of sections with stairs, and a steep off the bike climb, well, i have to get off the bike, that does not mean that everyone has to.
The section that leads by Annbank is ok, the new section has a short steep climb, then some good twisty singletrack, and then a really steep and insane downhill section.
Then its follow the trail till you reach the farmhouse, now don't turn and follow the official path, but instead cut around the right side of it, and follow the path around till you come out in Annbank, the first part of this section are a nightmare, loose house bricks and the like, but going this way you avoid having to go through the village.

From there its up to Stair, and then onto Failford, and to my mind, this is the best section of trail, there are very good pubs in both Stair and Failford, oh and apparently they sell food as well, maybe next time i will look up from my Guinness and check this rumour out.

Was out today, and went for a blast around my local trails, (local trails for local people), anyhow, the council are now working on improving the section of cycle trail from Burton Farm to Alloway, in some ways, this is great, but in others it ruins it, its no longer wild, this kind of upgrade tends to tame it, but on the bright side, it means that it can be ridden all year long now, and as a bonus, i found out that the section at Fisherton has been improved no end, and now this does improve it, its almost like a proper gravel road all the way down the hill.
Don't know if they have down any work on the trail up to Maybole, will have to go and check that out as soon as possible

Stair

2007-02-26T14:38:00.000Z

Went down to Stair on Sunday, with D, he wanted to take some photos, and i wanted to check out the River Ayr Way, too see if it was any good for mountain biking, the weather was superb, so it was a good day for checking it out.

It was surpisingly busy, met quite a few walkers, and a couple of mountain bikers, the trails are superb, not exciting, but good for anyone who likes long distance mountain biking, got talking to a guy about my idea for a long distance MTB trail, and he gave me some info that i was not aware of, it seems that it is now possible to do a long loop around Ayrshire, especailly now that the River Ayr Way is completed.

From what i can gather, you can go from Muirkirk all the way to Wanlockhead, and then follow the Southern Upland Way back to Portpatrick, and from there, you can use backroads to get to Girvan, then its only a matter of following the cross counntry trail to Barr, then to Straiton, then onto Patna, from there follow some of the country roads back to Ayr.

I knew about some of the route, but not all of it, been checking on Google and Streetmaps to check out if it is possible, the last bit from Portpatrick to Girvan is the only bit that i am unsure of.

No way that i can do that in one day, getting the feeling from looking at the map, that it might be a two or three day epic, and for the hardy souls that means camping, or for those like me that like the little luxuries in life, a hotel or a B&B, would be great if it could be done in one day, a sort of 24 hour run, the River Ayr Way could be done at night, with a good set of lights, which i don't have, i would love a set of top of the range lights, but they are to damn expensive, especially as i have not yet tried night riding, its something that i want to try at least once, just to see if its any frelling fun.

From what i have read, its insane, but an aquired taste, it seems that you either love it, or hate it, and you do need a good set of lights, the ones that you use for going on the road aint going to cut the mustard

Recap

2007-02-19T20:06:00.000Z

Not posted for a while, not that there has been nothing happening, just could not work up the enthusiasm to post.

Anyhow, here is a quick recap on what i have been up to, last week i was through celebrating my mates 40th, i am still amazed that he has lived this long, i keep expecting to see his name featured in the Darwin awards.
It was a great party, the Guinness was cold, good and reasonably cheap, and that makes a big difference, it was held in the Buchanan Hotel Glasgow, and yep, i can fully recommend it, good prices, and clean, i have stayed in more expensive hotels in Glasgow, and the rooms have not been as large, or as clean.

Saturday went out for a quick blast around the Doon the Water trail, met the ghillie who looks after the land, stopped and had a talk with him, he is cool about walkers and MTBers using the trial, as long as they don't camp, fish or leave litter.

Sunday, went down to Barr and hit the Changue Trail, this is a brilliant trail for those who have not a great deal of technical skills, ie, cannot bunny hop and the like.
Its a wide forest access road, which climbs for a good while, and then there is lovely downhill section, then it climbs some more, then drops all the way back to the car park, i love it, its great for building up stamina, just pick a gear, and spin all the way up to the top, or walk if you like, i walked some of it, hey it was a nice sunny day, and i was not going to miss the opportunity to get a bit of sun about me.

Today, well today i trusted to f*****g weather forecasters, and they f*****g lied to me, it did not rain, there was no strong winds, and according to them, its supposed to be pouring with the wet stuff at this very moment, wait a sec.......... just looked out the window, and it ain't, b******s

Sun And Frost

2007-02-07T21:56:00.000Z

Was on grass cutting duty yesterday, so no MTB run, grass cutting in February, ain't this weather great.

Went out today, and yet again it was a glorious day, sunny, no wind, and just the right temperature, heaven sheer heaven, the trails were frozen solid, so it was great to ride on, and when i hit a bit of frosty ground, that was fun listening to it hiss under the tyres, die frost, die.

Found an interesting little shortcut that takes me over a hidden bridge, and back onto the road up to Tara Craig.
Been getting loads of suggestions for trail names, some of them are dren, while others are good, the hilly stretch from the end of the Greenan Castle trail up to the masts has always been a bugger to name, that was until yesterday, when my mate said call it the Devils ladder, and thus it became that, i do hate it when someone comes up with a better name than i do, only kidding.

Lead Legs And Dell Boys Van

2007-02-05T20:14:00.000Z

Was not out on Saturday, too many peely wally (Pale white complexions) tourists down to enjoy the sunshine, and why oh why do they leave their brains at home when they come down for the day.

Anyhow, got out for a run on Sunday, legs felt like lead, the damn things seemed to weigh three times as much as normal, even had the dinosaur for a while (mega sore ass), but that soon went away, thank frell.

Got back from the run, and found that my mate D was up, so after an hour recovering, we went out for a walk down at Auchencruive, got to admit the paths are looking good, seems that over the last couple of weeks or so, they have been working on them. Spotted this van on the way back, after i stopped laughing, i took a photo, as did D, its his that i am using, better quality

Today, oh i was back out today as well, and strangely enough, my legs felt good, seemed to fly over some of the trails, well i was till i hit mud, then it was all slow, weathers is supposed to hold for another couple of days, so yippee, i am hitting the trails till it breaks, either that or i collapse, whatever comes first.

One thing i am grateful for is, that only ten minutes from where i live, there are some decent trails, not black run class, but good enough for me, that's one of the downers of not having my own transport, i have to stick to my local trails, good thing that they are so varied ain't it

SUNNY

2007-02-02T09:16:00.000Z

That strange object has been spotted hovering over Scotland yet again, according to legend, and the Internet, its apparently called The Sun, what a strange name, all i know, is that it appears every so often in the sky, plus its never in the same place twice, it has even been known to change colour, from a bright yellow, to a dull red, that make me think that there maybe more than one of these "suns".
Another phenomenon that accompanies the appearance of this object, is that strange Zombie like creatures appear and occupy every spare piece of ground, usually lying prone, as if they have no energy to move.

Well the handlebar mount certainly works better than having the GPS in my pocket, i now can read the info, and it seems to maintain a lock on the satellites a hell of a lot better.

The trails where full of dog walkers today, nothing against dogs, but today the mutts seemed to be in stupid mode, they were running all over the place, ignoring the increasingly loud shouts from their owners, ah the joys of taking your dog out.

Still a few trees across the trails, tried to hop a few, lets just say, i never cleared any, and leave it at that.
Planning on heading out early tomorrow, weather looks good yet again, real damn shiny

New Goodies

2007-02-01T23:31:00.000Z

Never got out today or yesterday, was waiting in for a delivery, i had ordered a handlebar mount for my GPS, and a cable to connect it to my computer.

Now this should have been a simple thing, wait in, Post Office delivers it, no problem, except i had a Still Game moment with my postie, i hear some letters being delivered, so i head along the hall and pick them up, as i am walking back down the hall, the letter box opens and one of those, "we called today to deliver a parcel, but no-one was at home cards" well, i know i was at home, cause i was reading the damn card just after it dropped through the letterbox.
So i opened the door and caught the postman as he was sprinting down the stairs, there was no way that he could now deny that i was in, so he came back up the stairs and delivered my parcel, it was only later that the anger started to build, what the hell was his idea of putting a card through the door without even chapping, grrrr.

Anyhow, that's the mount fitted, and i will be out on the bike with my GPS clearly visible on the handlebars, and not stuck in my pocket.

Muddy Tyres

2007-01-29T21:34:00.000Z

What a day it turned out to be, i think i would have been better off with caterpillar tracks on the bike rather than tyres, they were covered in mud, and when i managed to build up any speed, i was rewarded by a face full of the stuff, and by some law of nature that i am unaware of, it always seems to manage to drop down the back of my neck.

Went for a blast around my local trails today, and according to the weather forecast, it was not supposed to rain, they lied, it did, grrrr.

Granted it was not heavy, but it was wet enough to irritate me, however it did not spoil my run, while out on the run, i took the opportunity to program more waypoints into my GPS, and as soon as i got back, i typed the data into a spreadsheet, that way i can see how far i have went, how high, etc, etc, will soon get a cable and mapping software, so that this bit can be done automatically, anyhow, supposed to be OK tomorrow morning, with the wet stuff arriving Wednesday, (i hate rain)

Mudfest

2007-01-27T00:06:00.000Z

Was out on my local trails today, and the best way to describe them, is, mudfest, granted i enjoyed myself, although spinning the back wheel in gooey mud a few times, did get a bit annoying after a while.

The weather was good, warmish, very little wind, and best of all, no frelling rain, (have i mentioned that i hate rain) by the time i got back, my legs were aching, and i was covered in mud, and i do mean covered, i had to take my shoes off at the bottom of the stairs, don't think my neighbours would have been very impressed with wet muddy footprints all the way up the stairs, ending at my door, so i could not have denied it, could always have blamed the cat i suppose.

The bike was also covered in mud, its amazing how much of the countryside actually attaches itself to your bike, it gets everywhere, the tyres, the frame, the gears, aaargh, and then, you have to clean it all off,, there must have been several kilos of the stuff, ah well, same again tomorrow, no wonder look at mountain bikers and think, nutters

Two Brilliant Days

2007-01-25T21:31:00.000Z

What a brilliant couple of days i have had, went down to collect my bike from my local LBS on Tuesday, it was in for a full service, suspension, disc brakes, gears etc, and as soon as i got it back i was out.

Still getting used to my new toy, my Garmin Etrex, couple of things about it are a real pain, one is, when it loses a signal a warning comes up and tells you, errr, like i did not notice, and if you have no satelite lock, then you have passed one of your waymarks, then it gives you directions back to the one that was missed, now if it had the abilty to skip waymarks, then this would be fine, but oh no, your direction indicator is now way off, and you have to stop and reset your route, grrrrr.

Next gripe, when following a route, you cannot add another waymark straight into the route, you have to do it manually, still all in all, i love the damn thing. it sure does make navigaton a course much more fun, when i get back home, i can see a profile of my trail, and sometimes this throws up a few surprises, i was surprised at how much height variation there is on such a short route, now i dont mean hundreds of metres at a time, but a more sedate 10 to twenty metres at a time, it sure looks good when you look at it on the computer.

Losuy Frelling Weather

2007-01-18T23:22:00.000Z

Well what can i say about the weather today, the UK has been pummelled by storms, we have had everything from torrential rain to snow, all helped along by strong winds.

Been checking up on sites that do GPS software, and checking up on advice on how to use it to its best advantage, some really good info out there, consensus seems to be, get a good piece of mapping software, had a look at some, holy mother of god, are they expensive or what.
So maybe sometime in the future i will be able to afford one, was hoping to use an online mapping service, but cannot see how to load my info onto them, then again my computer is playing up, and sometimes the Java applets don't work, neither does flash, so maybe that's the problem there, ah well, i can only reload my OS and then have a try

Atlantis

2007-01-17T20:42:00.000Z

My local council are thinking about twinning Ayr with Atlantis, weeeel, they would if Atlantis existed.
We have so much rain and wind its unbelievable, most of the trails are nothing but quagmires, and after the storms of late, there are trees lying across most of them.

Got myself a Garmin Etrex GPS, granted it is just a basic machine, and to my mind, its just a high end cycle computer, but hey, it does the job, and little bit more.
It has a lot more features, than the write ups about it have said, but after checking further, i spotted that the model that i have has a later software version, damn shiny.

Been out marking my routes on it, and then reviewing them on the PC, really do need to get some decent mapping software, been using Google Maps, which is damn good, but my old laptop wont support Google Earth, and it is awkward to load my trails onto them, still that's something that i am looking forward to, when i get my own software that is, and maybe a new computer, (sigh) one can only dream

Strathpuffer 2007

2006-12-13T01:19:00.000Z

Date: 13/14 January 2007

Venue: Torachilty Forest, Contin, near Strathpeffer

Cost: £35 per entrant (Solos, pairs and quads)

Website: www.strathpuffer.co.uk

Event Forum: www.mountain-bike-scotland.com

TransScotland MTB Race

2006-12-13T01:15:00.000Z

While at the time of writing there's still a bit of 2006 left, we're reasonably sure that we're not going to do anything in the next couple of weeks that'll threaten to knock the Merida TransWales off its spot as our race highlight of the year. Obviously we've forgotten about the rain and the gritty shorts now, leaving us only with memories of the good stuff. And there was plenty of that.

For more info visit Bikemagic

10 Under The Ben

2006-12-13T01:11:00.000Z

For the last couple of years, event company No Fuss has been running a race at Fort William called 10 Under The Ben. We've never managed to make it up there, but by all accounts the 10-hour enduro is a splendid gig. It's certainly the only race we know of where the handovers take place in a cowshed.
The success of the format has led No Fuss to run some more 10s elsewhere in Scotland. So next year, 14 July will see 10 At Kirroughtree take place at Newton Stewart.

For more info visit Bikemagic

No Fuss Events

Speyside Way

2006-12-07T15:28:00.000Z

Not a great deal happeing at the moment, the weather is lousy, so just been readong biking blogs, and biking websites, found this on the BBC website, hope they do extend it.

A long-distance walk could be extended by using a military road built to suppress Jacobite rebellion.
There are moves to stretch the 84 mile (135km) Buckie to Aviemore trek on to Newtonmore.
Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) is suggesting the old Wade Road be used to take it as far as Dalraddy, just south of Aviemore.
General Wade led the building of 250 miles of roads to help the government counter any uprisings.
The programme was hugely expensive and included the construction of barracks such as Ruthven, near Kingussie.
Wade's building scheme was scaled down in the early 1740s.
CNPA's board has agreed to recommend to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) that the road be used for the proposed extension.
Preferred route
A public consultation in late 2004 and early 2005 helped to identify a preferred route most of the way to Newtonmore.
However, there were difficulties in determining the best way to go between Aviemore and Dalraddy.
This led to further consultation on whether to use the old Wade Road that runs through Kinrara Estate or along the north shore of Loch Alvie near to the A9.
Bob Grant, CNPA's senior outdoor access officer, said: "Of the 45 responses that we received none favoured the Loch Alvie option, while 21 respondents, including the two community councils, expressed a preference for the Wade Road option."

Computer SNAFUD

2006-11-28T00:24:00.000Z

Sheee, my computer is playing up, and it looks like i might have to reformat my hardrive, and reload my operating system, as for getting out on the bike, i had a look at the trails, they are muddy and i don't reckon it would be much fun riding them

Bored

2006-11-22T22:08:00.001Z

It rained, oh and it was windy, the end

H20, Loads Of H20

2006-11-20T23:57:00.000Z

Sheee, the last time this much of the wet stuff came down, some old geezer went out and built a large wooden floating type thing, and if this keeps up, i might head up to my local DIY store and order a load of wood, and to make matters worse, according to the lying gits on the TV, its to keep pissing down for the rest of the week.

All this goddamn H20 will have ruined the trails, so i either give up till the sun starts to shine, or bite the bullet and just go out and plow through the mud, one good thing about riding through mud, is that it will build up some strength in my legs, well so i keep reassuring myself

More Frelling Rain

2006-11-17T23:38:00.000Z

Once more it rained, and it rained, and it rained, sheee, well seeing autumn is here, and it seems determined to dump all the years rainfall for the year in a week, grrrr, i hate rain, and what it does to the trails.

Well its time to start thinking of winter riding, i am not a great fan of road riding, and the other compromise is cycle paths, although down here they ain't too bad, couple of sections that are a pain, but the majority are OK

Lying Gits

2006-11-15T22:43:00.000Z

What a bunch of lying gits, those motherfrellers on the weather forecast promised that there would be a dry period this morning, and guess what, it has pissed down the wet stuff all day, and if anything, its getting heavier, well that pretty much means that the trails are now ruined for a while, that is unless you like squelching through mud

Iffy Weather

2006-11-14T19:47:00.000Z

Once again the weather was iffy today, (what do i expect, i live in Scotland) from the weather forecast on the idiot box, (as in, we make it up as we go along) it looks like there might be a couple of hours of dryness tomorrow morning, so i might take the risk and go for a quick blast around the trails near me, really do need to get out a bit, beginning to look a bit like Homer Simpson, well to be honest, more than a bit like him, not turned yellow yet, and i still have five fingers, but the deadly Pringles (hmmmm Pringles) are beginning to do there worst, if this keeps up, my gut will be hanging over the handlebars.

Wet Wet Wet

2006-11-13T23:39:00.000Z

Well the wet stuff has arrived with a force, and he has brought his annoying cousin, wind, yep, autumn has arrived with a vengeance, and all this rain will have made the trails unrideable, well, you probably could ride them, but you would probably damage them.

Looks like i might have to switch to road riding for the foreseeable future, not a great fan of road riding, to be more accurate, not a great fan of the Muppet's that claim to have passed their driving tests, i sometimes wonder if they got their licences on the back of a cornflake packet, and yet, there are some really good drivers out there, i can always remember the idiots, but forget all the good drivers, maybe that's because they don't cause me to duck, to avoid being brained by a mirror, or having to get so close the edge of the road, that i think my pedals are going to hit the kerb, or the thousand of other little incidents that plague cyclists as they travel on the road

Paraglider

2006-11-09T23:25:00.000Z

I am still feeling the effects of the cold, so just went for a quick blast on the bike, headed down to the Two Stairs Section, lets just say going down wet wooded steps is an eye opener, really felt that the back wheel was trying to overtake me, luckily, and I mean it was more luck than skill on my part that I reached the bottom without fallen off.

After this section, I headed into the Rozelle Estate, which was a lovely, oh I mean the scenery, the trail were muddy and slippy, once again, I had to take care that the back wheel did not overtake me, might have to put spikes or something similar on my tires to stop me slipping and sliding, granted it was fun, and by the time I reached the end of the Rozelle Loop, I was covered in mud, ah the joys of a Scottish Autumn.

After that, it was onto the Caddyshack Section, once again, it was muddy slippy and a real adreniline buzz, come on, when the bike is slipping and sliding all over the place, it sure does blast the cobwebs from ones head.

Seeing as how I was still feeling a bit wobbly, I decided that enough was enough, and headed back along the Promenade, glad I did, I spotted a powered paraglider flying up and down the beach, tried to take a few pics, problem is, I have an old Nokia 3650, which although is still a good phone, the camera is a bit dren.

Once back home, it was bath and sleep time, god I hate having the cold, oh, and guess what, the frelling wet stuff is to return tomorrow

Got The Cold

2006-11-07T20:11:00.000Z

Got a touch of that cold, that has kept her indoors off work, so no MTB run today for me, and too rub salt into the wounds, the weather is about to take a turn for the worse, grrrrrrrr.

I was really hoping to get out tomorrow, and Thursday, seeing as how those lying gits on the TV said that the weather would be good, do they call strong winds and rain good, maybe for them it is, but I frelling hate the rain, the wind I can put up with, but that horrible wet stuff is just annoying.

Got a text from the Dmeister this morning, that's him in Rio De Janeiro, lucky sod, and he was just about to head down to the beach, he said he was going to look at the scenery, yeah like right bud, I know what kind of scenery he is talking about, and it tends to wear tight bikinis, lucky git

Autumn Gold

2006-11-07T00:00:00.000Z

Was down at the River Doon again with D, we headed up to the playing fields on the Ayr Maybole road, and went right down to the end of them, where we parked.

Just after this, there is a metal gate leading to a farm track, we went down this, its muddy in places, but nice and flat, at the bottom of the track, we came to a cattle or sheep pen, anyhow, we climbed over the metal fencing, its frelling high, and once over the stile, we where in an open field, we followed the path that ran next to the fence, once again, it was muddy in parts.

At the end of this, there is another gate that leads to a track, that takes you down to the Doon, at the river we took a left turn, and followed the trail all the way back to the old cottage.

At the top of the field we followed the track back into the farm, I dislike doing this, I wanted to explore another trail that seemed to lead back to the cattle sheep pens, maybe next time, its not a brilliant route, but it was interesting in its own way, no idea how long it is, my cycle computer is on the blink, I reckon the batteries have given up the ghost

As we went along the river, we heard voices, and looked around to see if we could spot who it was, neither of could see anyone, and we both thought that we were going insane, then we spotted a couple of canoes on the river, then a raft, damn strange sight, but they looked like they were having a ball.

Got back to the car, and found out that some a*****e had parked a tractor right across the road, and had blocked us in, now I don't know if this was deliberate, but it sure did look like it, anyhow, they had not reckoned on D, he simply drove the car right through a field, and then back onto the road, me, I was for calling the police in.

Some pics of the trail, and yes, that is the angle of the trail, I have not been out drinking the black gold that is Guinness

Wobbly Legs

2006-11-03T22:07:00.000Z

Never got out today, my legs felt a little wobbly, so decided that discretion was the better part of valour, or whatever the closest mountain bike equivalent is.

Hopefully I can get out tomorrow, still not decided yet if I want to do the south side of the Ubertrail, or the north section, both have advantages, will decide later on, or even tomorrow.

The Dmeister is coming down on Sunday, so with any luck we will get good weather and make it down to Barr or Straiton, the lucky sod is off to Rio De Janeiro soon

Sunny

2006-11-03T00:36:00.000Z

Did a quick loop around the Rozelle Estate, well not exactly quick, more like spinning the wheels slowly, you see, I am still a bit worried about my front mech, don't want to put too much pressure on it, just in case a small problem turns into one that I need a mortgage to fix, or I need to wear a balaclava and visit a bank.

Quite a few folks out today enjoying the sun, mostly dog walkers, but a few horse riders as well, I just cruised along, for some reason I was not bothered that I was crawling along, maybe it was the sunshine, or the cracking views, who knows, all in all, it was a brilliant outing.

It did take me a while to get used to being on a bike with only the middle ring to use, had to stop myself from changing up and down the other rings,might just end up wrapping a cloth around the shifter, that way I will know not to touch it

Recovering

2006-11-01T22:38:00.000Z

Just about recovered from my weekend in Glasgow, and I do mean just about, I came back on Monday, but I was still shattered on Tuesday, so did sod all, all day, still a bit tired today as well, the sign of a good weekend.
Got too admit it was a brilliant weekend, I always love Partycon, its so relaxed, yet there is always something to do, or going on.
Drank a lot, ate a lot, slept very little, situation normal for a convention, will get off me arse tomorrow and get out on the bike, weather today was superb, even if its only a quick blast, it will be something, I hope the weather holds till the weekend

Yuck

2006-10-27T20:30:00.000Z

It was wet windy and generally miserable today, again, so did not even attempt to go out on the bike, tomorrow I am off to Glasgow for the weekend, looking forward to it.

Gales And Rain

2006-10-26T20:52:00.000Z

Her indoors was of work today not well, so my routine was slightly put out, there was no way I could have got out on the bike anyhow, it was chucking it down, and blowing a gale.
We got off lightly compared to the north of Scotland, they have been flooded out, from my point of view, that means that the trails are now going to be a quagmire, ah well, lets hope the cold weather comes soon, and freezes the ground.

P phoned again, he is getting excited about going to Partycon, more than likely I will give the Friday night pre party meal a miss, makes more sense for me in the long run

Busy But Good Day

2006-10-25T19:23:00.000Z

Been an interesting and busy day, started off with a couple of friends popping up for a few hours, and just as they were leaving, my mate P phoned, missed the call because I was seeing the other two out, however he phoned on my mobile, so got him to call back on the landline.

We chatted on about Partycon, and the like, he is really looking forward to it, as am I, if I can make it that is, long story, and not one for here.

Anyhow, after everyone had left, and P had hung up, I managed to get my workout done, god it was exhausting, but I aint complaining, all that sweat and pain will be worth it.
The weather was pretty good today, pity the said cannot be said for the rest of the week, ah well, might take the opportunity to put the bike into my LBS, still having problems with my front mech, its no fun trying to ride up a steep grade with the front mech stuck in the middle ring, how the hell can those folks ride the trails on singlespeeds, I have no idea, got to admire them

Another Workout

2006-10-24T19:24:00.000Z

Stayed in today again, but I did a heavy workout, and boy it was hard, by the end of it I was sweating and my legs were beginning to wobble, now that's the sign of a good workout session.
According to one of those online calorie calculators, I burned off over thousand calories, one thousand and sixty three to be exact, if you want to use it, here is the link, it has loads of different sports, and some really strange ones.

The cat was sick yesterday, and I do mean sick, the furry git was sick everywhere, I spent ages looking for where she had been, and cleaning up after her, poor wee thing, however, today das furrer was back to her normal insane self

Workout Today

2006-10-23T21:57:00.000Z

Was stuck in today, so I went and did a major workout, I was absolutely frelling knackered by the end of it, but at least, it will keep me fit, I hope.

Once I got into the workout, it was amazing how the time flew by, at one point I glanced at the clock and noted in amazement that over three quarters of an hour had gone by.
I am going to try and do the same intensity tomorrow as well, if I can keep it up, then I reckon I should maintain my fitness, still, its no substitute for getting out on the bike, and like I keep saying, I hate the rain, I don't know why, normally it does not bother me, but when I am on the bike, it just seems to cheese me off big time

The Dalai Llama

2006-10-21T11:35:00.000Z

Yahoo, finally got the picture of the Llama up, and of a view across the valley.
Got too admit, the trails at Barr are a real treasure, well the Changue Forest Trail is anyhow, only problem is, its a real pain to get too, you do need a car, or a mate with one, which is my case, and I have to give out a big thanks to the D man for putting up with me

Friday

2006-10-20T19:07:00.000Z

Well what can I say, I have not been out for nearly a week, and I am beginning to get withdrawal symptoms.
Have taken to working out in the house, I need to keep my fitness up somehow, minor problem in that plan, her indoors has bought some Pringles, and I have already raided them, damn they are so good, and at the same time, so bad.

One thing I forgot to say last week, was that when me and the D man where down at Barr, we spotted a llama, and that is not something you expect to see in the middle of Ayrshire, yep you read that right, Llamas, damn I thought I was hallucinating, but nope, the D man saw them as well, and even took a couple of photos to prove it.

Tried to load the picture, but as per usual, Blogger does not seem to want to upload it, sheeee

Photos Of The Changue Forest Trail

2006-10-17T18:15:00.000Z

Some photos from Sunday, the first three are the wind turbines above Barr, the rest are from the Changue Forest Trail

Birthday And Barr

2006-10-16T14:53:00.000Z

I was out on Saturday night, celebrating my mate S's birthday, was not too bad a night, for some reason all the DJ's had the music up at full blast, you could hardly hear what someone next to you was saying, and I don't know about you, but that can spoil a good night out, what's the point of going out with a group of friends, if you cannot even have a conversation with them, oh the DJ in Harleys; was as usual an asshole, granted he plays good music, but the moron keeps talking through the records, grrrrr.

Sunday I was down at Barr, checking out some mountain biking trails, lets just say that I have found a cracker, its not too technical, in fact, its not got any technical sections, its forest access road all the way up, and all the way down, and when you are coming down, it seems to go on for ever.
On the way there, we drove over a back road, and spotted the wind turbines that had been built up there, as we passed them, I spotted a gate that led into the forest, D slammed on the brakes, and we went to investigate, well, all we did was look at the map that was posted near the gate, so it looks like we have another route to check out next time we are down there.
Was going to post some pics that I took, but Blogger would not upload them, will try again later, don't like having to post the photos in a separate blog

Straiton Waterfall And Trail Photos

2006-10-10T14:10:00.000Z

Out Yesterday Not Today

2006-10-09T19:25:00.000Z

Some interesting stuff on the web today, so before I gibber on about my day, you can have a gander at it

As part of the 1st Glasgow International Bike Film Festival, trials superstar Ryan Leech will be making a personal appearance at the Festival to coincide with a screening of his film, Manifesto.

Wish I could get through to Glasgow to see some of the films, some of them sound a must see

More info here

Mountain bikers are joining a new patrol scheme to assist visitors to forests across the Tweed Valley area.

That is a good idea, but wonder if they would carry spares as well, as far as I am concerned, you can never carry enough water and inner tubes

More info here

Was out yesterday down at Straiton, wanted to see how the Lady hunter Blair Trail would be, first part was fine, then I hit the mud, and the wet roots, at one point I did a long sideways slide, and I mean long, on the bike it felt like a couple of hundred meters, when in actual fact, it was more like between three and five, still my heart rate did not slow down for a good couple of minutes, still its a good short blast, took me longer to get there than it did to cycle it.

Today, never left the house, simply was not in the mood for going out, which is silly, seeing as the weather was dry and sunny, seems like it is to be the same tomorrow, will have a quick blast around my local trails, will post some photos of the waterfalls and the trail later

Dreecht

2006-10-06T23:42:00.000Z

Ok seeing as how the weather is lousy at the moment, I have started to exercise a bit more in the house, started doing some of my old martial arts warm ups, and boy, does it show that I have not done them for a while, I was sweating and aching after only half an hour, half an hour for frells sake, I used to do a two hour warm up, sheee.
It seems like old age is catching up on me, soon be time for slippers and hot chocolate before bed, probably find myself shouting at the kids to keep off my lawn, (if I had one that is) and asking the barstaff to turn the music down, (oh god the horror of that, I used to work on the motto, if its too loud, you are too old)
Ah well, I suppose I will just have to grin and bear this lousy weather, after all it is coming into Autumn, and that means rain, wind, and general dreecht, (Scottish word for a miserable wet, grey and depressing day).

Got too look on the bright side, (cue whistling and everyone signing the Monty Python song) this month is busy, got a pub crawl next week, the Watchers the week after, and finally, Partycon, a weekend of drinking and gibbering rubbish, so what's few days of bad weather compared to that.

Another New Gearing System

2006-10-03T19:00:00.000Z

Seen this interesting new idea for a gearing system on the web today, it looks intriguing, no idea if it will ever catch on, I have noticed that it does not mention if it can be used on off road bikes, or true road bikes, probably just for commuter bikes, not that there is anything wrong with them.
However, will this type of gear stand up to the rigours of off roading, or a full day on the road, not a thing about how many gears it replaces, or what kind of ratio it has etc.

http://www.fallbrooktech.com/

Coastal Path

2006-10-02T21:28:00.000Z

This is real shiny news from my local council, it seems that after years of no paths to walk or cycle on, we are not getting an entire network of them

An application for funding of £4,950 received by Ayr Rotary Coastal Path Group to help establish an Ayrshire Coastal Path has been approved by Members of South Ayrshire Council’s Rural Communities Committee.

The project aims to provide healthy exercise and educational stimulation for school children, families and people of from all age groups by forming an easy to walk and accessible coastal path in South Ayrshire.
Due to start in September 2006, and hopefully completed by May 2007, the project will involve the installation of gates, signposts, fences, bridges and path upgrades along the coast from Ayr to Girvan.
Councillor Hywel Davies, the Convener of the Rural Communities Committee said: “This is a very exciting project which will make coastal paths more accessible, and hopefully encourage people to get out and about and get some exercise in the fresh air.

“Local walkers, along with tourists, will walk parts of the coastal path and then spend money in rural economies by popping into shops for items to take on their walk, having a meal before or after their walk, or in the case of tourists staying at a guest house or hotel.”
The Ayr to Girvan project is the start of a three phase project, phase two will link Ayr to Barassie, with a possible link to North Ayrshire and phase three will link Girvan to Glenapp. The Ayr Rotary Coastal Path Group has been working on this project for over two years studying historical detours, preparing feasibility studies, meeting farmers, landowners and Officers from the Council. A management plan has been prepared for phase one of the project where 90% of the route will require no active management and any maintenance will be carried out voluntarily by the Group.

The total coast of phase one is £34,900 and the Committee approved funding of £4,950 towards the project subject to a full funding package being put in place by the Group and written evidence being produced indicating that land access agreements are in place.

The Group has already arranged funding in kind from voluntary input of £7,700, and has applied for funding of £20,000 from South Ayrshire Environment Trust and £9,950 from Scottish Natural Heritage.

New Paths, Photos And A Concert

2006-09-26T11:05:00.000Z

Was at a Hayseed Dixie concert last night in Ayr Town Hall, they are frelling insane, I mean insane in a good way, not the moronic behavior of some groups.
They played their set at full speed, there was hardly a break between songs, and at one point, they never even ended the last song before they went into the next one, wait they did pause every so often, but that was just to drink more beer and go to the toilet, and boy, did they drink a lot of beer, there was more beer on the stage than there was at the official bar.
Feeling a bit rough today, hence the reason that I am not out on the bike, (that's my excuse and I am sticking to it), I would recommend you to go and see them, even if its only to see an absolutely insane group doing AC/DC hillbilly style.

The photos are from the top of the Burns Monument, and one of the lady Hunter Blair Trail
also found out yesterday that there are now some new paths down at Maybole, there is nothing on The Ayrshire paths webpage at the moment, hopefully that will remedied soon.

Its beginning to look like we are going to get a whole load of shiny new trails to try out, and I have to give a big thanks to David Gray for his help, every time I have a query about the path network, he has replied swiftly

Lady Hunter Blair Trail

2006-09-24T17:53:00.000Z

Was down at Straiton yesterday, and that's me nearly got the route all worked out, just a few minor tweaks and it will be all ready for me to try it out, as one trail, rather than the four separate ones that it is at the moment.
As per usual, took some photos when I was checking out certain sections, will post a few more later on.
The Lady Hunter Blairs Walking Trail is superb, its full of twisty, steep climbs, drops, sweeping and technical singletrack, granted there are some muddy patches, and a few obstacles, such as bridges and the like, but hey, as far as I am concerned, that's half the fun.
What a combination the whole thing will make, it will have practically every type of trail, all one neat package, granted, it wont be technical, or steep enough for some folks, but hey, I am still looking for other trails, so you never know, I might just find some.

Concert And A Walk

2006-09-22T21:32:00.000Z

Was at a Nazareth concert at Ayr town hall last night, and what a concert it turned out to be, its the best one that I have been to all year, and I went to see a Guns N Roses one earlier in the year, and it was far superior to that.

So today I went out for a stroll, ended up walking for hours, just chilled out, and enjoyed the sunshine, the beach was quite busy, which for near the end of September, is pretty damn good.

OK I say this all the time, but tomorrow I am off out on the bike, will head up to Auchincruive and have a blast along the trails up there, still need to get the bike into my LBS for a looksee at the front mech, after riding for a while on one ring, I have got t admire those guys and lassies that ride singlespeeds

Gale Force Winds

2006-09-21T11:38:00.000Z

Well once again the weather is awful, its windy and wet, and I do mean windy, gale force winds and the like, so seeing as I won't get out on the bike, (boo his), I downloaded from my camera phone, the photos I took when I was down at the River Doon trail, again thanks to Howard Moiser for pointing me in the right direction.
Even from a quick try out of the trail, I can see how it could link onto the Burns Country Ubertrail, I can use this section when I drop off the Devils Drop, (the Newark Castle section), now all I need to do is find another bit to add, so that I can get back to either the promenade, or the start of the Auchincruive Trails.
I am getting desperate to try out the whole trail, problem is, I have spent so much time this summer looking for trails, that I have not actually had time to ride them all, nobody but myself to blame, but hey, that means that I will have plenty of trails to look forward to ride next year, or, if I am lucky, this winter, talk about being an optimist, come on, I am the guy that sees the doughnut, not the hole.

Update on the weather, as of 16;40 BST, the wind just stopped about an hour ago, and I do mean just stopped, it was quite freaky, and then the sun came out, now that is weird, one minute its blowing a gale, and then its calm and sunny, ah well, will go out on the bike tomorrow for a run.

Photos From The Bennan Monument Trail

2006-09-20T11:45:00.000Z

Today the weather is just plain yuck, wet windy and dull, so I am not going to even attempt to go out on the bike, hell I am not even going out for a walk, that's how bad it is, maybe its time to hibernate.

Photos below where all taken down at Straiton, some from the Bennan Wood Trail, and the rest from the Monument Trail

Photos Of The Hill Wood Trail At Straiton

2006-09-19T11:17:00.000Z

This tree tunnel is about halfway up the climb to the top of the trail

Looking back across the valley from near the top of the first proper offroad climb

This is where the trail splits, kind of self explainatory really, I will have to check the Patna trail out soon

A view up the Patna trail

A couple of photos of the descent back to the road and Straiton

Doon The Doon

2006-09-18T19:12:00.000Z

I have very nearly finished my Kit Carson and trail exploring down at Straiton, maybe one or two small refinements to the proposed trail, and I will be happy, well, as happy as a mountain biker can ever be with a trail.

So far, I figure the trail will be as follows, start off at the car park, which is close to the pub, cafe and shop, then either first onto the Hill Wood Trail, or the Lady Hunter Blair Trail, from there back to the village, and onto the Bennan Wood Walk, if I have enough energy left, and that's a big if, up to the Monument Trail, going up this is a killer, its a steep push once you leave the woods, but coming down is insane, still cannot find the middle section of the down trail, I still think the sheep have eaten it, although, the ground might be too hard to leave an impression on the ground, still prefer the sheep explanation, if I do all the trails, I reckon that its about 12 miles in total.
Will post some photos later

Tried the River Doon route from the Tam O Shanter bridge, that's not its official name, but its where Tam O Shanter's Horse looses its tail in the Burns poem, so, I call it that.

Trail was not too bad, had too scramble over a wall next to a bridge, thankfully someone had stomped the barbed wire fence down.
Then had to manhandle the bike under a fallen tree, oh and nearly killed myself when I failed to spot a small dropoff, but hey, it sure did wake me up, after that, the trail was easy going.

At the end of the field, I decided to see what was through the gate at the bottom, led along a small path then into a maintained garden, did not go any further for two reasons, main one was, well it was someone's garden, and two, I could see the rain heading my way, so seeing as how I hate rain, I headed back the way I came.
I will definitely add it to the Burns Country Uber trail, that is once I have gone the whole trail, and not just up to the garden

Photos From Straiton

2006-09-16T11:08:00.000Z

I was down at Straiton on Friday, once again I spent most of the day exploring new trails, I climbed up the hill to the monument (1086 feet) to see if there was any trails up there, the juries out on that one at the moment, the initial climb is quiet easy, but once out of the woods, it steepens, and is a tough push with a bike, granted, going back down would be a gas.

Spent some time at the to just admiring the view, it was such a clear day, that I could see Ailsa Craig, Ben Lomond and The Cobbler up at Arrocher, it was good just to sit and chill out

On the way back I decided to try and find the path that runs down the other side of the hill, found the beginning, the end, but for some reason, the middle section was not there, spent a while going back and forth trying to find it, my mate suggested that the sheep had eaten it
Will have to send an email to the council and see where the hell the path is, there were no markers, so it was all guess work.

The Trail Down the hill, with my mate Doug off trying to get a photo of a Kestrel hovering, he eventually got it

A view looking down the track from the other side of the hill

Two views from the top of the hill

Two photos from halfway up

The split in the trail, go through the gate for the Bennan Wood Trail, turn left, for the Monument Trail

The bridge near the start of the trails

A view from the bridge

After I got back, my mate Gary came down, and we headed out for a few carbs, more commonly known as Guinness, Ayr is busy at the moment, loads of folks down for the Ayr Gold Cup, (horse racing)

Photos Of The Bennan Wood Trail And Hill

2006-09-14T12:20:00.000Z

Doing My Kit Carson At Straiton

2006-09-11T15:20:00.000Z

I was down at Straiton yesterday, me and my mate D spent nearly the whole day looking for trails, well I did, he was too busy taking photos.
The Bennan Trail is good, and will be worth will adding as a trail, the trail up to Bennan Hill is steep, however the view from the top is well worth it, and the descent is insane, oh I was walking, not riding the trails.

On Friday, if the weather is halfway decent, we are planning checking out some more of the trails down there, the Monument Loop looks brilliant as does the Hill Wood trail, and then there is the Straition to Barr, and Straiton to Patna trails to check out.

Was not out today, despite the weather being gorgeous, her indoors had to go in for a cataract operation, so stayed in, just in case she needed any help.

Planning on heading up to Auchincruive tomorrow, want to see just how long it takes to complete the trails, when I don't have to go exploring, and after that disaster looking for a trail along the River Ayr, I do need to have a blast.

Aftermath

2006-09-08T16:24:00.000Z

Ah well, so much for my plans for today, woke up stiff and with the dinosaur, (mega sore ass), so decided to clean the bike, and have a looksee at what was wrong with the gears, from what I could see, the cable has stretched, sheee, more expense, you see, I have no mechanical skills whatsoever, hell, I could hardly change an inner tube when I first started riding, occasionally I still have a problem with the back wheel, but that's just because I am an impatient sod.

So my plans for tomorrow are, get up early, hit the south side of my trail, might even try the River Doon section, I might find it a bit difficult with only the middle ring, but then again, that's what's legs are for, after that, I have no idea, if I like the River Doon section, then its time to sit down, check on Wayfaring and Google maps, and try and link it too the rest of the trail.

I know have a good idea what my trail will look like when its finally finished, and after that, there is only one thing left to do, ride the whole damn thing, I will see if anyone else is up for it, however, most of my mates are not fit enough, or too busy

Good And Bad Day

2006-09-07T19:26:00.000Z

What a day, it was sunny, warm, but a bit windy, I was out for six hours, headed up to check out the trails at Auchincrieve, I headed along the promenade along the harbour, then onto the river trail from Ayr College, and along to the bridge that leads across the main dual carriage way.
Once onto the quiet lane, I just spun the wheels and enjoyed the sunshine, locals call this lane, tomato lane for some reason.

I reached Oswald House, and headed straight for the Waggonway Trail, which was muddy, but I enjoyed it, lots of rock to avoid though, a full suspension bike would be an advantage on this trail.

Headed past Wallace's seat and onto the new section, and from there up to the bridge at Annbank, from there I followed the river trail till I reached Annbank.

There are several excellent sections along this bit of the trail, however, there are stairs every so often which break up your rhythm, and a rock garden section, which I walked, I did try to ride over it, but I was being overly cautious, seeing as this was my first time down here on my own, blasting through Annbank, I headed onto the trail that leads back to Oswald House, made a few errors here, and fell at a set of steps through a wall, luckily no damage either to me or the bike.

Next I went on to check the trail from the Wallace monument along the River Ayr, what a frelling waste of time that turned out to be, the trail just peters out, this put me in a bit of downer, but I cheered up later on. This did not last long, as I discovered that I could not change rings, had to jam it into the middle ring, once I stopped growling at this, I headed back home, I just retraced my route out.

Got home, had a shower, made a coffee, and fell asleep, woke up with the undrunk cup of now cold coffee next to me, planning on going out early tomorrow

Overslept

2006-09-06T14:11:00.000Z

Bugger I overslept again today, my body must be going into hibernation mode, that's the only thing I can think of to explain why I am sleeping so much, its either that, or I am turning into a lazy fat git.

Anyhow, if I manage to wake up early enough tomorrow, and that's a big if, I am heading off to the northern part of the Burns Country Ubertrail, I have not put this section onto the map yet, when I know how it all fits together I will. This section runs up to Auchincruive and from there to Annbank, I want to see how the trails up there have held out, what with all this rain we have been having, I know that certain sections of the southern part of the trail, are almost unridable when wet, got too see if the same is true of the northern section, I hope they are still in a good condition.

Wet windy And Just Yuck

2006-09-05T15:50:00.000Z

What a surprise its wet and windy once again, looks like our short hot summer is well and truly over, now its time to prepare for the long dark, cold and wet winter.

It looks like if I want to get out on my bike, I will have to invest in some waterproof gear, getting wet does not really bother me, its the fact that my glasses get covered in rain and steam up, now I don't know about you, but I do like to be able to see where I am going when I flying down a hill, for some reason, being able to see stops you crashing, strange I know, but there you are.

New Paths Planned

2006-09-04T18:18:00.000Z

Got this from South Ayrshire's website, its looking good for cyclist's down here at last

Plans are underway for the old Alloway to Burton railway to be upgraded to form a cycle route and bridle way. Funding of £40,000 given to South Ayrshire Council by Sustrans, a cycling charity, will be used for initial improvements.

In June 2005 Sustrans requested bids for cycling schemes that could be delivered by local authorities before March 2007. The Council submitted a scheme to upgrade the old Alloway to Burton railway track to form a proper cycle path and bridle way. The scheme was approved by Sustrans and accepted by the Scottish Executive.

The route, which is owned by the Council, is currently used as a walking and bridle way as well as a route for cyclists. The former railway is in a poor state of repair, overgrown with vegetation and has poor drainage.
Convener of the Council’s Economic and Tourism Development Committee, Councillor Margaret Toner said: “Improving cycling provision is a key element of the Council’s sustainable transport policy.
“Cycling Scotland has just completed a study to develop an implementation plan for the Local Cycle Network across the whole of South Ayrshire. Funding from the Regional Transport Partnership and the Scottish Executive will be used to implement a number of schemes this year.
“Upgrading of the route along the former railway line at Alloway will benefit all users and will link the Burns Monument directly to the National Cycle Network.
“Many residents and visitors to South Ayrshire are keen cyclists. It is a healthy outdoor sport that people of all ages can enjoy, and I think that upgrading this route will be of great benefit to local and tourists. I am certainly looking forward to cycling along it.”

Members of the Council’s Economic and Tourism Development Committee took a decision to allocate the Sustrans grant funding of £40,000 towards the project and to proceed with remedial work. The Committee also decided to proceed with the bulk of the project once further funding has been allocated by Sustrans.
It is anticipated that this will be the first stage of a planned programme of works if Sustrans can obtain additional funding from the Scottish Executive to provide a further £230,000 to complete the works in 2006/07.

Further future upgrading of the route would provide an improved running surface for cyclists, walkers, and horse riders. Repairs will be carried out to the bridge at the River Doon with missing parapet stones being reinstated, which would give an opportunity to provide seating at existing viewpoints that are presently difficult to access.

The Scottish Executive has highlighted their aspiration for more innovative cycling and walking projects to be developed as part of their Cycling, Walking Safer Streets funding.
The Council has previously carried out consultation on the provision of a local cycle network with local cycle routes identified for areas of Ayr, Troon, Prestwick, Maybole and Girvan. The results of the consultation indicated the strength of public feeling regarding cycling in South Ayrshire.

Rain

2006-09-01T16:25:00.000Z

My mate G was supposed to pop down today for a visit, well still no sign of him, its possible that he is still checking out flats, but hey bud, its the 21st century, and we do have things like mobile phone with text messaging on them, sheee, some folks just don't think to let others know what's going on, not that he is an ignorant sod or anything, I just think that sometimes he does not, think, that is.

Got to admit, was glad I never went out on the bike today, been a couple of heavy sharp downpours, makes me long for the hot weather we had recently, another bad sign, I have noticed that its dark now when I get up in the morning, ah well, it looks like the short days are coming on fast, that will make it hard for me to complete my ubertrail, not that I have finished scouting it all out yet, I do know in my mind where its going, and I can even point to a map, and show it, I just have not ridden it all yet

Friends Up

2006-08-31T22:11:00.000Z

I stayed in today, a couple of friends were coming up to see me, it was good to chill out.

Tomorrow my mate G is coming down to look at some flats, he is hoping to buy one and move down here, after he has done that, we are going for a quick blast around Rozelle, at least it will get me out of the house for a while

Some Photos Of the Ubertrail

2006-08-30T09:35:00.000Z

Two photos of the Waggonway Trail up at Annbank

A view of Oswald Bridge

Three photos of the Farm Track Trail in Mount Charles wood, the photos cannot show just how steep and twisty this section is

Three photos of the Trail along to Annbank, most of it is easy, however there is a rock garden section that is difficult

I am terrible for taking photos when I am out on the MTB, the only time that I take one is, when I have stopped for water, or too eye up a possible new trail, most of my photo are taken when I am out walking

Still Not Out

2006-08-29T19:36:00.000Z

Well the weather for the last couple of days has been hellish, rain windy, with sunshine in between, and when its rained, its rained heavy.

Should have went out today, it did not rain at all, despite what the weather forecasters said, I sometimes think that Ayr is in a meteorological oddspot, when its raining everywhere else, its dry here, and vice versa, granted we get less rain than most of Scotland, but I hate the stuff, I keep hearing about, we need it, sod that, I don't, well I do need water to drink and wash, but rain, sheee, I could gladly do without it.
Oh I often hear mountain bikers going on about how they love riding in the rain, grrr, I love riding in the sun, sunshine that's all I want, its not too much to ask for now is it.

My little stomach upset has cleared up nicely, what a luxury not have to stay within five meters of a toilet, might attempt a run tomorrow

On The Web Not The Bike

2006-08-25T14:55:00.000Z

The weather and my stomach are both lousy, between the times that I have spent on the great white porcelain throne, I have been on the web trying to find new trails, and hopefully, the two that I have spotted are doable, got a bit of concerns about them, both climb quite high and are in remote spots.

Trail one, Patna to Straition, Straition to Barr, Barr to Girvan, at least I come out in Girvan, and from there its possible to either cycle home, or get a train or bus

Trail two, Muirkirk to either Sanquahar or Wanlockhead, which is Scotlands highest village, which is also a lead mine, oh and gold was found there, so if any of you fancy a bit of gold panning, this is the place, don't think I will add them onto the Burns Country Ubertrail, I reckon it would be just too far, then again, it could always be split into daily sections, hmmm, have to think on that one.

Stuck In

2006-08-24T20:26:00.000Z

Never got out again today, my stomach is still iffy, granted I have not been taking as many trips to the porcelain bowl to contemplate my navel, and the end product was not something that would have been banned under the Geneva Convention on chemical warfare.

Once again spent the time I had, surfing the web looking for trails, and if I have read the webpages and maps right, there is a cross country trail from Straition to Barr, with have to make sure of my info, will ask around to see if anyone knows if its doable

Not Out

2006-08-22T19:56:00.000Z

Ok never got out at all today, I had an upset stomach, it was aching, and the occasional trips to the toilet did not help.

Anyhow found out today that there is now an official trail that runs along the River Ayr, and its been called, the River Ayr Way, zero out of ten for originality, but from what I can see, they are planning a whole load of trails, so its good news for walkers and cyclists.

Looks like there is going to be plenty to explore next year, or later on this year, that all depends on the weather

River Ayr

2006-08-21T14:48:00.000Z

Yesterday, I headed back up to Oswald House to check out a few more trails that I had spotted, the one that runs through Mount Charles Wood is an absolute belter, its tight, steep singletrack, plus it runs inside the wood, I never cleared it, and I tried the trail three times, kind of chickened out at a couple of bits, maybe next time, got the impression as well that i had missed some of the trail.

Later on, I checked out a couple of trails that run either side of the River Ayr, both look good, however from first impressions, the one that runs from near the Wallace Monument seems to be the best, I only managed to get down as far as the farm.
When I reached here, I thought the trail dead ended, however on closer inspection, there is a way through, next time I am down there, I will have too check it out.

Got a few concerts to go and see down here in Ayr, Hayseed Dixie, and Nazareth, and boy, am I looking forward to them, both are on at the Ayr Town Hal

Slight dilemma

2006-08-17T18:17:00.001Z

Went for a quick spin today, the weather forecast was for rain later on, and boy did it rain or what, thunder lightning, and a torrential downpour, but I was indoors by then.

After wasting my time yesterday trying to get across the 3M trail, I sent off an email to the council, by the time I got back, there was a reply, got to give them credit for a quick reply, and the essence of which is, they are aware of the problems on the trail, and have plans to upgrade the path in the next four to six weeks, well that now leaves me with a small problem do I add the trail to my ubertrail, and hope that the council do a good job of upgrading the path, they have done a brilliant job out at Oswald House, and if they do this section as well as that, then it will be worth while adding it, or do I ignore it, which will fling the map out, if I do add it later.

I suppose adding it later is not too much of a problem, or I can add it now, and delete it, if the upgrades are not worth the effort, will decide over the next few hours, what I might do, is add it now, and have a looksee, and if it does not look right, then get rid of it.

I am definitely buying a large tub of that Highfive energy drink, its brilliant, I woke up this morning feeling full of energy, and as soon as I got in after my MTB run, I downed a 500ml bottle that I had prepared and stuck in the fridge for a post ride drink, and yet again, it soon got rid of the aches and pains, now normally, I am very skeptical about what these products promise, power gels are fine, but I could get the same result from a fig bar, for a quarter of the price, but this stuff, well it works, went to their website and read all the scientific and marketing blurb, it all sounds good, all I care about is, that it works for me.

Long Day

2006-08-16T21:01:00.000Z

The sun was splitting the skies when I left the house today, and it stayed that way all day, although this was to have its drawbacks later on.

The Two Stairs section was fast and smooth, as was the Rozelle Loop, although it was full of dog walkers, however all of them had a smile and a hello.
Was just reaching the end of the loop, when I spotted a group of horse riders coming out of a trail, they stopped for me, as I had the right of way, but I stopped and waved them on, its nice to be nice, and besides that, it gave me a chance to take a drink of water.

The Caddyshack section was smooth and flowing, never spotted any dog walkers, although I did have to avoid walkers, and their reactions should have warned me that the place was full of tourists, it was that look as I went by, as if to say, you should not be on this path.

Headed up to the Schools Out section and flew down the hill and along the trail, and yet again, more tourists blocking the trail, I have nothing against tourists whatsoever, but they should show a bit of common courtesy and make way for others, after all, we do have to share the paths.

The Storming the Castle section was thankfully quiet, and was quick, I love this warm weather, it has dried all the trails out nicely.

Once over the road, and onto the Iron Horse trail, (used to call it the Tam O Shanter, but seeing as its an old railway line, Iron Horse sounded better)
Oh boy did I fly down this, the council have improved it no end, and its now such a pleasure to ride on, or even walk, no more swamps, no more mud pits.

Hit the river Ayr section, (still no name for it yet) and the bike seemed to fly over the bumps, and handle the tight sections with amazing ease, stopped off at the fisherman's bothy for a energy gel, and long drink of water.

Decided to head up the access track, rather than cycle to the end of the trail, and then double back, as I was heading through the housing estate, I spotted a couple of old age pensioner cyclists, gave them a wave, and they returned the favour, kind of returned my faith in tourists, then again maybe they were locals.

I spun the wheels up the road section and past Tara Craig, and then onto the road from hell, that takes you up to the 3M section, oh god how do I hate that road, it seems to go on forever.
As I was nearing the top of the access road to the masts, met a walker coming the other way, spent a pleasant fifteen minutes talking to him, as we were talking a lassie headed up the hill next to us.

Just as I was approaching the top of the Brown Carrick hill, I ran into her, said hello and we ended up talking for ten minutes or so, this was turning out to be one of those days, were I seemed to be talking to everyone, plus it gave me a chance to take a drink of water, have I mentioned how much water I was drinking.

Well the 3M trail was a disaster, it was overgrown, so much that it was almost impossible to walk never mind cycle, and this is supposed to be an official walking path, I expect to see something like that in a third world country.

The last quarter mile was good, but the road home is superb, fast, fast downhill most of the way, as I rested at the top, I spotted a vision in lycra heading towards me, she had ridden the whole damn hill, and let me tell you this, that's damn good going, we chatted for a while and then we headed down the hill, seeing as she was on a proper road bike, she flew away from me, not a problem, I was just glad to be freewheeling.

Got back to the promenade, and sheee, I wish I had not bothered, it was mobbed, and this is where I ran into the most pig ignorant bunch of people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter, and in use the word people loosely.

It was the family from hell, all dressed in football tops, what the hell is it about folks that they want to wear football tops when they are not going to a match, you don't see football players pulling on overalls and pretending to be joiners or plumbers.

Anyhow, they were spread across the promenade and where refusing to give way for anyone, and I know they saw me coming, but they still refused to budge, so I remembered a tip from a New York dispatch rider that I had read on the web, look one in the eye, and accelerate, now I don't normally do this, I am far too polite when I am out, I believe in let and let live, but for some reason this lot got my hackles up.

At the last moment, nedette one moves out of the way, followed by a below from the chief of the ned family, and it was the classic line from the Ministry of Made Up Laws, "you should not be on here"
Wrong day to say something to me, I slammed the anchors on, reversed direction, and pointed to the sign above chief neds head, come on he was standing right under the sign that says, national cycle route 7, then again, maybe he could not read.

As we were exchanging a few pleasantries, I spotted an old lady in one of those electric wheelchair's heading towards us, as standard, the pitbull family did not move, so I grabbed my bike, placed it on the seawall, and let her pass, this is the bit that made me laugh out loud.
As only the old can do, she gave them a withering look, and said, "some people should not be allowed out without supervision" oh I hope I am that withering when I get to that age.

With that, I headed home, how was I going to beat that, got home and tried the Highfive energy recovery drink that I had got, now, I have got to admit I was a bit skeptical, but it only took an hour for it to take effect, and I felt great, the tiredness in my legs was gone, now I am going to buy a tub of the stuff, and fill my Camelback with it

Busy Weekend

2006-08-14T20:06:00.000Z

Been busy all weekend, this is about the first freetime I have had, so lets see, Saturday, went looking for new trails, I am in my Kit Carson mode at the moment, never found any, but did enjoy the run out looking for them.
Cleared a couple technical sections that I have never managed before, and boy did that make me feel good, the new downhill inner tubes are proving to be worth their weight in gold, the tyres feel stronger with them in.

Sunday, went up to Oswald House again, this time I walked the entire Waggontrain trail, I was surprised to find out that the new section they are building, comes out at the Old Annbank bridge, then crosses over and follows the river all the way to Annbank, where you can join the old trail,which takes you back to Oswald House.
Took a few photos on my camera phone, will post them later, and put the links to Oswald House and the like.

Today, went out for a five hour spin, up the Carrick Hills, and some of the Ubertrail, was hoping to find some new trails, sheee, no luck there.
Looks like I am just going to have to bite the bullet, and stick to the road section that leads up to the masts.
Got a load of stuff from my LBS today, energy gels and Hifive energy drinks, will give them a try and see how they are, the gels work fine, I have tried them before, and they are superb for getting energy back into tired muscles.

Good Day

2006-08-11T18:15:00.000Z

Well I managed a three hour spin today, and so much for the weather forecast saying that the wind would die down, where I was, there was not much evidence of that, granted, it was still warm and dry, so that's a bonus.

Still working on my ubertrail, and at the moment I have a small problem, and for once its one that I am happy to have, too many trails to link.
Its taking me a bit of trail an error to link them, think I have maybe found a way, all I need to do is head up to the Carrick Hills and check to see if the trail that I think goes where it does, well, goes where it does.
I know that sounds kind of dumb, but the downhill section that I know of, runs to the left, however, there is a trail that runs to the right, and hopefully this will take me out at the road, and from there, I can work out if its worth while doing in reverse, and if that works, then yippee, I can avoid the main road all the way up into the Carricks, if not booo.

Spotted an item on the news that caught my attention, it seems that they have built a walking trail up in Kintyre, will have to check out if it can be cycled, and if they allow MTB's on it

Oh To Be Fit Enough

2006-08-08T16:10:00.000Z

Spotted this on the BBC's news website

The first ever Trans Scotland mountain biking race is set to take place across the south of Scotland next year.
The seven-day marathon in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders hopes to attract riders from across Europe.

It will be based around the 7stanes biking centres at Glentrool, Mabie, Ae, Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Newcastleton and the Tweed Valley.

Organisers said the success of previous one-day events staged in Selkirk had prompted the ambitious plans.
Merida Marathons is staging a similar event in Wales this month and hopes the Scottish event can go ahead in May 2007.
"We are already active with one of our main events in Selkirk," said spokesman Michael Wilkens.
I have seen grown men coming over the line crying saying it is the best day's mountain biking they have had
Michael WilkensMerida Marathons
"It is a lovely place with a fantastic course and a fantastic set up.
"The Borders offer something similar to the trail course in Wales."

The idea is to have a series of timed special stages at the 7stanes courses with other link stages totalling anything up to 75 miles a day.

Competitors from Holland, Belgium, Italy and even Hong Kong are taking part in the Welsh event.
Mr Wilkens said there was no reason why the Scottish event would not attract even better numbers than the 300 hoped for in Wales.

He said the Tweed Valley event was rated as one of the best around.
"I have seen grown men coming over the line crying saying it is the best day's mountain biking they have had," he said.

Packing For Her Indoors

2006-08-07T21:53:00.000Z

Spent most of the day helping her indoors get ready for her holiday to Andorra, after all the panicking and the "what have I forgot" moments of terror, she finally headed round to her mothers, she is staying there overnight, so that they can share a taxi to the airport.

This afternoon I headed into to town, and spent an hour in my LBS, oh boy the Specialized range for 2007 looks so cool, unfortunately all I can do is window shop, but gives me an idea what will be next on my wish list

Omens

2006-08-03T19:36:00.000Z

Well I decided to go out on the bike, the weather was good, however, as I was heading along the Rozelle Loop, I spotted that some of my route was still sealed off for the flower show, this should have warned me, that the biking Gods where about to mock me, but do I ever take notice of bad omens, well obviously not.

Hit the Caddyshack Trail, and soon discovered that the council were in the process of trimming the bushes and trees, good for visibility, but thorns everywhere.

The rest of the trails were in good nick, so I decided to have a looksee at the River Ayr section, to see if I could find a way further along the river, came to the end of the trail, hopped over the fence, and walked around the edge of the field, did not spot a route, however, I did spot a gate at the top of the field, and I thought ah ha, a way out, sheee, I should have brought a machete, it was that overgrown, I ended up with cuts and scrapes as I fought my way through, granted, it would be a good route if it was not that overgrown, yeah and if my aunty had nuts, she would be my uncle.

Oh, and guess what, I got a visit from the puncture demon, it was a long walk home, and by the time I got home, I was in a foul mood, so a hot bath filled with radox, a glass of cold milk, an hours sleep, and I was feeling a bit calmer.

Will either put the bike in tomorrow and get the front wheel rebored out to take a Shcraeder valve, to get an insert fitted to the back one, to take a presta valve

I Am Becoming A Lazy Fat Git

2006-08-02T15:28:00.000Z

I ma suffering from a bad case of lazynitness at the moment, in other words, I cannot be bothered doing a sodding thing, and any excuse to nought will do, its too windy, its to wet, its too warm, you get the picture.
So tomorrow, fingers crossed, I will get my fat lazy ass out of bed early, and hit the trails, and I am the one who was moaning that I did not have my bike, and now that I have it, all I am doing is sitting if front of my computer catching a pixel tan.

Lousy Weather

2006-08-01T16:24:00.000Z

Never managed to get out at all today, the weather was awful, it was windy, with occasional heavy showers, ah the vagaries of a Scottish summer.
Still, I have to look on the bright side, I know that I will get out sometime this week, and I have a few new trails to check out, the thought of that, keeps me going.

Will still have to stick the front wheel in to my LBS, at the moment I am running two different types of valves on my bike, not that I have a problem with that in theory, but having to carry two different sets of inner tubes around ain't such a good thing, and knowing my luck, I will get two visits from the puncture demon, and of course, it will be the wrong type of inner that I will have in my pack

Like A Muppet

2006-07-31T19:29:00.000Z

Well like a complete muppet, I believe the weather forecast, and guess what, it did not rain till late this afternoon, and even as I am typing this in, the sun is out.

Maybe, just maybe I get can get out tomorrow, is it just a coincidence that as soon as I get my bike back, it rains, I think not, well at least it gave me the chance to work on my route map

Oswald House

2006-07-30T20:38:00.000Z

Was up at Oswald House today, and boy did i strike it lucky, i found a section of absolute frelling brilliant singletrack, however, i think that Howard Moiser has already wrote about this on his great blog.

At Wallace's Seat, i spotted what looked like a new section of trail being built, so i will check that out during the week, now all i have to do, is find someway to add it to the Burns Country Ubertrail that i am in the process of creating, hmm, wonder if thats the right word to use, considering that its not me thats actually building it, ah well never mind, it will have to do

On The Road Again

2006-07-29T17:01:00.000Z

Yippee, I got my bike back today, and boy what a difference having a new wheel makes, I was surprised at how different the bike felt, it seemed to freewheel more easily, and maybe its my imagination, but it seemed to go quicker as well.

Will find out tomorrow, I am heading out for a long run, weather permitting that is, if it is dry, I have a chance, I am going to have a look at the River Ayr section, and if at all possible, I am heading out to Oswald House

Sat On Me Ass

2006-07-26T11:16:00.000Z

Yesterday i just sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine, and why the frell not, after all, its a bit of a miracle that we have such good weather up here in Scotland, and its even stranger that it has lasted so long, and on that note, i pick my bike up either this Thursday or Friday, and can you take a guess what the weather forecast is for Friday, yep, rain, grrr, the Gods mock me.

Might pop out later and have a look at a possibe new route into Rozelle Estate, spotted it on Google's map web page thingy, and boy is it good, i can zoom in, and spot possible trails without having to move mmy fat arse from my chair, now thats shiny.

Still No Bike

2006-07-24T21:44:00.000Z

Went for another long walk today, the weather is still superb, as I was in the area, I popped into my local LBS, and had a chat with Liz and Heather, also I had to explain that it will be Friday before I can pick my bike up, shee, I am getting so damn frustrated with waiting, oh its not the shops fault, its all mine, spent the money that I had put by for the bike, so its a severe slap on the wrist for that.

Beginning to get the hang of the Wayfaring site, for me, it works best if I do a small section at a time, rather than trying to finish the whole damn thing in a oner, patience aint one of my strong points.
One of the things that I have decided to do, is change my wheels to accept Shreader type valves, I have been using Presta valves since I got it, but its almost impossible to get downhill inner tubes for them, so I am switching to Shreader, now I need to practice blowing them up, I am far to used to using the Presta type.

Doing My Kit Carson

2006-07-24T10:43:00.000Z

Was out yesterday looking for new trails to add to the Ubertrail, ended up going along the River Ayr, and up to Oswald House.
Found one trail, its an easy level trail, but did spot a couple more that look more demanding, will check them out soon.

One side of the river is an official bike and walk track, and is flat and fast, however, I did hear rumours that on the other bank, there is a semi official trail, will most definitely have to check that out

My Wayfaring map of the trails that I ride is coming on nicely, although it does take forever to reload after I have saved it, so its coming on slower than I would like, but, I will persevere.

Was at a Guns N Roses concert at the SECC on Friday, what do I have to say about that, apart from, it was frelling superb, apart from getting in, the queue was right out the main doors, along the main corridor, and then it doubled back, before we got into the arena.
Why do people pay for seats, then insist on standing, sheee, well a couple of idiots tried that at the SECC, and security jumped down their throats, one guy started arguing, and he was almost thrown out, he swapped his tickets with a couple in the standing area, so why the frell did he not buy those in the first place, would have saved him a fortune into the bargain.

Roll On Saturday

2006-07-20T23:11:00.000Z

I am getting desperate for Saturday to come around, so that I can get my bike, and then i can hit the trails.
Been using Googles maps to log my route, and so far it is coming along fine, only thing is, the maps are not that accurate, and some of the route is not complete yet.
So its not going to very accurate, but it should give a good idea of my ubertrail, also i am planning on updating it as i add more, again there is a slight problem, every time i save it, it gives me a different URL.
Ergo, before i post it, i will have to finish the whole route, either that, or i update the link when the trail is updated