2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[DaveMatthews]

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Back in 2022 I lost my dear old dad and I vowed to ride to St Andrews from my doorstep every year to remember him, as long as I am fit and well! Last year I lost my big brother to cancer so now I have more reason to complete my mission, they both loved St Andrews! Yesterday was the perfect day for it with light winds, starting with a light SW and changing to the NE in the afternoon! Just perfect to have a tailwind all day, albeit a minimal one but what a difference it makes! This was my 4th consecutive year completing the ride! I set off at 5am and took the cycle path around Hillend Loch, what a way to start my day with this view!

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Last year I rode up inland and back down the east coast so I switched it about this year and headed up the coast! I made my down in to Falkirk, enjoying the big descent into Glen Village at almost 45mph! Then through Grangemouth and over the Kincardine Bridge, grabbing a few photos on the way!

The canal at Grangemouth!

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2 weeks ago I got absolutely drenched here and the Ochils were completely hidden, quite a difference yesterday!

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I then made my way long the coast road passing through many villages before arriving in Rosyth, on my way I took this photo in Crombie with the hill with the radio masts overlooking Knockhill Racing Circuit in the distance!

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I then continued along the coast to Aberdour where I had my first real climb, up until now I was using eco mode...level 2 was required for this beast! The view at the top of the climb is sure worth the effort!

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The Pentland Hills to the south across the Forth!

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Then I had the awesome descent into Burntisland to look forward to, then it was up the climb into Kinghorn on the excellent cycle path! As always I stopped at Pettycur Bay for photos of the stunning beach!

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From Kinghorn the coast road turns north towards Kirkcaldy, what a road it is with many ups and downs! I stopped on the Esplanade for this photo, this would be the last of the blue skies for a while! It looked a bit dark to the north...not what the forecast was showing!

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I had a big climb out of town now and surprised myself by making it up in eco mode! It sure helps being a lightweight when carrying 3 heavy batteries! I continued up the coast road to Leven where it was threatening to rain but thankfully it stayed dry! It was time for more climbing, nothing steep though and I stopped at the top of the climb in Upper Largo for this photo looking across the North Sea with mainland at North Berwick way in the distance!

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It was time to switch to battery 2 at 65 miles, pretty impressive for my original 8 year old battery! I continued along the coast to Elie where I stopped at the harbour for this photo, ,I enjoyed a well earned snack here!

View attachment 211448From Elie I hugged the coastline passing through St Monans where I could feel rain in the air, not even enough to wet the roads thankfully! I got passed by a St Andrews bus here and I was playing cat and mouse with it through Pitenweem and Anstruther, I bet the driver was cursing me at times! I was now heading for Crail where I stopped for a photo of the tiny harbour!

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I was already at 80 miles here with almost 10 miles to go to St Andrews, 10 miles of wonderful coast road! Those dark clouds were looking ominous...

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I always stop for a photo of this gorgeous little church on the coast road!

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Sure enough I could feel some spits of rain nearing St Andrews but by the time I arrived in the town it had stopped! The beach was looking a bit rough, the recent weather played a big part I'm sure!

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It was surprisingly quiet at the beach, most unusual for June but I'm sure the early morning Scotland game in Boston caused a few hangovers... Well done lads, can we make it past the first round for the first time? Probably not... It was time to start heading west inland for home, I had a route planned in my head but with 90 miles covered I had to have a rethink as I would have had another 90 miles to do so I decided to skip the road out to Newburgh! My record is 170 miles in 2024 and I knew how tough that was so I made the sensible decision! The downside was I would be using the main A91 way more than I wanted to but with it being a Sunday I thought it would have been ok, I was wrong!

From St Andrews I took the back road to Pitscottie, its a gem of a road but mostly uphill! Thankfully I had a tailwind helping but not much of a wind, for once I could have done with a 30mph tailwind all the way home...keep dreaming Rab! I then had a big climb out of Pitscottie which is quickly followed by a cracking descent all the way to Cupar, 100 miles appeared on my gps near Cupar! I grabbed a couple of photos on the way, things were starting to look brighter now as I was heading inland!

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From Cupar it was time to brave the A91 for 15 miles or so, at first it wasn't too bad but it started to get busy after Gateside! At least the nice views were helping!

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I was glad to reach Milnathort and get off the fast roads for a bit, although I had to use the A977 for a mile or so before taking the back road to Cleish, what a road that was! The final climb was tough, the photo doesn't do it justice! That climb finished off my 2nd battery at 125 miles, so I got 60 miles from that one!

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I was now on the road that leads to Knockhill, its like this most of the way!

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At the end of the road I turned left to head up the climb to Knockhill but I turned off a short time later to head down the awesome back road to Saline, mostly big downhills and a lot of fun!

This is the start of the road, a very fast descent!

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The dark clouds were hanging around the Ochils but I had nice sunshine where I was!

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The road out of Saline is pretty awesome also, another big downhill!

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I then took the back road towards Forestmill and enjoyed this epic little road with this amazing descent on lovely smooth tarmac!

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From there I headed back into Kincardine and used my usual roads all the way home, so I won't bore you all with the details! Other than to say as I arrived in Falkirk I still had 60% battery remaining so the big climbs were a total breeze using level 3 assist, I could have easily surpassed my 170 mile record but I decided 165 was more than enough and judging by my state today I made the right decision... I slept for well over 10 hours, what a ride it was and worth the pain for sure! I'm sure my dad and big brother were by my side all the way and keeping me safe!

Good to see you back Dave @Saratoga Dave I hope you are keeping well buddy!

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Nicely done my good man... nicely done indeed.
Amazing...

 

[Watana Bob]

Okay Rab, I'm calling for a DNA test, you cannot possibly be human!

 

[RabH]

Holy hell. What a great tribute.

Thank you!

So I have to figure this out Rab- on my Vado SL, it being fairly light, I ride unassisted when it feels good, ie the flats, tailwind, descending & I hit assist then when the bike starts feeling heavy and sluggish under me, start of a hill for instance. Now your Giant has a bigger battery and a fairly powerful motor, so I'm guessing that most of the time you'll probably need a little juice, a bit of Eco, to counter that motor/battery weight & help keep that sluggish weighed down feeling away? Saving the bigger power settingsr/more batt draining, for those many hills and nasty headwinds.

I've often wondered how you ration the motor on such amazingly long rides, while not having to push along your heavier bike without assist, which is probably not fun. Though you are more aero and more road tyres than me.

With 3 batteries on board it is hard going with no assist, thanks to my strong legs I can manage with 2 on board up to a point! 2 weeks ago I was riding unassisted with 2 on board for a few miles into a 30mph headwind, it was on the flat though! Riding regularly like I do plays a big part also of course, at 68 you have to keep the pedals turning to keep the fitness levels going!

Okay Rab, I'm calling for a DNA test, you cannot possibly be human!

I'm not Bob, no dna test needed... My younger brother said he would be knackered driving that distance!

Nicely done my good man... nicely done indeed.
Amazing...

Thanks Dave!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Okay Rab, I'm calling for a DNA test, you cannot possibly be human!

You really think that space aliens from an advanced cycling civilization would be stupid enough not to spoof our DNA?

 

[Chargeride]

At last..

 

[Rás Cnoic]

At last..
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You can see the heavy duty marine grease they use to help seal everything!

 

[RabH]

You can see the heavy duty marine grease they use to help seal everything!

I had 2 bearings replaced on my motor at 14000 miles and they used the marine grease, 33000 miles later and its still super smooth! It cost me just over £109 and it was money very well spent!

 

[Chargeride]

This motor has done less than 1000 miles, new sprag clutch, planetary gears and upgraded bearings

 

[RabH]

This motor has done less than 1000 miles, new sprag clutch, planetary gears and upgraded bearings

Very poor indeed! I just noticed the company that did your motor is the same one that did mine back in 2021, they were called Performance Line Bearings back then! I can't praise them highly enough and I hope you have much better luck this time, these guys know what they are doing!

The owner Pete had a motor failure on his own bike and found the manufacturers were reluctant to provide spares to fix them so he took matters into his own hands and stripped the motor down and fixed it himself, the rest is history and they are highly regarded in the e bike industry!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm afraid Charge would destroy any motor... On the other hand, I'm so happy he got his motor returned!

 

[Chargeride]

Shes alive.

 

[Chargeride]

Mc Trailrider is doing guided rides.
Dont watch this because you might need to come to Scotland and live in the mountains.
Starts 0.50

 

[peterh_nz]

Back in 2022 I lost my dear old dad and I vowed to ride to St Andrews from my doorstep every year to remember him, as long as I am fit and well! Last year I lost my big brother to cancer so now I have more reason to complete my mission, they both loved St Andrews!

That's a special way to remember them. May you continue to do so for years to come.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Dont watch this because you might need to come to Scotland and live in the mountains.

Certainly not for this reason

 

[Chargeride]

So me and Brian are going to John O Groats after the Scotland trip.
My own opinion and that of others is its a bit desolate and featureless.
So Ive plotted a coastal path route and found this on it

 

[stompandgo]

Wow

 

[stompandgo]

Last night was Pinarello Demo Day at the shop. I do not normally work on Tuesdays, but I clocked in to help the inside rep get the demo bikes ready, then did the second group ride as usual. This time, we had two retired pros in the group, both of whom I raced with in the 80's and never came close to beating them. It was the first time I felt the HPR50 go into thermal derating in Eco, which is set to 100w max. We had long runs at 26-32mph. Like all Class 3 e-bikes that are not modified, assist stops at 27mph. No pictures. 30% battery usage. One of the last three standing at the end.

 

[JGcycle]

A few pics from this morning's 20km ride:

 

[RabH]

That's a special way to remember them. May you continue to do so for years to come.

Thank you Peter, I do hope it will be many many years!

 

[RabH]

After Sundays epic ride our weather has been awful once again, today it was showing heavy rain in the morning with light rain in the afternoon! It turned out to be a mostly dry morning after some early rain, heading into the afternoon it was still dry so I decided to go for it but knew I was going to get wet eventually! The wind was from the SSW and around 20mph so I was intending to head south to Lanark and enjoy a tailwind on the way back, I had to abort that idea almost immediately as the sky to the south was looking extremely threatening! So I chose to head east to Blackridge and north over the Heights climb and east to Avonbridge, then I took the awesome back road to Standburn!

Its such a great road but has many steep climbs!

At the top looking back down!

I stopped for this photo before heading for Standburn on the awesome rollercoaster road, its full of ups and downs and just such a joy to ride!

After passing through Standburn I enjoyed the descent all the way to Whitecross, on the way I passed over the canal!

The foliage is really growing due to all the rain!

The bridge over the canal, what a road this is also!

This part is just incredible, just around the bend its a big fast descent!

At Whitecross I turned north to take the road to Polmont, stopping for some photos on the way!

The big climb out of Whitecross, so far it was still dry!

At the top of the climb looking back down, oh look its a car... Just before that 2 big tipper trucks squeezed by each other!

At the end of the road I turned west for Polmont, then south up the big climb into Brightons! Then it was west to Hallglen and up through Lionthorn into Falkirk, where I joined the back road to Bonnybridge!

Another car, yes it was a busy day!

From Bonnybridge I headed west for Allandale and the sky was starting to look threatening just after I turned this corner!

I stopped at the canal a short time later, just before Allandale and the rain started to fall!

I got lucky though as 2 narrowboats were passing each other in the locks, perfect timing!

The rain then started to batter down so I decided not to wait for the other boat, it would have been a few minutes before the lock filled up again so I got the hell out of Dodge!

35 miles in the dry was a bonus, from then on it was almost incessant heavy rain but at least it was mild so I was still enjoying it! After passing through Allandale I turned south and took the back road to Walton, another gem of a road!

Then I took the back road to Arns, love this road also!

After lots of climbing came this cracking descent!

I found a nice shelter here out of the rain for a short break and some snacks!

Then it was back into the rain!

The rain just got heavier and heavier and I wasn't the only idiot...

It was time to forget about taking photos and get my head down and get home for a well earned shower! There were many floods all the way home and a moron in a truck decided to pass me as I was avoiding a big flood and he absolutely drenched me, it went right over my head! I bet he was sitting in his truck laughing his head off...if I had dived into the canal I couldn't have got any wetter than I was! Despite the rain I really enjoyed my first ride after my monster Sunday ride, it felt like a ride round a park compared! After tomorrow things are looking promising, on Sunday I will be heading to Knockhill for the British Superbike Championship and the weather is looking perfect! It will be crazy busy though so the bike will be staying at home, it looks like it will be the first dry race meeting of the year...