5 years of e biking and I'm loving it more than ever
My amazing bike has just turned 5 years old, this bike was my introduction to e bikes back in 2018 and by pure coincidence today was my 500th ride on it! It was mentioned by
@Jeremy McCreary that I might make a trip round the block to mark my 500th (due to the poor weather forecast) and
@Prairie Dog said knowing me it would be at least a metric century, well he does know me better so...
Spring has actually sprung and when I set off at 9.15am it was a very balmy 10C, rising to 15C later in the ride! It was a murky overcast day with rain showers forecast but it turned out to be better than the forecast which was a real bonus!
The wind was from the SW today and aound 15-20mph so I headed east to Broxburn using most of the new cycle paths when possible, with the intention of turning west to take on the big descent at Kingscavil! I have been waiting for the right day to take on this descent and today was that day, its a very narrow road so timing is of the essence and my luck was in as a car had just passed me so I knew there would be nothing coming in the opposite direction! The descent is in 2 parts as it drops down steeply and flattens before the steepest part which is hidden from view!
With the car out of view I put the hammer down and hit 46.7mph, what a buzz that was
My bike is super stable due to the low centre of gravity and it felt really safe! As you can see the road then climbs steeply and just as I started the climb a car appeared over the brow of the hill but thankfully the driver had the sense to wait until I passed, I'm sure he was glad I was riding an e bike or he would have had quite a wait!
Just before the descent its a nice straight road with some lovely views of the green pastures!
A lone horse was enjoying a snack and didn't even flinch when I stopped, the meal must have been tasty!
It was nice to have some dry roads also!
Not long after this I came across this lovely Shetland pony, it had a twin which bolted when I stopped!
I was now heading for Linlithgow and decided to take the back road up past the Linlithgow Canal Centre where some nice narrowboats were moored up!
This road climbs steeply up to Beecraigs Park, from the opposite side that I usually use. I was in luck today as the deer were in the field and they very inquisitive about the guy on the bike
I stopped for this photo part way up the climb, a good time to grab a snack before the really steep part!
I passed the country park and then enjoyed the big descent down into Torphicen where I took the road down through the Avon Gorge and passed through all the villages which lead to Falkirk! I was riding through Falkirk with the intention of heading for Bonnybridge but I spotted the signs for the Falkirk Wheel which is the worlds only rotating boat lift and decided to explore as I haven't been there for quite some time. The Falkirk Wheel is a mechanical device that transfers the canal boats from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal, in all the years I have visited I have only ever seen it in action once and I wasn't in luck today...
A very interesting video regarding the canals can be seen here and you can see the wheel in action!
I left the wheel in the opposite direction and I was rewarded with a nice view of all the narrowboats!
Now I was heading for Bonnybridge where I would join the quiet back roads which eventually lead back into Falkirk, at the far end of the town! Once again I was rewarded with this lovely scene, their mother was about 50 yards away until I stopped and she was letting me know what she thought of me!
I'm sure the little 'uns were enjoying the 15 degree sunshine after the bitterly cold recent weather!
Just after I took the photo below a huge tanker truck appeared round the bend and as he spotted me he decided to move towards the verge, resulting in mud flying everywhere form the very soggy verge! Some of it just missed me...
From there I had a trouble free ride home and what a brilliant ride for my 500th
I was sure lucky with the weather, I did get caught in a few sharp showers but quickly dried off again in the sunshine! About 30 mins after I arrived home the heavens opened so I was very lucky indeed! In those 500 rides I have covered 24801 miles which is an average of almost 50 miles, March has been my best month this year with 425 miles covered from only 7 rides, an average of just over 60 miles! Here's to another 500 riders in another 5 years, I would love to put 50000 miles into this bike but who knows what the future will bring so I will enjoy each ride as it comes!