2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[RabH]

Last month I drove to Peebles and cycled a clockwise route to Moffat and back, today I drove to Moffat and cycled the anticlockwise route from Moffat to Peebles and back and I know which one I prefer! The anticlockwise wins as the ride from Moffat to Peebles is just immense, this was the scene as I set off from Moffat at 6am! Straight into a climb right away and it was very welcome as it was rather chilly at the start, around 8C and virtually no wind at this point!

A couple of miles further and this is the scene that greeted me, an awesome downhill on a perfectly smooth and twisty road!

It was total cycling heaven and there was very little traffic at this early hour, actually while I stopped for the photos a huge logging truck passed and it was fully loaded! It was perfect timing, I continued towards Peebles and soon reached the Loch of the Lowes which was looking so good!

Loch of the Lowes is quickly followed by St Marys Loch which was also looking pristine! You can see why the logging truck was fully loaded...

A little further round St Marys Loch the sky looked incredible!

I was nearing the point where I would take a left turn and head north up the climb to 1200ft at Glenlude forest, the road before this climbs gradually before dropping away and its such a nice descent before the turn at The Gordon Arms Hotel where the climb starts!

At the top of the climb its straight into an awesome descent down towards Traquair, I was going to ride through Traquair and take the road to Innerleithen but changed my mind due to the time of the morning as the main road would now be getting busy! So I took the back road to Peebles through Cardrona where I actually felt some rain in the air for a short time, it soon cleared up thankfully!

This is looking towards Innerleithen and I saw quite a few trucks passing through so I was glad I picked the back road despite some really rough parts at times!

I soon arrived in Peebles and grabbed the obligatory photo from the bridge in the centre of the town, overlooking the River Tweed!

I left Peebles via the main road as there aren't really any other options but luckily the road wasn't too busy and it would only be 4 miles before I turned off the A72 and joined the B712 through the villages of Stobo and Drumelzier!

The lovely scenery didn't stop here!

A few miles later and the River Tweed came into view again!

The quiet back road came to an end and it was time to join the main A701 to Moffat, this road starts at around 600ft and climbs up to almost 1400ft in the next 15 miles! Its such a gradual climb though and only a couple of parts registered as climbs with the summit software! Of course by now the wind had picked up and it was a direct headwind all the way up the climb, around 20mph so I used level 3 assist all the way up so it wasn't too much of a hardship!

At the top of the climb it was time to enjoy the awesome 6.5 mile descent down the Devils Beeftub to Moffat, stopping for photos on the way down of course!

I arrived in Moffat and headed for the car park where my car was parked up, but I stopped at the little boating pond across from the car park first and was kicking myself for not bringing any money with me so I missed out on the pedal boats....

What a fantastic ride that was, certainly one of my favourites of the year so far!

 

[dodgeman]

Nice looking ride as usual. The names of the towns are so weird to me, it almost like you’re from England.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

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Last month I drove to Peebles and cycled a clockwise route to Moffat and back, today I drove to Moffat and cycled the anticlockwise route from Moffat to Peebles and back and I know which one I prefer! The anticlockwise wins as the ride from Moffat to Peebles is just immense, this was the scene as I set off from Moffat at 6am! Straight into a climb right away and it was very welcome as it was rather chilly at the start, around 8C and virtually no wind at this point!

View attachment 160007
A couple of miles further and this is the scene that greeted me, an awesome downhill on a perfectly smooth and twisty road!

View attachment 160008
View attachment 160009
It was total cycling heaven and there was very little traffic at this early hour, actually while I stopped for the photos a huge logging truck passed and it was fully loaded! It was perfect timing, I continued towards Peebles and soon reached the Loch of the Lowes which was looking so good!

View attachment 160010
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Loch of the Lowes is quickly followed by St Marys Loch which was also looking pristine! You can see why the logging truck was fully loaded...

View attachment 160012
View attachment 160013
A little further round St Marys Loch the sky looked incredible!

View attachment 160014
View attachment 160015
I was nearing the point where I would take a left turn and head north up the climb to 1200ft at Glenlude forest, the road before this climbs gradually before dropping away and its such a nice descent before the turn at The Gordon Arms Hotel where the climb starts!

View attachment 160016
At the top of the climb its straight into an awesome descent down towards Traquair, I was going to ride through Traquair and take the road to Innerleithen but changed my mind due to the time of the morning as the main road would now be getting busy! So I took the back road to Peebles through Cardrona where I actually felt some rain in the air for a short time, it soon cleared up thankfully!

This is looking towards Innerleithen and I saw quite a few trucks passing through so I was glad I picked the back road despite some really rough parts at times!

View attachment 160021
I soon arrived in Peebles and grabbed the obligatory photo from the bridge in the centre of the town, overlooking the River Tweed!

View attachment 160022
I left Peebles via the main road as there aren't really any other options but luckily the road wasn't too busy and it would only be 4 miles before I turned off the A72 and joined the B712 through the villages of Stobo and Drumelzier!

The lovely scenery didn't stop here!

View attachment 160023
A few miles later and the River Tweed came into view again!

View attachment 160024
The quiet back road came to an end and it was time to join the main A701 to Moffat, this road starts at around 600ft and climbs up to almost 1400ft in the next 15 miles! Its such a gradual climb though and only a couple of parts registered as climbs with the summit software! Of course by now the wind had picked up and it was a direct headwind all the way up the climb, around 20mph so I used level 3 assist all the way up so it wasn't too much of a hardship!

At the top of the climb it was time to enjoy the awesome 6.5 mile descent down the Devils Beeftub to Moffat, stopping for photos on the way down of course!

View attachment 160025
View attachment 160026
I arrived in Moffat and headed for the car park where my car was parked up, but I stopped at the little boating pond across from the car park first and was kicking myself for not bringing any money with me so I missed out on the pedal boats....

View attachment 160027
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What a fantastic ride that was, certainly one of my favourites of the year so far!

A particularly beautiful ride from you! So jealous that you can pedal to a place called Devils Beeftub.

 

[DiggyGun]

No rain today, so out I went with a mate.

DG…

 

[Readytoride]

Since July 11th our Mid-Atlantic area has been sweltering under an endless string of 90+°f days with wretched humidity keeping every one inside in the AC. Even the certifiably insane weren't crazy enough to be out in that heat wave. My bikes stayed in the garage, and I stayed either in the AC or in the pool.

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that the heat wave broke enough to tempt me out for a nice bike ride down into the next County and back. Just 24 miles, but was it nice! Being midweek I had the roads and the scenery all to myself .

The only downside was the massive windstorms that had blown through the Mid-Atlantic region the night before, taking down power poles and trees and leaving a front-page top-of-the-evening-newscast caliber mess behind, had not quite left the area. So I had a headwind, that surprisingly remained a headwind no matter which direction I turned. North south east and west. It was all the same. A constant headwind. But the day was beyond gorgeous, the skies were brilliant, the grass had sprung back from dead brown to vibrant lush alive green overnight from the torrential rains, and everything just look like an artist's painting. Even the clouds put on their finest display with all sorts of variation, all white as snow and splashed across the sky with a giddy randomness.

It was a world that brought a smile to the face, drinking in all of this scenic beauty, and encouraging a surge of energy to the pedals to see what was over the next hill. Would it surprise you if I told you that it was more of the same glorious landscape? I count myself very lucky to live in an area of such incredible natural beauty.

My route took me past many of the large, impeciably groomed estates at the top of Fauquier County, and hundreds of acres of farm fields bursting with millions of corn stalks that were now well over 7' high, each stalk flush with several corn cobs still developing in the late summer sun. The crops were so high that they now obscured the views in the distance that I enjoyed in the springtime when the stalks were no higher than my hip. It will be another month or so before the corn stalks start to turn brown in preparation for harvesting. So for now I can enjoy the vast seas of deep green gently lifting and dipping their feathery tops in waves under the onslaught of the everywhere-all-at-once headwinds.

I stopped at one point as I was approaching the village of Upperville to take a shot of the big American flag flying in the distance above the town fire station. The winds had it beautifully stretched out to show the Stars and Stripes. And the tree in the foreground is just emphasizing how much wind was coming across the mountains.

Coming into the village it's a quick turn to the left to get on the main highway, which is reduced just a two-lane road through the town, and then a quick jog to the right to get back on the country lanes. A little further along I stopped to take a photo of a quartet of ancient oak trees that are part of the front field for the well-known 1,000 acre estate Llangollen. Three of the trees had already succumbed to old age, but the fourth was still hanging in there, vibrant and alive and not yet ready to yield to the inevitable.

All four were much younger in 1931 when this picture below was taken of Langollen's front field during a steeplechase meet. The oak quartet would have been to the left of the photographer in this shot, and not quite as imposing as they are today. A perch on one of the limbs would have offered an unparalleled view of the racecourse had anyone been crass enough to climb any of the four. I'm guessing the attending race crowd was too "well heeled" to even envision something that silly. Good manners will have had them standing on tiptoe on the hillside to watch the well bred thoroughbreds racing at full gallop over the 4 mile course of fences. Today the fields are quiet and empty of horses which are all in pastures to the rear of the property. Polo has become the sport de jour, and a groomed area about the size of a football field is all that is required for that sport. The polo fields are in a separate area of the farm that even a perch at the very top of the sole remaining oak tree could not see.

All that remains of the glories seen by the trees are memories now, old photos on pages of books written by those who remembered the early days of the Hunt Country of America.

Incidentally, if you read the comments below the photograph you will notice two conveyances the people will have taken to the race meet: a tally ho and a tandem. The tally ho is actually a coach put to four horses, and a tandem is two horses in a line put to a cart. Both were considered the height of elegance and style in that heady pre-Great Depression era.


The following day was a simple 18 mile ride, this time further north closer to suburbia. The winds had abaited, but the heat was ramping up, discouraging me from riding too far. So I toured a local development to check out the house styles and landscaping. Nothing picture-worthy. Just a chance to stretch my legs again before the wretched humidity slides back in this weekend to ground my bikes back in the garage, and me back in the pool. By then the country roads will have been cleaned of windfall and the electricity back on for all those homes darkened by downed wires and storm damage.

We have another stretch of high 80's to 90's temps (f) next week, so it might be a while before I post back here again.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A beautiful write-up Flora! You are really good at that! Like reading a chapter of a novel!

 

[Readytoride]

Thanks, Stefan. That's so sweet!

 

[ChezCheese:)]

No rain today, so out I went with a mate.
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DG…

You look so civilized, compared to pictures of Stefan ...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

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Beautiful skies and countryside, interesting history, nice write-up. But WTF, no pink fenders and grips?

 

[DiggyGun]

This evenings ride.

Been a warmer day, but been busy all day, so nice to get a ride when a bit cooler.

DG…

 

[dodgeman]

I managed a 17 mile ride today after a rainy day yesterday. Last year and earlier this year I was focused on barns. I tried not to show the same barn twice so I’ve run out of barns. I’m now just trying to pick out other things and have started seeing yard art out of old farm equipment. I also unfortunately saw a house that had burned down. It’s unfortunate but living outside of town makes the response time slow, usually volunteer fire departments.

 

[Readytoride]

Beautiful skies and countryside, interesting history, nice write-up. But WTF, no pink fenders and grips?

Hey, I'm not Barbie...Ken-eremy.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You look so civilized, compared to pictures of Stefan ...

At least I shave myself! (at times) And Diggy is a married man! (L to R: Me, Alfer, Leszek).

As a blurred silhouette in the background...

Visible in the top-left and bottom photos.

The Road Racing Workout #3 completed around 21:00 my time. A great group ride in excellent weather conditions! (A little bit cold on the return). Around 94 km ridden on Thursday.

 

[DiggyGun]

@dodgeman


Most of the old farm equipment you see in the UK us just a pile of old rotting, rusty junk.

DG…

 

[Prairie Dog]

It was raining off and on for most of the day but the skies cleared long enough for me to get my usual ride in even if it was in the evening. Showers in the distant south but no real threat and I completed my ride albeit against a stiff headwind.

Me and my shadow. The road leading out of the city is popular with roadies but it’s not often that we come across anyone else later in the day. I recognize most who ride the same route as us including this fellow on his hybrid.

My better half took off ahead of me at the start. Hard to tell but she was all smiles as we passed each other ¾ into the ride.

 

[dodgeman]

I did another 17 miles today. A couple more pictures of old farm implement landscaping. The first one is an old wagon that I suspect had flowers in it at one time. The second picture contains an old plow and planter.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ah, what a photo!

Me in the lead of the road racing workout group on August 10th, 2023 We were riding very fast! I wonder why my left calf was stained... It is usually the right one!
Photo by Alfer.

 

[DiggyGun]

Another nice day today. But only a short ride today.


DG…

 

[Prairie Dog]

Two new items of cycling clothing in my wardrobe: a Northwave jersey, and Castelli bibs (with braces). I'm fond of the new clothes, only the bib braces could be longer a little bit!

I’ve been wearing Castelli bibs for a while they are by far my favorites to date. However, I acquired a pair of ALE Stones cargo bibs recently and find them to be very comfortable particularly during long hours in the saddle. They supposedly fall under their off-road/gravel collection but IMO, they are also superb road bib shorts. If you’re not into wearing cycling jerseys, cargo/gravel shorts have plenty of mesh pockets to tuck your phone or other small essential into.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Another nice day today. But only a short ride today.

Any ride is better than none. Mine was just about as ho-hum as most every ride this week but was briefly interrupted when a moose crossed the road on the return leg. This was the only shot that I was able to take of it as he/she was moving pretty fast through the crop of wheat. If anything, I guess it was something to chat about on the way home.

We make a habit of doing a slow lap around this cemetery in tribute to my parents who lay in rest here both of who were a great influence in my life.