2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chargeride]

Anyway Stefan, I've sent Charlie over for a chat, give him a wave.

 

[RabH]

The forecast wasn't looking the best today but as the day progressed it looked much more promising and just before midday I set off with the some blue skies making a welcome appearance! The wind was from the NW and about 15-20mph and a temp of 5C, pretty nice for late January! I had a route planned in my mind but as I turned on to the quiet back roads near home I spotted hedge clippings all over the road and of course they were thorns, a quick about turn and I was heading east towards Salsburgh and as I crested the climb I saw the Ochill hills were covered in snow and looking amazing!

So I had a change of plan and continued east out to Uphall and turned north towards Threemiletown before turning west for Kingscavil, this is the reason I chose this route instead!

I continued west towards Beecraigs Country Park and stopped for more photos before the big descent!

After plunging down the descent it was time to take on the big climb up to the country park, part way up the climb I stopped for more photos and continued to do so all the way up the climb! On passing the counrty park there were trees down everywhere, no surprise after the big storm last Friday!

From here I had amazing closeup views of the snow covered hills!

Looking east at the big descent I hurtled down earlier!

I also had a nice view of the bridges over the River Forth!

Soon I would have another cracking descent to enjoy down into Torphicen, just before the descent I had another awesome view of the hills!

At Torphicen its another big descent down towards Westfield, part way down the descent I heard a strange noise from the bike which was followed by a proper racket from the rear! I stopped to investigate to discover I had lost a bolt from my rear mudguard which also secured my rear rack, luckily I always carry cable ties and managed to secure it temporarily! It was still making quite a noise on the rougher parts of the road but all was fine! I passed through Westfield and continued west for Avonbridge, a short time later I stopped for more photos before continuing up the climbs to Limerigg!

A typical scene today!

Looking north!

The weather had really improved now!

I arrived in Limerigg and stopped for some photos at the Black Loch!

Some dark clouds out to the west where I was headed but it remained dry all the way home!

I was now on the road to Caldercruix but turned south on to the back road to Forestfield where I turned on to the cycle path which hugs the Hillend Loch, so time for more photos!

I arrived in Caldercruix and rejoined the road to home, just 4 miles remaining and I arrived home a short time later very pleased with another awesome day on the bike! Mudguard and rack bolt replaced and ready for the next adventure which might be on Thursday all going well, 358 miles in the bag now so hopefully I will pass 400 on Thursday! I wonder how different my ride would have been if it wasn't for the farmer covering my back road in thorns...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Guys, I'm ill. It could be the nasty whooping cough or just flu.
My clinic has relatively few registered patients (that's why I chose it!) I gave the clinic a phone call this morning (Tuesday) at 7:58 am: "Please come on Thursday morning!" That made me shocked, how so?
"I assume everybody is ill with the same disease?" -- "You guessed it right, sir!"

Well, what to do. I need to survive. At least the weather is pretty warm as for the season...

 

[Watana Bob]

Hope that you feel better soon Stefan, I had a three day flu about ten days ago. It sure takes away any desire to do anything physical.

 

[Chargeride]

The missus had it, she coughed for months, eventually I became very unsympathetic.
I'm trying to watch this, go cough in the other room

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The missus had it, she coughed for months, eventually I became very unsympathetic.
I'm trying to watch this, go cough in the other room

An antibiotic should fix the whooping cough in five days. Now, I have learnt there are antigen tests available at the pharmacy, which would give the answer virus or bacteria!

 

[Chargeride]

It went around after the pandemic, everyone got it and it she took antibiotics, but it persisted.
When I say everyone, just about all my friends and family had it.
Strangely never affected me, worst was a slight weeze you can hear on my videos .
I continued to point out I was the only one not MRNA'd, which wound the brother in law up, he actually drove into a vaccination centre with me and tried to strong arm me inside.
Anyway a few weeks later he was in bed for a week with covid, then claimed it was my fault.
Hes twenty years younger as well.
I said its because you drink a bottle of wine every night

 

[JGcycle]

Guys, I'm ill. It could be the nasty whooping cough or just flu.
My clinic has relatively few registered patients (that's why I chose it!) I gave the clinic a phone call this morning (Tuesday) at 7:58 am: "Please come on Thursday morning!" That made me shocked, how so?
"I assume everybody is ill with the same disease?" -- "You guessed it right, sir!"

Well, what to do. I need to survive. At least the weather is pretty warm as for the season...

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It's either pneumonia or pertussis (bacteria, not virus) and I will be taking an antibiotic for 14 days.
What can I say...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

It's either pneumonia or pertussis (bacteria, not virus) and I will be taking an antibiotic for 14 days.
What can I say...

Hope you get well soon! Can you ride at all now?

Those nagging dry coughs that linger for weeks after an acute respiratory illness are typically a post-viral thing. They can often be broken with a short course of steroids under a doctor's supervision.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Can you ride at all now?

I could but prefer not to unless necessary.

Those nagging dry coughs that linger for weeks after an acute respiratory illness are typically a post-viral thing. They can often be broken with a short course of steroids under a doctor's supervision.

I understand it is a general remark. Before I visited the doctor, I made a new type antigen test and it read I was virus negative! (I think the test can identify up to six virus types).

Friends of mine are telling me diseases we didn't have for many years (such as pertussis) are the thing again. The point is Poland has had a very good vaccination programmes for all children. However, the vaccine for pertussis is effective for some 15 years so many of us have not been already protected for many years. Now, in the difficult times of war and migration, many diseases are recurring.

 

[Chargeride]

Yes, they even detected Polio in the sewers in England, certain demographics are very wary of all western vaccines, some of it slightly justified by very dodgy behaviour in the past.
Autism is blamed on them by many.
Every other person you meet knows someone who died of various problems after the jab, but of course every other person you meet knows someone who just died of anything.
Ive had all the normal ones including tetanus boosters, the mrna is the first I didnt take, I had one astra instead.
Yeah the clot one they banned

 

[Chargeride]

Took a ride to Hilbre Island, its a tidal path off West Kirby beach, you have to leave at low tide and you have a few hours to mooch before you set off back.

I wasnt a 100% sure if I had to do it exacty to avoid quicksand, but this local seemed to think it was OK to just head straight there.

I kept getting views of lakes of water, but they were only inches deep, as I left the coast behind, I was completely alone and it started to get a bit ominous as I could hear the roar of the turning tide in the distance

The sun hadnt risen yet, but you could tell it was going to be a good one

I passed little Hilbre, small but big enough to survive missing the tide.
Here was the larger Island.

The sea was getting loud now, I was miles out and completely alone, I tried to concentrate on reason, but it felt very exposed to calamity.
Inbetween the Islands a fall with zero mobility would be an emergency services call.

The view back had become spectacular, and once I was on the main Island I felt more at ease.

But I could watch the sea moving in at walking pace, pretty terrifying to be honest, there are buildings and compost toilets , but I would be stuck till well into darkness.

Had a quick look at the abandoned lifeboat station and then headed back.

While it was beautiful it was also blinding.

I couldnt find my tracks, so it was playing on my mind there might well be quicksand between the rock slabs.

It got more and more beautiful and dreamy atmospheric as I rode towards the smaller Island, I felt like I was in some end of world movie.
I got back well with time, covered in wet sand, but quite an experiece to solo it in the early hours.
The RNLI actually pulled me over as I neared the coast, they just wanted to see if everything was OK.
Red sky in the morning shepherd warning, it hailed massively a few hours later and there was no weather report for that.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Took a ride to Hilbre Island, its a tidal path off West Kirby beach, you have to leave at low tide and you have a few hours to mooch before you set off back.
View attachment 188951

I wasnt a 100% sure if I had to do it exacty to avoid quicksand, but this local seemed to think it was OK to just head straight there.
View attachment 188952

I kept getting views of lakes of water, but they were only inches deep, as I left the coast behind, I was completely alone and it started to get a bit ominous as I could hear the roar of the turning tide in the distance
View attachment 188953

The sun hadnt risen yet, but you could tell it was going to be a good one
View attachment 188954

I passed little Hilbre, small but big enough to survive missing the tide.
Here was the larger Island.
View attachment 188955

The sea was getting loud now, I was miles out and completely alone, I tried to concentrate on reason, but it felt very exposed to calamity.
Inbetween the Islands a fall with zero mobility would be an emergency services call.
View attachment 188956

The view back had become spectacular, and once I was on the main Island I felt more at ease.
View attachment 188957

But I could watch the sea moving in at walking pace, pretty terrifying to be honest, there are buildings and compost toilets , but I would be stuck till well into darkness.
View attachment 188958

Had a quick look at the abandoned lifeboat station and then headed back.
View attachment 188959

While it was beautiful it was also blinding.
View attachment 188960

I couldnt find my tracks, so it was playing on my mind there might well be quicksand between the rock slabs.
View attachment 188961

It got more and more beautiful and dreamy atmospheric as I rode towards the smaller Island, I felt like I was in some end of world movie.
I got back well with time, covered in wet sand, but quite an experiece to solo it in the early hours.
The RNLI actually pulled me over as I neared the coast, they just wanted to see if everything was OK.
Red sky moring shepherd warning, it hailed massivel a few hours later and there was no weather report for that.
View attachment 188962

High adventure, stunning photogaphy, and quicksand! EBR ride reports just don't get any better than that!

There was a time, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when Hollywood writers worked quicksand into their plots every chance they got. Guaranteed tension and drama only heightened here by the inexorable threat of a returning tide and visions of a beloved ebike left behind as the last handlebar grip slowly disappears beneath the sand. Bravo!

Quicksand Movies

www.imdb.com

Love how the low red sun plays on the rock and sand. RLNI?

 

[Chargeride]

I anacronymed it wrong.
RNLI
Royal national lifeboat institution

 

[RabH]

During my last ride I had the issue with the bolt on my rear rack and mudguard and the bike didn't feel right during the ride which I put down the missing bolt, I decided to give it a thorough checkover and discovered my rear wheel bearings were totally shot! They are only about 14 months old and have covered just 6500miles so it was a surprise that they were so bad! I decided to search for a new set of wheels and found a real bargain, a pair of Mavic Ksyriums at half list price so I bit the bullet and ordered them! Today was their first outing and the difference was incredible, they roll so well and I'm sure it was money well spent! I will of course order new bearings for my Fulcrum wheels and keep them as spares, the front bearings are still like new but its the rears that always wear out!

Last Friday we had the crazy storm that battered us with 90mph winds, fast forward a week and conditions were very different! Almost windless actually so perfect for a day on the bike depsite misty conditions, the morning brought a layer of fog in though which scuppered my long ride I was hoping to do! It eventually lifted around 11am, it was only 4C but with no wind it didn't feel cold! This was the scene pretty much the whole day, the clear up will take some time!

I made my down to Allanton then took the back road out to Carluke and then the back road over to Yieldshields, then down the descent back into Carluke at the eastern end where I joined the main A721 to Kilncadzow! I stopped after passing through the village for a couple of photos, normally you get a nice view of Tinto Hill from here but it was hidden in the mist and low cloud today!

The road out of Kilncadzow is a lot of fun to ride!

I continued on the A721 down to Carnwath where I turned south towards Libberton, I came across a road closure here and was in 2 minds about chancing it in the hope I could get through with the bike! I decided to chance it and was glad I did as the road was fully open as the workers probably went home early because it was a Friday!

One of the reasons I wanted to go this way!

I really enjoyed that descent, the new wheels made quite a difference!

I passed through Libberton and took the back road down to Thankerton, another amazing road!

Going this way its mostly downhill, I have done it the other way a few times and it was hard going! There is a climb soon after this but then another big descent down past the River Clyde just before arriving in Thankerton!

The road keeps going down, Thankerton is now visible and Tinto Hill still invisible! Well the summit was!

Another few photos before passing over the bridge into Thankerton!

Now on the bridge!

I did this route a few times last year and everytime I missed my turn for the village of Pettinain, I finally put that right today and was rewarded with this awesome descent! This is just the end of it, most of it is hidden!

The road then joins the main A73 to Lanark, this is heading east but I was going west towards Hyndford Bridge! Going east is a weekend ride, its busy with trucks during the week!

I arrived at Hyndford Bridge and tackled the big climb up to Lanark, I usually turn off near the top and take the road to Carstairs because its much quieter but I decided to chance a ride through Lanark as the schools finish early on a Friday! It worked out nicely and I passed through the town without any hold ups, the main reason was to take the road down into the Clyde Valley! It was good to go down the big descent into Kirkfieldbank for a change, most of my recent rides have been up the big climb into Lanark!

First photo down in the valley, if I win the lottery I might make the owner an offer!

I continued along the valley to Crossford where I stopped on the bridge over the River Clyde for a couple of photos before heading up the toughest climb of the day past Coziglen!

The road through Coziglen was strewn with debris from the storm incuding this tree which was right across the road, I was surprised none of the famers had cleared it after a full week! I guess there was just enough room to get their tractors under it...

I was now on the steepest part of the climb and stopped for a snack and more photos!

One of the garden centres down in the valley!

I had to place some twigs under the wheels here to stop the bike rolling down the hill...

For the first time the sun made a welcome appearance, I'm sure the horses enjoyed it!

Another photo near the top of the climb!

The road then leads back to Carluke where I turned west to take the road to Law Village and avoid the main roads, I soon had this big climb which doesn't look like much in the photo...

Then another big climb up through Law Village and on to Bogside where I took the back road to Morningside! Then another back road to Allanton, which was another big climb! From Allanton I took the road to Bonkle which was mostly downhill before the big climb up to Hareshaw, then some nice descents which were most welcome after all the climbing! From Hareshaw I took the back road to Salsburgh and then over the back roads to home, I got quite a shock on this road when I came across thick ice which wasn't taking up the whole road so I passed through it without issue and arrived home safely! It was a very enjoyable and very tough ride at times, the new wheels passed with flying colours!

I was saddened to read about your health issues, Stefan! @Stefan Mikes I wish you a full recovery and hope you will be enjoying your bike rides again soon!

 

[Chargeride]

I appreciate theres some killer climbs, but is that what we refer to as the lowlands?

 

[RabH]

I appreciate theres some killer climbs, but is that what we refer to as the lowlands?

Yes I'm in the central lowlands but a very hilly part of them!

 

[BlackHand]

I appreciate theres some killer climbs, but is that what we refer to as the lowlands?

I suppose you think lowlands are where you ride while the tide is out and highlands are where you have to ride when the tide comes in?

 

[Chargeride]

High adventure, stunning photogaphy, and quicksand! EBR ride reports just don't get any better than that!

There was a time, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when Hollywood writers worked quicksand into their plots every chance they got. Guaranteed tension and drama only heightened here by the inexorable threat of a returning tide and visions of a beloved ebike left behind as the last handlebar grip slowly disappears beneath the sand. Bravo!

Quicksand Movies

www.imdb.com

Love how the low red sun plays on the rock and sand. RLNI?

Yes I remember quicksand full plots from my youth, I have watched a few self rescue videos as its very much a reality on our coast, every year people get stuck or cut off by the tide, and there was a terrible tragedy years ago, with the bizarre ability of the victims being able to phone home to China as the sea engulfed them.

Morecambe Bay cockling disaster - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org