After heavy overnight rain our roads were saturated this morning and with mist and patchy fog added to the mix it certainly wasn't a morning for cycling! The forecast was looking more promising late morning and throughout the afternoon but I had my doubts and was considering waiting until Tuesday, however all of a sudden the skies started to clear and I grabbed my chance to go for it! It was a mild 8C but a chilly 20mph easterly wind made it feel close to zero! So I decided to head east into the wind and enjoy a nice tailwind on the way back home!
One of my local hills had surface dressing laid recently, making it very dangerous with loose gravel on a very steep road! I decided to check it out today in the hope the traffic had dealt with the loose gravel and my luck was in, cue a 45.2mph descent!
What a buzz that was to start my ride off, after that I headed for Newhouse and turned east and joined the cycle path to Salsburgh! Then it was up the big climb before hurtling down the descent into Harthill, still over 30mph into a 20mph headwind!
I then joined the cycle path towards Whitburn and turned south up the climb into Longridge, then it was another awesome descent before turning east towards Stoneyburn and on to West Calder! From there I turned SE towards Harburn and then SW on the back road to Wooldfords, a long straight road with little to no traffic other than a tractor!
I spotted these 2 lovely Shetland ponies on my way!
The weather was improving every minute and the sun even made a welcome appearance as I was approaching Woolfords, I stopped for a few photos before the village!
Looking SE with the Pentland Hills in the distance!
The descent into Woolfords, looking back up the hill from close to the village!
Another view of the Pentlands!
I was now heading towards Auchengray and stopped for more photos before turning south towards Tarbrax!
The road to Tarbrax passes through Polkelly, I had a very nice view of the Pentlands from here!
The road through Polkelly from the top of the climb, it almost looks flat but it is a 7% gradient!
The village of Tarbrax then came into view in the distance!
Another very quiet and mostly smooth road!
Then I had a big climb up to almost 1100ft and joined the amazing A70 road to Carnwath, this one isn't so quiet but its such a great road!
A couple of miles from Carnwath I had another amazing view of the Pentlands!
The awesome A70 road just keeps on going!
I arrived in Carwath with 38 miles covered and finally turned west, that 20mph tailwind was very welcome! I stayed on the main road for a few miles from Carnwath and near Carstairs I came across a line of traffic due to some roadworks! So I decided to take the back road to Yieldshields to avoid the traffic, I didn't see a single car for miles so it was the right decision! I passed the Alpacas after a couple of miles and managed to catch the main herd this time!
Time was getting on now so this was my last photo, after a few miles of mainly climbing I arrived in Yieldshields and turned north towards Carluke before taking the back road to Allanton and up the climb to Hareshaw and over the back roads to home! Another awesome day on the bike, I'm glad I decided to go for it and I arrived home just as it was getting dark! Over 400 miles in December and still a week left, its going to get colder now but still around 5C during the day so hopefully I will get more miles before the end of the year!
.
