RabH
Well-Known Member
It was time for another epic ride, this was to be the last day of decent weather for a few days at least so I decided to make the most of it! We are expecting some nasty weather from tomorrow, nothing like what's happening on the other side of the pond, I hope everyone is keeping safe! The wind was a north easterly today and around 15-20mph, so my first 55 miles was into that wind! I decided to take all 3 batteries today and I'm so glad I did because I only got 80 miles out of my first 2, a combination of the wind and lots of climbs sure took a toll...
I elected to head for the Forth bridges and head up the coast road to Kirkcaldy and then head inland and try some roads I haven't ridden before! I found some fantastic roads, not the most scenic but the roads made up for it!
The bridges looking great as always!
They are building a new road as you can see, I have a feeling its going to be a fast dual carriageway which I'm not too happy about unless they build a proper cycle lane also!
The bridge crossing was changed to the east side today, they alternate it quite a bit as they are always working on it year round! So I got a really good view of the rail bridge today, they are actually in the process of building a walkway over the top of the bridge for any daredevils that are brave enough! Not me for sure, I'm bad enough just standing on the road bridge!
You can see the platform in the second picture!After crossing the bridges it was time to head for the coast road, I spotted these horses as i passed and it looked like a nice photo opportunity!
I reached Aberdour and it was time for the big climb, it says 16% but Ridewithgps was showing a maximum gradient of 27.4% which is almost certainly a glitch! There were some climbs around 20% though but nothing as steep as that! Another view of the bridges from Aberdour!
The beach at Pettycur Bay, not many people braving the 14C heat today!
They have built a lovely wide shared path here and with only a few walkers around I decided to make use of it!
I was now nearing my destination at Kirkcaldy and this road is just sublime!
A little further and its breaking up a bit but absolutely fine to ride! They put this bitumen down due to its anti skid properties but then neglect to fix it when it starts breaking up....the coastal town of Kirkcaldy can be seen in the distance!
I stopped on the esplanade at Kirkcaldy for a snack and it was very pleasant in the sun despite the north easterly sea breeze!
I left the town to head inland now and had to ride in some busy traffic for a bit, thankfully I noticed a nice cycle path on my left when all the traffic ground to a halt at some roadworks! I had a big smile on my face looking at them all going nowhere fast!
Bikes are awesome!
I was now on unfamiliar roads and thought about looking at Google maps on my phone but decided to just go with my gut and take the roads as they came, I spotted a sign for Kinglassie and knew it was the direction to head! I was rewarded with some amazing twisty roads with lots of ups and downs, it wasn't the most scenic route but I didn't care as I was in cycling heaven!
I then headed for Lochgelly and came across a loch with same name, the scenery improved for a bit and the roads were still immense!
I had a wonderful descent just before this road and it was in the same awesome condition!
I then turned on to a very quiet back road which had a sign saying not suitable for HGV's, my kind of road! I spotted a sign for Crossgates which I had last visited at least 10 years ago and remembered how good it was and I knew I would have the wind directly behind me! It was another great decision as the road that leads to the town was fantastic with big climbs and big descents, the road to Crossgates is a slight downhill and with the breeze behind me I was flying along!
I reached Crossgates and I now wanted to take the road to Kelty which takes me past Knockhill Racing Circuit and back on to very familiar roads! I was going from memory and managed to make a wrong turn, I arrived at a huge roundabout and could only see a motorway and a fast dual carriageway! Time to turn back to Crossgates and find the correct route, I reached the turn in the town and saw a sign for Hill Of Beath, I knew this was the road I should have taken! I then remembered there was going to be a lot of climbing here and knowing I still had another battery in my bag my mind was put at rest and I knew I had plenty juice remaining for the big clmbs ahead!
I sailed up the climbs and reached the road past Knockhill with 27% remaining on my second battery and I knew this part was almost flat followed by big descents, 7 miles down the road and my battery was showing 25% and I decided to switch to my last battery! I knew I had around 30 miles to go and my battery was showing 96%, time to crank the assist up and save my legs for the remainder of the ride! I was now on roads I have photographed to death so I just pushed on and enjoyed flying up the hills I have struggled up many times with a dwindling battery!
What a brilliant ride that was, I just loved it and got to enjoy roads I have never seen before! I have now covered 4,525 miles this year with almost 300,000ft of climbing from 79 rides! I hope to cover many more miles in the remaining months, who knows what the weather has in store but any opportunity will be taken for sure!
