A while back my arm got twisted and I agreed to join in a ride from Dundee
to Aberdeen in aid of a local tsunami appeal.
Yesterday was that day. It dawned dry and calm, the sun beating down on the
road .. and then I woke up to a howling gale, grey drizzle and chill. I was
definitely not the best prepared having done nothing substantive since the
ride from Crieff.
I crammed everyhting I'd need and plenty I wouldn't into the saddlebag and
set off for the centre of town to meed the others. A brief stop for a
snapper from the local paper and we set off.
I'd looked at the map and thought the NCN route to be overly long and
complex, so we headed inland. It was soon apparent that there was a mixed
ability in the group. Paul, with whom I rode back from Crieff, was celarly
the fittest. Bjorn was strong but would have to be superfit to maintain his
style of pedalling. Mike was keen but not particularly quick and Dave as the
slowest of the five.
The concept of a paceline was introduced with Bjorn, Paul and I taking turns
on the front as the headwind was quite strong with a light drizzle. And then
I realised that I had a minor error in my geography. I had thought that the
Mearns was the flat bit between the Grampians and the sea. Relatively that
is the case, but in practice it is rolling countryside with 50-100m hills
all over the place. This would have made for nice scenery, especially on the
ocast, but the mist and drizzle meant that even the red castle was barely
visible.
It was a relief to get into Montrose. The first 30 miles had taken three
hours and we were all feeling a bit jaded. How would the next part go?
Refuelled and revitalised we set off, this time along the A92. It wouldn't
have been our top choice of road but turned out to be quite reasonable all
teh way to Inverbervie. The paceline had gone out of the window. I set the
pace for the first part and then was passed by Paul. I was sensible enough
to just sit at my preferred pace and joined up with Paul at Inverbervie,
waiting for the others.
We now headed off the main road, following the minor roads towards
Stonehaven. A deviation from the NCN route (when you get to the A92, turn
left, not right and then immediately right. It is the A9xx that leads down a
nice twisting fast run into Stonehaven. Fantastic run down.
Our cafe hunt was not particularly productive, being thown out of one before
we had even got through the door as they were closing. We ended up buying
teas and coffees in the Irish pub, surreptitiously eating our sandwiches by
a huge open fire. Getting up to go was hard.
The road out of Stonehaven is up. Up and onto the plateau for more rolling
riding till we had a very fast descent to the Dee. The next part was a road
that seems much busier than it's grade allowed. Double white lines, twisty
road and ten miles to go. Paul and Bjorn set off first followed by Mark and
Dave. I finished faffing and set off last. Feeling a bit better and only a
short stretch to go, I entered time trial mode. Caught and passed Dave and
Mike, then round a bend I spotted Paul and Bjorn riding two-up. Slowly I was
catching them up.
And then I was up to them, passed and they were on my wheel. I was feeling
good, or at least not too bad, and there was only about 5 miles to go. Time
to stretch some legs. The pace quickened by 5km/h. soon I could hear the
squeaking of Paul's Dahon. There was only so long I could keep this up.
After a few miles the pace had to ease and Paul took a turn on the front.
Then the tables were turned. My legs were hurting. And hurting more. And
then I decided to let him go ;-) He'd got a couple of hundred yards by the
time we reached the outskirts of Aberdeen. Boy did that feel good. A short
meander through the outskirts of Aberdeen and into the city centre.
We had originally planned to ride back as far as Stonehaven as the train
fare was half that from Aberdeen but that plan had gone out of the window as
it was now 6pm. It had taken rather a lot out of us. As there were five of
us but Scotrail would only all ow two bikes per train, two of us must wait
20 minutes for the next train. Perfect excuse for a glass of muscle
restorer. And then the train home, and a creaking ride up the hill to bath
and bed.
Overall a good day, 120km despite the headwind and grim weather making it
far from the most pleasant ride I have had.