Blairadam Forest, more trails than I've had hot dinners............

Over to sunny Fife this morning for a visit to Blairadam Forest with Baz's pal Bruce who stays just by the side of it. The place is jam packed with tricky technical little bits of single track, not a great deal of climbing involved but the fun side was fantastic. Only one thing, if you ever decide to visit, go with someone who knows the area, it would be quite easy to get lost!

Baz and Bruce survey the view over Loch Leven.

Me pondering my next challenge!!

What a load of #### !!

It turns out that the owner of this car with the aptly lettered number plate also has another car with the number K9 WEE ! He has a dog grooming business and says the number plates provide  much amusement to his customers.

UFO spotted in Central Scotland!!

Is it something from another Galaxy that's come to take over our world, or is it in fact an expensive toy that's controlled by something like a mobile phone? If the dog had got it that would have been the end of it!!
This was in Bonnyrigg by the way, not Bonnybridge which is usually the place to see strange things (and people) !!

Ten More in Moray......some photos

Our camp, set up on the Friday night, little did we know that the wind the next day threatened to blow the gazebo out over the Moray Firth!

Trying to look calm just before the start of the race. Baz was going for the fuzzy face look to scare the opposition!

They're off!

Winners at last!!!!!!

History is made as Baz and I win our first event in our pairs category at Ten More at Moray!
Baz's bike managed to pack in on the first lap he did so we did the rest of the race sharing my bike and thankfully that held up though there were a few strange creaks by the end of the day!

Baz's bruised bum!!!!!

This photo which has been cropped in the interests of decency shows the bruise that developed as a result of Baz's crash last week. Needless to say he's very proud of it though I wouldn't go as far to say that he shows it off at every opportunity!!!!!!!

The Old Man of Lochnagar spotted up in the Pentland Hills!

The picture maybe doesn't show the phenomenon as clearly as it appeared to Baz and me, but it was quite eerie when we suddenly came up to a bank of mist high in the Pentland Hills this morning and there were two ghostly figures appearing inside a halo some distance ahead of us! The sun was shining directly behind us and I assume, as I stopped believing in ghosts some time ago, it projected our images somehow onto the mist. I've heard of this happening on Lochnagar, a mountain in Perthshire, but it's the first time I've ever seen it. Maybe it was two bikers who lost their way in the hills and were destined to ride forever looking for the trail. That's what I'll tell my grandchildren anyway! This was the final big ride before next weekend's 10 hour race at Fochabers and apart from a few short 10 milers or so this week the rest of the time will be spent checking that the bike will hold together.   

Back down into the mist again towards Loganlea Reservoir.

The ten hour race jinx strikes Baz again!

With two weeks to go before the next ten hour race we've entered, Baz's jinx struck again! Two weeks before the last one, the Ten Under The Ben, he did a header down a flight of steps, today he went into a gravelly descent just a bit too fast, caught a stone with the front wheel, and did a quite spectacular somersault over the front, landing half on his back. I was close behind and after ensuring he was still alive and commenting on the nice view from the spot where he crashed, I told him not to move until he'd been photographed for the blog! After  a minute or two he was okay to continue, albeit slightly more cautiously. Hopefully he should be alright in a couple of weeks time as I don't fancy going solo...........

Two swans make a tranquil scene in the reservoir at the side of Black Hill.

We found these balloons, probably released after a birthday party, tangled in the heather high in the Pentlands, and after cutting off the debris that was weighing them down we released them to continue their journey to wherever.

Repaired the little so'n'so...........somehow!

The Avid brakes on my bike are not a favorite with me. For a start the only thing really holding the pads in place is the little knobs in the middle of the pistons which fit into the indentations on the back of the pads. If the knob becomes worn, as happened with one of mine, the pad can become displaced, reducing the brake efficiency, I ordered a set of replacement pistons and seals which were not expensive but I'd heard of charges of £50 plus to fit them. To a miserly Scot this is a no no, so I decided to do the job myself and somehow or other I've managed to stumble my way through and even bleed them without the ridiculously expensive Avid bleed kit. A trained mechanic would be horrified at some of my methods, but who cares, the brakes are as good as new again!

Shuggy's latest grass track racer!

A customer of mine who rejoices under the spectacular name of "Shuggy" and who is currently the Scottish Grass Track  champion showed me his latest machine, which is powered by two Honda Fireblade motorbike engines. When I asked him what happened when he opened the throttle he simply said " it brings a huge grin to my face"!

Back to Glentress for a change of scenery!

Glentress today, the first time in over 2 months, and the photo of Baz was taken where the road was blocked the last time we were down by fallen trees as a result of a springtime storm. 23 miles today with a run round the Black route and then back up to take in a bit of the Red with a section of "off piste" thrown in! Back home by 10.30 in time for breakfast!!