Crash, bang, wallop.....again!!!

I reckon I got off pretty lightly after I came off when my front wheel washed out on a greasy banking as I came down the track to Eastside farm. Embarrassingly my departure from riding a bike to having my bike cartwheel over me was witnessed by the farmer who enquired when we met him a few minutes later if I'd taken a tumble, I swear he was laughing as he drove off in his Landrover!

However apart from a couple of grazes around my knee a liberal coating of muck and sheep shit I live to ride another day, in fact we did another 10 miles. 

Prior to the off we'd climbed up to the bottom of West Kip on a morning that could only be described as "dreich"! 

How I'd hoped I might catch Barrie to have an over the bars moment here but apart from his back wheel lifting as the front one went in a hole nothing else happened!!

Considering I'd only had just over 4 hours sleep after being at a wedding the night before I think I acquitted myself OK and I'll put my accident down to fatigue, though Barrie thought lack of skill was more appropriate, September continues to disappoint on the weather front, I'm beginning to think it could be a rough winter.....

Dumyat in the Ochil Hills

Barrie and I have had a hankering after a ride in the Ochil Hills for some time now with Dumyat in particular being the favourite so Paul who did the West Highland Way with us and who lives in Dunblane was contacted to help us out.

The start from Paul's house in Dunblane

Roughly half way up Drumyat and already Paul was suffering from cramp!

Barrie, Garry and I reached the summit, Paul said we would meet up on the descent, it seemed like a scene from Scott of the Antarctic and Captain Oates!!

Captain Oates had recovered and showed us some of his biking skills on the way back down through the woods 

Unfortunately my biking skills didn't match Paul's and I did an embarrassing face plant in front of the other three!

 Barrie happily points out where I met my Waterloo, which on reflection doesn't look particularly technical! That was the end of the photos as the Go Pro came to grief in the crash but we all made it back to Paul's house in more or less one piece with me probably sporting the most injuries, but as we always say "it's always a good ride if there's a bit of blood "

The weather's improved now it's Autumn!

The first day of Autumn, the sun's shining and the purple heather looks terrific!

This lot looked at me as if I was completely nuts as I biked past them up Castlelaw, maybe they're right?

It was more or less all downhill from here, if the the weather stays like this I for one won't be complaining, tomorrow we're off to do a ride in the Ochil Hills and guess what...... there's rain forecast, never a dull moment in Bonnie Scotland!!!