Getting kinda lost in the Scottish Border Hills with an e-bike (and an acoustic as well!)

A 6.30am start from Peebles to try and find the alternative route via The Southern Upland Way over the Border Hills and link up with the Old Drove Road to Gypsy Glen and Peebles again

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All went well to begin with and we found the Southern Upland Way just after we'd passed Traquair, all was looking good (so far)

Barrie found the going tough on his non e-bike

The climbing seemed to be never ending, I was ok on the e-bike and had quite a few stops to admire the view and photograph Barrie suffering!

This was where it all went wrong as we went up this climb which is a lot steeper than it looks in the photo when we should have gone round the track at bottom right hand side and up a forest fire road

Anyway the views were tremendous and I managed most of it on the e-bike although it was in a high assist mode and I was eating up battery power quite quickly

We thought when we reached this telecommunication tower we'd see where  we were....unfortunately we found we hadn't a clue and every hill looked more or less the same, it's easy to see how you could become lost if it became foggy

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After biking and pushing through semi boggy heathery terrain we at last caught sight of a track in the valley below that was bound to lead back to Peebles and began to make our way down to it by way of sheep tracks, the last 500 feet or so was as steep as I've gone down and the brake discs could have fried an egg by the time we reached the bottom!

The track crossed a small river about six times, and the river bed was covered in loose boulders making things tricky at times

Here's Barrie going....

going...

and gone!

Though he managed somehow to avoid falling into the water, escaping with one wet foot!

We got back to the car at Peebles after 4.5 hours never having managed to find the link to Gypsy Glen but had an epic trip in fabulous weather (for a change) and thinking, weather permitting of having another go maybe next week but only after consulting the map a bit more closely!

When you discover just how much fun it is being on an e-bike, football comes first and a snow adventure in May

Last Monday I went out on the Giant Anthem (unassisted) just to remind my self how things used to be......I no longer wish to be reminded after 16 miles I was glad to chain it up again for maybe a couple of months, I'm definitely an e-bike convert now!

Next night it was back out on the e-bike again and a ride with the assist mode turned up to turbo occasionally just for the hell of it.

Roger came out on Wednesday night but seemed more interested in getting home early to watch a football match on TV, we cut the ride short trying out a new track but it was so rubbish I for one wont be riding it again.

With Dougie on Friday as he road tested his tyres with the fresh sealant in them in readiness for a race he was going to be doing at the weekend, unfortunately he got his days mixed up and the race went ahead on Saturday without him as he thought it was on Sunday.....doooohhh!!

Saturday and Barrie and I set off from Peebles at 6am with the temperature sitting at -4C for a loop ride along to Innerleithen up to the mast at Glentress before eventually finishing back at Peebles again.

We came across snow on the long climb up from the Leithen Water but the views were well worth the effort

Halfway up the 2.5 mile climb and time to admire the view back down the valley

Eventually reached the mast at the top of the Black route at Glentress and had to pose for the compulsory photo

Rather like this photo taken on the descent back down from the mast, the jacket and thick gloves stayed on for all the ride on Saturday!

After 4 hours we were back where we started with an average temperature around freezing point but a great ride with great ground conditions, more of the same wouldn't go wrong!

  

A Rice Krispy Bar....the perfect way to fuel an e-bike ride....

This was the bar of choice this morning at the top of the Black Route at Glentress, mind you we didn't go bonkers and have one each, like true Scotsmen we shared one between Barrie and myself.

Another beautiful sunrise this morning with the mist slowly rising up into the Border Hills from the River Tweed down in the valley, the best time, we think to bike at Glentress is early morning before the crowds of bikers arrive and clog up the tracks.

Here's Barrie taking a corner at speed on the infamous Spooky Wood descent.

Up the Pentlands with Clive midweek, but no spectacular views then, foggy with vision restricted to about 50 yards.

The dry weather disappeared last week just as we were getting used to it too, back to the mucky backsides again for a while then!

E-biking through Easter.

Like all good Christians we observed Easter with the usual reverence and respect by getting the bikes loaded up and heading down the road to Peebles and Glentress for a nice early start (before there were too many other Christians out celebrating!)

It started off quite chilly, it was only 6.30 am but by the time we reached the climb known to us as "bugger, bugger" for obvious reasons the sleeves were rolled up and the fingerless gloves were on

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The beauty of the ebike is the fact that you can shoot ahead of those on a convential bike and amuse yourself taking nice photos of your sturdy steed!

Before we knew it we were nearly at the mast at the top of the black route and there would be a bit of welcome descending (before there was more climbing again).

The weather was insanely un-Scottish in that the sun shone non stop and temperatures soared to the low twenties C, for a Scotsman that's soaring!!!

Easter Monday and Barrie and I decided on the Pentlands for a ride and once again the weather gods didn't disappoint, what have we done to deserve this, or is it a case of we'll suffer for this?

We topped out at the summit of Hare Hill where you don't often manage to sit  and enjoy the warmth of the sun on an Easter morning!

A great Easter weekend made even better with the glorious weather and my ebike passed its 2000 mile mark into the bargain!

The plus and minus sides to an e-bike.....

First the minus, the bloody thing weighs a ton, well maybe not quite a ton but it feels like it when you're faced with a fence or a gate that wont open and you have to lift the damned thing over! Weight lifting classes should be included in the purchase price of your first e-bike! This so far is the only minus I've been able to find since I got mine and it's far outweighed by the plus sides.

On the plus side, you're an instant hero when one of your mates has a bad night and falls behind on a hard long climb. Have your handy towing gear, in my case two old tubes tied together, hook up the two bikes,select a suitable pedal assist mode and off you go! On Wednesday night Roger actually achieved a new Strava PR when I towed him up this track, whether he's admitted it to Strava is entirely up to him!

You can do impressive wheelies on your e-bike. I've never managed one as impressive as this on a normal bike and for some unknown reason I can only manage the e-bike one on the summit of Capelaw Hill in the Pentland Hills, maybe there's some strange force in action up there!

You get to fool around on your e-bike while your riding buddy has to stop for a rest and a drink,(you're still feeling fresh as a daisy!)

Whilst waiting on your fellow riders at the top of a long hard climb you can pose your e-bike and take loads of photos to enter in online e-bike forums to try and win respect from fellow e-bikers for your skill in the composition of your entry, eg, the background has to blend in with the bike etc.!!

The biggest plus of all, you can get out into the hills and be at one with nature without feeling a heart attack is just round the corner after a hard climb!

I think the plus's far exceed the minus's,

I rest my case.

Bloody fog's the problem now! When's Spring going to arrive?

Friday, and even though there was a strong south easterly wind at least the air was clear and things were dry.

Still some snow from a mid week snowfall was lingering on the |northern slope of the Pentland Hills 

Did a practice wheelie at the summit of Capelaw Hill and took myself by surprise at the height |I managed to get the front wheel off the ground, especially with the ebike, usually 6 inches is good for me!

The river crossing looked a bit hazardous with the water level well up from usual due to melting snow and some heavy rain, it was a case of go for it and hope for the best, luckily it came off and the electric motor continued to function!

Saturday, and what a difference a day makes! Thick fog and a temperature hovering around zero made it not the best Pentlands ride we ever done!

In contrast, the river crossing was back down to almost normal making biking through it not such a lottery!

The blame for this disastrous weather is all down to me removing the back mudhugger, well it's not going back on so a mucky backside is going to be my lot for a week or two yet!

More time to ebike at night now the clock has gone forward an hour

Out for a quickie last night and a selfie endo which looks like it could be something to work on!

On the trip last night I thought at first I was seeing things and the guy coming towards me had a pet bear with him.... on closer inspection it turned out to be an extremely hairy Newfoundland dog!

This could be a bit of over confidence, the removal of the back mudhugger, is the mucky backside season really over?

Saturday morning and it was a battery tester for the ebike with a ride from Peebles to Glentress, up to the mast then the fast descent down to Innerleithen, out to Traquir then over the hills to Gypsy Glen and the old drove road with the descent back down to Peebles again. Over 3700 feet of climbing , which was relatively easy on the ebike  but Barrie toughed it out on his acoustic, mainly in what we now refer to as "nana gear"!

Most of the really tough climbing was done by now so it seemed like a good place for a joint photo.

The usual photo has to be taken here before the fast descent back down to Peebles

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Down Gypsy Glen and only about a mile and a half to go, with a bit of careful battery management I still had 2 bars left on the display. 

A good week weather wise, everything drying up , not so sure about the week ahead, there's even the threat of snow, who knows, the mudhugger may be back on before the week's out!