Blethering Blonde

We had such high hopes for today.  The weather bods were giving it blue skies all round.  They forgot to tell North Ayrshire that.  Not to worry, we were only planning a wee wander so it was off to the local HuMP to show our visitor a not very well kent part of the region. Within half an hour we were on top of Goldenberry Hill.  The hill has a great viewpoint.  It sits above Hunterston Nuclear Power Station with unrestricted views north, west and south of the Firth of Clyde.  Disappointingly the cloud was obscuring Arran Argyll, Bute and definitely no chance of seeing the Arrochar Alps.  Poor Kate has been to our wee part of Ayrshire twice and is yet to even get a glimpse of Arran.  We had a mess about on top and then got talking to a couple who had approached from the north east.  The decision was taken to descend in this direction but to cut in just before the power station to loop back via Portencross.  It didn't quite work out ...

It's been so long since I've been out on the bike.  I also had the perfect excuse for making it a bike outing rather than a hill one - I had a new bike to test out :-)  I was very fortunate to do a swap of mountain bikes with my dad.  He had treated himself to a Trek 6000 back in September but wasn't getting on with the geometry of it due to his arthritis in his spine.  So he got my old Alpine Bikes Ben More which has done a fair few miles and been my trusty commute to work bike for a few years and I got the shiny new Trek.  Think I did very well out of it. Trek 6000 2011 Version For this outing Steve decided he'd try out my Cube Nature as the GT has been playing up and we haven't got round to sorting it out yet.  As always, the weather man had quite got it right.  There were more showers than we had been promised (none) and the wind was a tad more fierce.  The route planned wasn't that ambitious anyway so off we set down the NCR 73 h...

Weather has been so naff that we've been keeping close to home.  We had high hopes for these few days round the holidays only to be mightily disappointed.  Cabin fever was setting in big style.  Time to make the most of what's on the doorstep during a brief weather window of opportunity.  We were really glad not to have left it to today.  You gotta love winter storms, not!!!  Much of the Ardeer Peninsular is off limits due to what used to go on there.  For those not in the know Nobel made dynamite here as it was the perfect place to test it in the sand dunes.  It has however a fantastic stretch of beach so off we went to see how the waves were doing.  It proved to be an exhilarating wander.  Steve on Ardeer Beach Graffiti Ayrshire style, the slightly altered Rabbie Burn Ailsa Craig peaking through the swell Arran is out there somewhere We went all the way along to Irvine Bar and even had a wee peak at the now...

Summer solstice, summer drowning. I'm sure Noah is hiding round here somewhere with this glorious weather we're having!!! Good job I made the most of our one day of summer last Tuesday. So here's the story. Arran is right on the doorstep and it's been way too long since I last was there. To be honest, the only times I've been there have been to get into the hills so the rest of the island is still pretty much a mystery to me. No hills this visit, I was going to be on my bike. Many cyclists aim on a visit to Arran is to go all the way round the island but at nearly 60 miles and with some significant climbs that are way beyond what I'd be capable of doing. My aim was to get to Lochranza, Stage 1 of a future plan. The ferry over was fairly busy which was nice to see. I took advantage of the onboard cafe. Yah for a square sliced in a roll. Soon enough we were at Brodick and we were off. Goat Fell from Brodick This north east stretch of Arran's coast is fa...

I decided to make the most of yet another weather window of opportunity. This time I was going to be a wee bit adventurous and do a section of the National Cycle Network that I haven't done so far. It's still part of Route 7. I swithered about which direction I should tackle this but in the end decided that for logistical reasons it would be Lochwinnoch to Kilwinning due to the fact that the trains are only one an hour and I really didn't fancy hanging about to wait for a train at the end of this ride as I had no idea how I would do on it. The reason for the slight apprehension, this section has undulations!!!!! The rehab up until now has not involved any real hills of any description on foot or bike so this was going to be a real eye opener. I knew I could do the distance but was unsure how the knee would take going up hill. Only one way to find out and I do have to get those quads back to full functioning to load bear. It all started swimmingly. The section out of Lochwi...

Yet another weekend where the weather is dictating all too much what to do and where to go. Frustrating is putting it mildly. We decided to stay local so it was bikes out and we headed for Eglinton Park . It really is quite handy being so close to the National Cycle Network as it means you're not having to worry about traffic when the wind is gusting a tad more than you feel comfortable riding in. It was nice to get some fresh air and amazingly we didn't get wet.

Felt like one of those storm chaser bods and the photos don't really do it justice. Sometimes you just have to go out there and feel the power of nature.