July 22- Moffat to Strathaven- 92.5kms
July 22- Moffat to Strathaven- 92.5kms
We crossed over this bridge on the way out of Moffat....
...as we leave Moffatt....quite sad really as we enjoyed our rest day here.
Near the top of the climb out of Moffat we stopped to enjoy the scenery
This is Steve and June..
..and wow this was the view...
...and what we still had to climb...errr!
But there was reward at the top of the climb...the "highroad"...
...and the descent was glorious...even though it was drizzling
Coffee at Broughton ....June and Steve with our hosts who were very good
The coffee and scones were good also...
A view across the Clyde valley
The Scottish bagpipers we saw in full dress in Biggar....
Quite resplendent in their kilts.
Crossing the Clyde....it get much bigger when it gets to the coast!!
On the other side of the bridge there were houses with lawns which overlooked the Clyde
Pity about the weather!!!
Ooooppps ...should we go down this road???
Of course...only a short walk...maybe???
It will slow down the average speed for the day???
Going back is too much trouble...lets just go for it!!!
Finally after a good day of riding our home for the night
After 2 whiskey shots it was good to get to bed....
Well today I awoke after the rest day with a "good feeling" about the day and the ride ahead despite there being some drizzly rain and cloud around. The temperature throughout the day was in the "mid teens" and the drizzle was on and off for most of the ride...
The choice we had today was to do a shorter ride of about 70kms or the longer more scenic route of 92kms.....well Fast Steve ( now know his surname Bawtree) agreed that we would do the longer ride with June ( from the US and not sure of her surname!). So off we set, a little earlier than the rest of the group.
The first stage of the ride was a 11km climb out of Moffat to the Scottish Borders region which I think starts to separate the Highlands from the Lowlands. The climb was fairly constant at about 5-6% which was not too bad. I must admit my "climbing legs" are feeling quite good after the past 13 days of riding plus a day of rest.
The view from the top of the climb was quite stunning and despite the drizzle we enjoyed a stop at the top to enjoy it. Thereafter there was a really good and long descent through country that was being farmed with sheep and cattle and with timber plantations. Steve explained that a lot of the softwood timber plantations were not native and the locals had made complaints about this as it did not attract a lot of bird life and that now restrictions were in place now to include local indigenous trees as part of the plantations.
We made or only stop for the day for food at Broughton ( after 37kms) and found a delightful tea room with some entertaining Scottish ladies who ran the shop. We had coffee and tea with the mandatory scones with jam and cream....YUM!.
It was then on further through some rolling country and some lovely towns. At one town, Biggar we saw a group of 5 chaps dressed in their kilts and regalia with bagpipes and they kindly obliged for a photo....A real highlight for us and for them to be photographed by an Aussie, a yank and a Brit.....
After that it was on over the Clyde river towards towns which included Thankerton, Carmichael, Lasnahagow, Boghead, Sandford and finally Strathhaven ( pronounced Stahern)...as the ladies at the coffee shop said...in Scotland you leave out the Tea and drink whiskey....makes sense to me)
The travelling after the morning break was quite fast with Steve setting the pace. The roads were quite good although we came across a road which was closed due to road works....rather than go around by a different route we decided to press on and take our chances. The road was in fact being resurfaced not far from the turning point and as a result we had to walk our bikes for about 500metres over some rough surfaces which were also soft....see later pictures.
We made really good time after this minor delay and arrived at our hotel at about 2.30pm, only to see that Chris had arrived via the shorter route before us....well done Chris!
We celebrated our ride with a ham sandwich, chips and 2 pints of the local beer...very refreshing
The hotel we are staying at is excellent and sitting here in my room you could not wish for a better feeling after another great ride ( despite the weather)
Today we climbed 1045 metres.
PS...the Dees had a good win today back in Melb over Port Adelaide and talking to Christopher this morning Mykala and Neat are now home which is great....
Now for the photos...sorry some are bit blurry as rain got on the lens NOT BEER!!!
The route today
We crossed over this bridge on the way out of Moffat....
...as we leave Moffatt....quite sad really as we enjoyed our rest day here.
Near the top of the climb out of Moffat we stopped to enjoy the scenery
This is Steve and June..
..and wow this was the view...
...and what we still had to climb...errr!
But there was reward at the top of the climb...the "highroad"...
...and the descent was glorious...even though it was drizzling
Coffee at Broughton ....June and Steve with our hosts who were very good
The coffee and scones were good also...
A view across the Clyde valley
The Scottish bagpipers we saw in full dress in Biggar....
Quite resplendent in their kilts.
Crossing the Clyde....it get much bigger when it gets to the coast!!
On the other side of the bridge there were houses with lawns which overlooked the Clyde
Pity about the weather!!!
Ooooppps ...should we go down this road???
Of course...only a short walk...maybe???
It will slow down the average speed for the day???
Going back is too much trouble...lets just go for it!!!
Finally after a good day of riding our home for the night
After 2 whiskey shots it was good to get to bed....