Scotland – Travelling reflections

Chase the Sun North 2024: reflections.

Here’s some reflections from my Chase the Sun North ride last week. Wrote them for personal memory and hope none of it comes across as “look at me”.

Here’s the route over 350 people starting in Whitley Bay from racing snakes to more sedate riders on a variety of bikes and gear. (Over 800 on the CTS south ride). 317 finished in Ayr 200 miles away to the west, even if after sunset.

North is fantastic route, my favourite landscapes: quiet lanes, open vistas of rolling hills, sweeping descents after shorter ascents. Privelege to be able to do this.

200 miles in a time limit is a long way: mentally as much as (more than?) physical. Training for both needed. I’m not used to starting cycling at 4:30 am with a sunset ride arrival limit of 17.5 hours later.

What’s your motivation? First time I did this, 2022, it was because it was there: a challenge. This time was more complicated. 3 months after the first ride I discovered I’m not immortal: Polymyalgia Rheumatica, an autoimmune disease, stopped me in my tracks, literally. Stairs a challenge, walking painfully slow: a real humbling experience. Never before had I stopped to think I can’t cross the road in time nor have to use my hand to lift my leg up onto the kerb. So take nothing for granted, look out for others and appreciate what you’ve got is my lesson. Ongoing treatment with steroids controls inflammation whilst the body sorts itself out. Prior to diagnosis and treatment I was languishing in bed not able to move without pain nor sleep, contemplating selling my cycling gear. So when I got mobility back (not strength) I set a goal to it again. 2 months ago, during an inflammation flare, I doubted my sanity. Then seeing Barbara focus on completing a more difficult challenge of the recent Swansea 3k open water swim (her first) gave me the kick I needed. Just get on with it…..(and you’re bored now).

Graze and drink regularly: eat and drink for what’s to come, not for what you’ve done. Power of imaging. This British Cycling article on preparation is spot on.

Don’t faff, focus. Keep stop time to a minimum: regular stops every 35 miles or so for 10 mins. That makes it 6x 35 miles rides which seems more manageable than 200. Ride, reset, ride, repeat. The tough zone is 100-150 miles, 100 in and 100 to go: the mind says “what are you doing”! Keep going…

That was just my strategy, including not to rely on what I knew were busy pinchpoints. e.g. the lunch stop in Langholm. Others will have different strategies; stopping longer and cycling faster. The main thing is to have thought about it and practiced key elements.

Bike prep critical, mine was serviced to within an inch of it’s life, for my piece of mind. Didn’t stop the “what if I get a puncture now” fear over the last 30 miles. Did I sort the leaky valve (of course I had, but didn’t stop the chimps in the brain niggling). Talking of chimps, the body says “you’re hurting, stop. That’s a pain in your knee, time to stop”. Ignore, ignore and amazingly it goes away. Except the pain in your arse: that’s for real.

Riding in a group, with a support van, was better and faster than when I did it purely solo 2 years ago. Only 3 of us, arranged via Facebook, so not a peleton. More social, supportive and dragged each other along at times. Know your Garmin or other device. I saved us a couple of times, from the back, going confidently straight on when we had to turn. The others supported me by time keeping (2minute warning on a 10 minute stop) and chatting, as well as giving me a wheel to focus on, with Rob setting the pace. Indulged my panic when I shouted “stop!” in middle of nowhere after 3 hours. What’s up? I’d forgotten to take my daily steroid dose for PMR. Chimp back into cage…. Supported better than solo (thanks to Rob’s friend Steve support driver who allowed me to put stuff in his van and fed coffee every 35miles) and as part of a small group.

Ignore any devices: I woke up at 3:15am to get ready for 4am meet and 4:30!depart, having not slept well due to nerves: Garmin watch said body battery of 22%. Ignore. As you need to any boasting posts before hand (smashed this training ride in a stupid time): not a race, your ride. Do know the pace you can sustain and plan the stop times accordingly, with a safety factor.

Smile, sing, joke: positive vibes quieten anxiety and distract. Say hello to people you pass or who pass you – especially if they don’t say hi to you! Face piles of trials with smiles. It helps others too.

Study the route and plan: I knew not to stop at the main lunch spot – a bottle neck for someone of my speed.

Can you do it: yes you can. I’ve developed a wee mantra I say over and over when going gets tough, even out loud : “I can, I will, I am, I have” . Silly I know but it helps me.

Would I do it again: 3rd time. North, maybe; South not (don’t fancy stop starts at lights in a more urban route); Italy, hmmm; Ireland, probably too tough with challenging logistics of getting home. There are other options, such as the 300k Audax C2C2C each July. Choices choices choices

Time out to train (for me) is a commitment which needs to be planned in with space for other things. Barbara was very supportive in my indulgences. Riding with groups such as Velotawe helped rebuild my confidence in both groups and being able to sustain a medium pace. Leading up to this I’ve done 5 200k Audaxes this year, which I’ve enjoyed. Helps prepare for weather. CTS is East West: prevailing wind is from the west. Both times headwinds have been a challenge with often not much shelter. Very little rain though: if that had been added in for a sustained period I’d have worried. Ditto strong sun. Be prepared for all eventualities, take a good raincoat. Everyone trains differently and you don’t have to do many long rides – just enough so your body gets to know what to expect and you get to know what works for you (food, water etc) and how to eat on the bike. Nothing, nothing, nothing new or unknown on the day.

Emotional at end, those bagpipes do it every time. Also realised I was shutting down as started to shiver. Goretex Shakedry on. The photographer started to talk to me, admiring the Shakedry: “I used to work for Gore, I invented that fabric….” I shook his hand and smiled broadly.

Met a small family in hotel lobby in morning. At 17 the lad was the youngest to it and he was pleased to arrive at 11:30pm. His father arrived at 11:55, having had a gear shifter fail and he had stopped to make a work around: great presence of mind. His reflection: he Mountain bikes and needed to train more for this road event, and to have his bike serviced beforehand. Amen to that!

Met a young person, recently graduated, on train to Glasgow. He’d cycled the whole 200 miles with his overnight stuff in a rucsak. I admired him for that. His reply : “I hope to still be cycling when I get to your age, never mind doing this”. I think that was meant as a compliment, but I’m only 66 years young….

Final notes: allow a day for adrenaline to come down. Enjoy, especially admiring those who didn’t “smash it” or who didn’t complete – but were still happy to have tried. I was really chuffed to arrive at 8:45pm with sunset at 10:05pm. 2 years earlier I was pleased and relieved to arrive at 9:55 for a 10:00pm sunset. Enjoyed this year more, probably because I knew what to expect and the small group saved me from my own company.

If you’re tempted, jfdi…..entries open Nov. You will enjoy, endure and remember (for this type of thing) pain is short term, memories are long term…..

Cycling, Down the Middle, England, Scotland, UK

8DTM Hawick to Haltwhistle

Border country. So a turbulent history. We are going through Liddesdale. A flash of memory: isn’t there a song? So today’s tune was Lock the Door Lariston, lion of Liddesdale. Lots of sheep, so the Seekers took no2 spot

Newcastleton was one of Scotland’s early new towns, built to design in 1793 through the generosity of the Duke of Buccleugh to his thankful people. One side of the story. Moving the people off the land and out of the old Castleton to make way for sheep, the other. Anyway, it’s a cute and vibrant wee place. And has/is doing a community buy back of the land from: the Duke of Buccleugh estate.

It’s also the land of Merlin, a road side board tells us. Of interest is the Catrail, which is like Offa’s Dyke. It’s amazing what you pass without knowing is there.

Soon across the border. An innocent wee stream is the border with England. It leads into the Kershope Forest and a changing, perhaps more manicured, landscape.

Shortly we’re indecisive at a market junction. As rule followers a closed gate means don’t enter. No signal to check maps. An interesting detour follows and this time closed gates we’re coming through. A later check shows both are ‘yellow’ on the OS map: should have gone through the first one. On the plus side we swapped a steep hill for two fords.

Then the Centre of Britain take 1 in Haltwhistle. This old, industrial, village has a vintage history. Now I think it relies on tourism based on its location and proximity of Hadrian’s Wall.

Tomorrow the Western edge of the Dales. That means one thing…..

Cycling, Down the Middle, Scotland, UK

7DTM Biggar to Hawick

Leaving Biggar with the thought that BoJo probably wished he’d been born here, we headed into the Southern Uplands.

A deviation to fill in some missing thoughts from yesterday. A new word for us: isogloss. Harthill is where there is a change from the west coast to the east coast accent. It’s also where you have the Tweed going one way and the Clyde the other.

Today’s rivers were the Tweed, Ettrick and Teviot and numerous other wee streams. There were a couple of clues to the climate here. One was the biblical downpour which helped clean the bikes. The other was the Edinburgh resevoir system starting with Talla and Meggett. Built 80 years apart explains the difference in appearance. Both earth banks one has a fine stone finished extraction tower, the other concrete.

One resevoir is higher than the other. No contouring here, the road – our route – goes straight up. From the top the fine views almost compensate for the effort.

The hills here are softer than the highlands. Still great though. We see numerous round stone enclosure without knowing their purpose. Probably sheep related.

Passing the Tushielaw Inn where we stayed in 2000 and 2010, it’s pleasing to see it’s reopened as a small hotel after a few years as a house. Closed today though. Luckily we’d sussed the good stops might be few, so the Coop meal deal we’d brought did the trick.

For all its quiet understated beauty, the impression is this is not on the tourist routes. Nor cycling which is a shame as it’s a fine way north south.

Arriving in Hawick we find a huge (as in £80million+) flood defence scheme. Somebody loves Hawick. The town centre feels as though it’d welcome some of that investment in restoring fine buildings.

Tomorrow England and a far denser population.

Here’s today’s route (as requested!)

Cycling, Down the Middle, Scotland, UK

6DTM Stirling to Biggar

Today enters the old industrial belt of Scotland. The ‘modern’ Grangemouth is visible on the horizon. Closer are the canals (Forth & Clyde, Union). These were the artery for the movement of coal iron and limestone, industries that once thrived here. We pass the first of these at Carron.

Two ‘middles’ come quickly. The junction of the canals marks the centre point between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Falkirk wheel remains impressive marking of the Millennium. The Falkirk Tunnel raises the adrenaline: wet cobbles in a dark narrow space. Explains the cyclist dismount sign I should have paid attention to. The other middle is at Harthill the watershed of the central belt.

Harthill is also the start of former coalfields. They must have been impressive given the distance between the remaining spoil heaps. Another clue is the huge Blacklaw windfarm. This was built after restoring the open cast which followed the mining.

Braehead is one of three such called places in South Lanarkshire. Top of the hill. You can no longer see the limestone quarries and ‘clamps’.

Pentland Hills negotiated, we arrive at the quietly charming Biggar. Tomorrow the Southern Uplands.

Cycling, Down the Middle, Scotland

DTM Day in Stirling

A good mooch around a fine castle, meeting up with Allan and Cathy.

The Church of the Holy Rood is a worthwhile visit. Last remaining church in Scotland to have had a coronation (James VI). Proof that bigotry is never far away: until 1935 it had been divided in two to keep two rival Protestant congregations apart.

The Castle is a demonstration of the wealth of Medieval monarchs. Always with a visit (good tea shop) with lovely gardens.