When Andrew was born we moved out of Loaningdale and occupied our own little bungalow in the town of Biggar. Emily and I would quite often cycle up the hill on a Saturday morning to have a cup of hot chocolate with the kitchen staff at Loaningdale. Patty must have driven up with Andrew to join us on this fine sunny day.
I have been watching a lot of YouTube cycling content lately. I’ve always had an interest in cycling but not until now, way too late in my life, have I really delved into “the sport” in such depth. The “lateness” of this interest is a source of sadness to me as my body is no longer capable of what my mind thinks it should and can do! Nevertheless I do what I can and I enjoy it.
Have you noticed that if you even think about something, anything, the plethora of technological devices on which your modern lifestyle relies will start to present you with “stuff” to do with, or closely associated with, that original “thought”.
That is how I came across this chap and I really enjoyed his TEDx talk mainly because I happen to agree with the points he makes.
Wednesday evening at 5pm and the temperature outside is 90F. For perhaps an obvious reason I did not think it wise to set off on my bike at that time although, having sat at my computer all day, I knew a bike ride would be beneficial to my mental and physical state. I decided to have dinner first and then set off, after dusk, to do a few miles around the sub-division in support of my mission to complete 50 miles per week.
Turns out I’ve accomplished my goal for the week with three days still eligible to contribute. This made me wonder about my total mileage and as can be seen from the bar charts I seem to be well on target In 2020 to exceed my 2019 total.
After a very stormy morning the last thing I thought I’d be doing this evening would be adding mileage to my weekly cycling goal. This morning we had a close brush with a tornado which passed 12 miles North East of Rockport. Luckily it formed over water and stayed over water. However the thunderstorms brought flash flooding to the area and my usual waterside cycling roads are covered in water. Nevertheless in the evening the sun came out and I decided to risk a short ride which turned into 15 miles on a beautiful evening.
The weather radar showed a break in the front producing a dry, sunny weather window during which time I managed to clock up nearly 13 and a half miles on a day I thought would be a washout (pun intended)
However I didn’t quite make it home dry. I cycled through the Walgreens pharmacy drive-thru lane (yes you can do that on a bicycle although they possibly think you are a bit strange) and that slight diversion meant it rained on me for the final mile of my journey. Of course, this being Texas and not Scotland, rain, when the temperature is in the 80F range, is not an unpleasant experience.
I have gathered together a few photographs and a short video of my Saturday cycle ride to Goose Island State Park in Lamar, TX. I did not actually enter the park proper but visited the Big Tree and then headed home via the causeway and Fulton Beach Road.
May 31st, the day before the official start of hurricane season. Yes – let’s not forget that we are entering the six month period of the year when we all keep an extra special eye on the weather forecast, keep our gas tanks full, and have our evacuation plan reviewed and ready to go.
COVID-19 is not the only concern in this neck of the woods. It’s more an unwelcome complication added to our annual tribulations.
So – no cycling today then! But at least hurricane season can wait until tomorrow.
I don’t actually remember what the occasion was other than it was an organized public cycle ride. Karen Lamb, on the left, no doubt was instrumental in encouraging Emily and I to participate. I do recall being horrified that I had to jump off the bike and push us up one particularly steep hill. We were using Patty’s Edinburgh Bicycle bike and boy did it have a heavy frame.
I started on track but as the week progressed the threat of thunderstorms kept me from getting my mileage fix until Saturday when a NNE wind encouraged me to visit my old friend “The Big Tree” at Lamar. Knowing that the wind will be behind you on the way home is a great motivator to keep going.
Overall mileage for Saturday was 24.4 miles at an average speed of 9.4 mph which is kind of slow but that’s a consequence of stopping to take so many photographs!
David Drummond, on the left, and myself at the start of a day-long non competitive ride to raise money for LEPRA. I participated in this ride a number of years in a row during which time the route varied slightly and was anywhere from 65 to 70 miles long. I believe the current route is 68 miles and, being Scotland, it is all uphill with the wind against you! More details available HERE.