Travel – Page 4 – TartanTed

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!

Wind check before hitting the Lamar causeway

… As time goes by …

May 29, 2020 Tartanted

Far too fast in my opinion:

It seems I’ve been at this game for quite a while now. When I was a teenager I used a Bolex H16 to film, as part of a school documentary project, the opening of the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

Throughout the coming years I took miles of Super 8mm film ranging from the neighbors spaniel dog to animated Subbuteo shorts, to holiday footage.

… and here we are decades later using modern technology to “work from home” using Zoom Video Conferencing software and a VPN connection to remotely access my desktop computer in the office.
Alan S Albin

Now, in my leisure time, I use all this modern stuff to instantly create YouTube and GoPro videos with fancy bells and whistles. It’s just so much easier than faffing about with heavy cine equipment and waiting for the results to come back in the mail from Hemel Hempstead.

Film stock was bought in lengths of 100 feet – process paid. So when you had exposed the film you mailed it to Kodak in Hemel Hempstead to be developed and mailed back to you all within 10 days.

No instant gratification in my pioneering film days of last century!
Here’s lookin’ at you Kid.

Cycling blast from the past

May 25, 2020 Tartanted

The Edinburgh to St. Andrews Bike Ride 1987

Photo credit: David Drummond

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.

Cycle Training 2020 #21

May 25, 2020 Tartanted

Week beginning May 17th, 2020

Memorial Day Weekend – activity

May 24, 2020 Tartanted

Memorial Day weekend crowds and imminent arrival of a rather unfavorable weather front made me decide not to take my bicycle on the open road today. However as this is the start of another “goal” week and the likelihood of rain is high for the entire week, I dusted off the stationary bike and “set out” on my first journey of the week.

Heading my way today.

Clocking 1 hour and 15 minutes of cycling time (whilst going nowhere) I do, at least, feel that I accomplished something towards my weekly goal of 50 miles. Indeed, on the road, an hour and a quarter would take me around 13 miles and so that is what I have fed into my “MapMyRide” app to start the weeks’ training.

During this session I watched a YouTube video, courtesy of the Global Cycling Network (GCN), which made me quite nostalgic for Bonnie Scotland. The North Coast 500 is a step too far for me nowadays (actually I’d say, realistically, 400 miles too far) but it was certainly inspirational – link below.

Memorial Day Weekend – comment

May 24, 2020 Tartanted

Sunday, May 24th

Week 11 of the “Stay at Home – Save Lives” order and the lockdown is easing just in time to allow for the usual influx of tourist folks from the cities to turn our quiet little seaside town into a busy, belligerent, beach destination for the Memorial Day weekend. Huge queues at the grocery store, no room at the gas pumps, traffic backed up from the beach access roads. You could be forgiven for thinking everything is back to normal!

Holiday weekend syndrome is in full swing. On this occasion I suppose we should be grateful and sympathetic to the rowdy hoards who invade our normally quiet, pleasant, and polite space. After all they are bringing welcome and much needed commerce to the businesses of our town and as they have chosen our small section of paradise in which to spend their time and money we should reward them with happy smiles and polite greetings.

Try to remember that most of them don’t appear to understand the concept of social distancing and / or the advisability of adhering to the suggestion that facial masks should be worn in public. Many may also not be fully aware of the meaning of Memorial Day beyond it being a non work day for them. So smile, wave, and move on before anyone sneezes on you.