Cheap date ..... for some

Another almost record turnout again today - nine of us met at the Guide Hut and a plan was quickly hatched to head west along the south side of the river and up to Shooting Greens.

Lots of leaves and what the Americans would call "pine straw" on the trail and soon some of the bikes developed what looked like little nests round the joints. The initial climb up to the usual team photo spot with fine views over the Dee was accomplished fairly comfortably, although we all welcomed the breather:

l-r: Rufus de Silva; Jack Simpson; Bob Elder; John Perry; Jeff Dickens; Dick Taylor; non-conformist Archie Cook; Rob Pollard and Ian Stewart.

It had been a while since we'd cycled the next section up to Shooting Greens, and there was much huffing and puffing and even a few walkers as we approached the main road. What had they done to this hill recently to make it steeper, we wondered?

The next section is the fun part - down the hill to the Feughside Inn where we arrived mob-handed in the middle of a quiet Monday afternoon, wondering if we should have phoned through our intended arrival in advance. Fortunately, it was open and we were well treated. Seated on the leather Chesterfields, lashings of tea and coffee duly arrived, followed by warm scones and jam. Somebody - Rob, I think - had the nerve to ask if they were home made? The answer was yes - but. The lady of the house confessed she bakes them in batches and then freezes them down and defrosts in the microwave as required. Perhaps not the ideal way to serve them, but they were passable - with care. Rob muttered something about the fact that he was still masticating on the way home.

When we asked for our bills, the owner came out and said "what about £3 per head?" Deal! I was standing there with a £20 note in my hand and Jack was beside me with a tenner, so we handed both notes over to him and said that would be fine - thanks. Collecting £3 + per head from the rest of the Freewheelers proved to be a bit more difficult, so it turned out to be the most expensive ever coffee stop for me and Jack - and the cheapest for most of the others!

I thought initially that Rufus had been cut out of the team photo above, so I took another one outside the Feughside Inn, with Rufus safely in the middle this time:

Strava shows we travelled 25 kms with climbing of 1,000 feet - https://www.strava.com/activities/429537857

John's route map: