Thursday rides

The A team went out at the usual Thursday morning time and John M reported:

"Today 6 Freewheelers gathered at 0900 to find some off road riding at the request of Les.

Present were Drew , Ken P , Ian Sh , Dick , Les (Yellow card) and myself (Red card).

Writing of the blog forms part of my sanction for the day .

We proceeded up to the Scolty car park and then further up to the gate at which point we turned right down the (very) rooty  path . Ian said that this was a terrible route - no pun intended .

Over the tree roots then turning left onto the Deeside way - onwards and upwards .

After the first long climb Ken Ps legs seem to warm up as he applied some afterburners and shot off.

The next decision point came at the left turn for the very long climb up Hill of Goauch . Les helped the decision making by heading off up the track with myself and we all followed up the first very steep section - it is fair to say that the route choice was not universally popular and I was immediately red carded . Les is deserving of at least a Yellow for the offence of general cajoling , aiding and abetting .

The climb eases ( a bit) but goes up for around 1 or 2k to the summit with some nice views west as the forest is cleared .

There was some general grumpiness and shortage of oxygen but all appreciated the views and the swooping descent which followed .

We encountered a fit looking MTB rider here who came up the hill at some speed - we jokingly said that he had a motor - and it turned out he did ! Anyway he was cheating so we moved on .

A quick downhill took us back to the Deeside way and up the Shooting Greens car park .

Then it was left on tarmac and off to the right down Dick's farm track and on to Finzean farm shop .

As we sat out in the sun most people had stopped complaining and agreed that it was a fine ride.

We took the direct route home via Mill of Cammie.

A modest 34.7 k on Strava with a less modest 503m of mainly off road vertical .

Great fun !"

John's photos:

The morning start did not suit a few B teamers - and the route wouldn't have either - so Colin, Dave W (still on probation) and I decided to head for Torphins via Home Farm in the afternoon. We waited a few minutes for the potential arrival of Malcolm Grigor and whilst we were chatting away, Drew Leslie, recognising us as Freewheelers, rolled up and introduced himself. He'd already been on the morning ride, but said he had considered joining us in the afternoon as well, but opted for taking the dog a walk instead. It seems he may be in the Reilly/Meaden masochist camp.

It was pretty hot and the tea/coffee at Platform 22 was most welcome. In fact, the beer was tempting too, but we resisted. As we sat outside consuming our strawberry tarts (Colin and I - not Dave, who hasn't yet succumbed to the traditional scone/sweet treat), another 3 Banchory (non-Freewheeler) cyclists rolled in, having arrived via Campfield, which was our planned return route.

We included the additional golf club loop on our return journey and Dave - a former local resident - guided us along the old railway line to the golf club, avoiding the main road - a trail I had never done before.

A nice, gentle 30 kms ride, with 316 m of climbing.

Elsewhere, Mike Reilly has been at it again - Cairn o' Mount that is, this time with Carol and her pal in tow. It's the 3rd time he's cycled up there since April (Jeff and John M have also done it once each in that period). Mike has now completed over 100 Strava rides this year - over 4,000 kms with more than 43,000 m of climbing. Incroyable! What next? Tour de France?

Freewheelers now on Strava are:

• Jeff Dickens
• Les Gray
• Scott Hunter
• Malcolm Lodge
• John Meaden
• John Perry
• Ian Stewart
• Dick Taylor
• Iain Wright

(There may be others - please let me know if you have joined Strava and I haven't picked you up yet).

The data from the above-named's Freewheeler group rides rides can therefore be easily credited to other non-Strava users that were on the same group rides, but the separate database for solo/overseas rides can only, by definition, consist of Strava users.

The database for the Freewheelers rides shows 32 names who have completed at least one group ride so far this year. For the competitive ones amongst you, those who have completed at least 10 rides are:

1	Sharp	Ian	42
2	Taylor	Dick	38
3	Dickens	Jeff	34
4	Perry	John	33
5	Hunter	Scott	31
6	Meaden	John	29
7	Page	Ken	26
8	Stewart	Ian	26
9	Simpson	Jack	25
10	Reilly	Mike	24
11	Wright	Iain	20
12	Gray	Les	17
13	Elder	Bob	15
14	Meehan	Aidan	13
15	Pollard	Rob	12
16	Black	Ken	10
17	Kilgour	Colin	10