October week 1 - part 4

Another FW record - 4 group rides in a row this week. The usual Monday and Thursday rides sandwiched 2 other rides on Tuesday and Wednesday. A total of 20 Freewheelers have been out this week - 14 of them twice - enjoying the continuing fine weather.

Thursday was a rare away day necessitating cars and bike racks - and we had more than sufficient for the 12 who travelled down to Aboyne. Through Aboyne Castle grounds and on to the Tarland Way. There was a bit of hesitation when we came to the end of the gravelled trail and had to decide whether to complete the second half of the journey to Tarland on the tarmac'd roads or continue along the grassy Way. The latter option won the day and whilst, it's easy enough to cycle along when it's nice and dry, frankly it's a bit dull - although Aidan's still got a smile on his face:

The only thing that enlivened this part of the journey was when a large flock of geese suddenly took flight from the field beside us. There was some discussion about the correct collective noun for this - a gaggle was suggested - but subsequent research reveals that flock is indeed correct - until they take flight, when it then becomes a skein. See - those of you who do read this blog may have learnt something today.

When we reached Tarland, we posed under an abundant apple tree and John Morton took the team photo:

l-r: John Meaden, Aidan Meehan, Ian Stewart, Scott Hunter, Dick Taylor, Jeff Dickens, Jack Simpson, Ian Sharp, Ken Page, Hugh Riches, Bob Elder & John Morton

and here's a closer look at said apple tree:

Next stop was the Tarland Trails and we all had a go - some just once, others at least twice, including the more difficult rides. Daredevil Aidan was in his element and Ian and Jeff were vying for pole position it seems:

Next, we headed south west along the road, back towards the entrance to the trails overlooking Loch Kinord. John Morton took another team photo here:

The view we were looking at was:

We stopped further on at a beautiful spot overlooking the Loch, with the sun now warming everything up nicely - flora, fauna, wildlife - and us. A number of cameras came out and here are some of the results:

Hugh

Ken

Stopping to look for adders basking in the warm sun

Jack leads off

 We hit the road to Dinnet and from there took the Deeside Way back to Aboyne, passing the glider club just in time to see one landing:

Watching a glider land

Tea/coffee, scones (for some) and cakes were consumed afterwards in the Black Faced Sheep. It had been an excellent and interesting ride. Distance travelled - 33 kms with 256 m of climbing.