Wonderful Wednesday

Three others heard my cry for a Wednesday afternoon ride - Drew Leslie and Johns Perry and Morton. Dave Williamson would have joined us - if only he had any wheels to get to Banchory - Jayne had gone out in what is, temporarily, their only vehicle.

Also gathering at the Guide Hut every Wednesday at 1:30 are the girls' cycling group - don't know if they have a group name? - so John M took a quick snap of the mixed group prior to the start:

The girls had e-bikes and we weren't going to wait until the rest of them showed up - and showed us up - so we scooted off sharpish.

We decided to head east towards Drum, detouring past the football pitches at Crathes, over the stile and along the river and back up to the Way. We got to the Myrebird turnoff and had a little chat about whether to go on to Drum or turn off here. We had time - just - to make it to Drum, but it would have curtailed our coffee break a bit and we would be heading back to Banchory with darkness approaching, so it was a no-brainer - up the Myrebird hill it was - but first the team photo:

John Perry, Ian Stewart, Drew Leslie & John Morton

 It was a cold but beautiful day and we had all layered up in advance, but before we had got to Crathes, we were removing a layer. There was still a bit of frost and ice around on the parts of the Way that the sun couldn't get to, but generally, it was OK and thankfully nobody had a spill. The light was perfect for photos so John took another one of Drew:

We rode through the Crathes estate and out the West Gate and up to Buchanan's for our coffee break, where, who should we meet but the Meadens, just returned from Down Under and using the coffee to stay awake:

Also in Buchanan's was Jayne Williamson - I put the guilt trip on her, depriving Dave of the car, meaning he couldn't join us.

By the time we left Buchanan's, the sun had just gone down:

It was a very pleasant, but modest ride of just 22 kms with 123 m of climbing. John P supplied the route map:

Note that all the potential coffee stops are marked on the map!

Drew also had his camera out and supplied the following photos:

Lovely afternoon, which I rounded off with a couple of pints with Keith at the Legion.