Crathes loop

Welcome to the first post of a new blog. I joined the Wednesday morning regulars today for the first time, secretly fearing I might be left trailing in the wake of the saddle hardened veterans, but I was given the opportunity of choosing a gentle route to test out my new knee - and my general level of fitness.

Regrettably, I didn't use the MiCoach (http://micoach.adidas.com/) app that I use when we go walking, so I can't produce any detailed mileage or altitude stats. Suffice to say that we cycled for what I am told is the fairly standard time of an hour and a half.

Starting as usual at the Guide Hut, we headed along the Deeside Way out to Milton of Crathes, where we stopped for a team photo:

Fellow debutant Scott Hunter, Ian Stewart, Colin Kilgour & Ian Sharp

We went on to cycle under the main road and up through the Crathes estate, eventually coming out at the West Gate. From there, we headed north from Burn o' Bennie and then west out past the steading that currently houses Deeside Brewery. As CAMRA's local BLO ("Brewery Liaison Officer") I had good reason to pop in and say hello - and we did:

For the record, it was Deeside Swift that we sampled.

From there, it was a simple journey past the Cowshed, turn left then right towards Crow's Nest, then down through the forest tracks, coming out eventually at the back of Burnett Terrace. Coffee was, as tradition apparently insists, at Tease.

I hope to join the group occasionally between now and the end of March, but there was talk today that there might be a need to change the day once the golf season starts. Monday seemed to be the most favoured day - and would be one that would certainly suit me best.