Recent Riding

Hello everyone!

It's been a busy week and weekend, but I've managed to get a good few rides in. As much as I'm looking forward to the trip, I can't believe it's happening in two weeks! Nerves are beginning to kick in and I'm always wondering if I've forgotten something on the extensive packing list.

Last week I managed to get out during the week a couple of times - the main highlight being Thursday night with Miriam, who is also doing a bit of charity!

 This wasn't really what I was referring to..

It rained for a bit just as we were going to head back to Aberdeen, but what's a bit of falling water, eh? I probably wouldn't have been comfortable in wet sweat pants but Miriam seemed happy enough herself! Must be the endorphin high..

It was dark by the time we came back, so I was thankful that I remembered to bring a pair of lights for each of us.

This weekend I wanted to see how I coped with doing long-ish distances back-to-back. LEJoG is, after all, going to be close to 3 weeks of cycling day in, day out (save for one 'rest day'). Yesterday's route was done after getting a new 5k personal best at Aberdeen's very own Parkrun, no less!

It's good to see that cycling is doing wonders for my running as well!

 Peterculter, Kirkton of Skene, Westhill (with a tea and biscuits break!), Bucksburn, Danestone, and home :)

The weather over the weekend has been alternating between light showers and bright sun - interesting, to say the least! The rain does bring out the rainbows, so that's a definite plus!

I won't lie - I was really cautious with this one because I didn't want to drop anything..

Banchory, Dunecht, Home :)

For today's ride I thought I'd go further west rather than seeking the miles around Bucksburn/Danestone again. Some beautiful sights along the way.

The Royal Deeside Railway, you don't see many of these nowadays!

(They still take passengers, too!)

Banchory, it's been a while!

(My first weekend 'tour' was here with my pal Yu Han)

 Quick break with some Haribo..

With the long tour coming in I thought it was time to invest in a few things that would make my life a lot easier and/or more comfortable. I decided it was time to get a pair of sports glasses after suffering one night with itchy, blood-shot eyes from all the grit (and bugs?) that were flying about. I wear contact lens while I cycle as well, which does make my eyes more prone to dryness from the wind while cycling - so that was another thing to think about as well.

No more blues!

Quite literally - it supposedly blocks out "57% of blue light" and I forget how comfortable my eyes feel until I take them off halfway through the ride. At £7 it hardly breaks the bank, too! Wind-blocking, grit-blocking and bug-flocking features are icing on the cake..

Nope, they don't just make these for cars anymore..

This thing has been a god-send. I think a little of why I stopped going out cycling as much was because I kept having to worry about routes and getting back home. The Garmin has managed to keep me on the right track, and even show me some nice pathways I never knew about previously! I've struggled with directions in the past (it doesn't matter how descriptive you are, I just don't seem to get it!), so I can appreciate it that much more.

That's about all I have to say for now. How do I feel overall? I think the distance should be OK - well, except maybe for the hellish hills of the south-western corner of the UK..

The main thing I worry about is having my arse on the saddle for so long!

Cheers everyone, and have a good day!

P.S. Feel free to leave a comment on the chatbox I've just installed on the right of the page :)