Threetowners cycling thread

[bonzo]

Hahaha cheers Brian, that reminds me time for my pill. I tried the sair leg thing with Mrs b earlier she told me in no uncertain terms to pour my own ****** drink

[michaelm]

Re cycling in Arran.

When I worked in the Butcher's in Shore Road, Brodick - these day's "The Chocolate Shop" - there was a stage of the Tour of Britain held there one year, it was also known as 'The Milk Race' at the time as that's who the main sponsor's were.
Remember looking oot the shop windae and seeing multiple pro racing bikes zooming past faster than I'd ever seen a bike going before.

[Bruce]

Something a bit different today.

Started off fairly normal - along the coast to Largs, then onto the Brisbane Glen road.

Up the hill towards the moor and Loch Thom. A long climb.

Over the top, down to the next junction and turned left at the loch. After a couple of miles, I arrived at the Cornalees (Greenock Cut) visitor centre. About 50 yards past the visitor centre, you come to the ardgowan fishery.

The cafe at the fishery is pretty good, nice coffee and very low prices. Also seems to be open 24x7 at this time of year! Coffee and a bacon roll set me up for the next leg of the journey.

I had several sensible choicest and one daft one.

The sensible option would have been to go back the way I came to Largs - a great descent after that slog up the hill - or to go on to Greenock and then follow the cycle path to Paisley and maybe get the train home. Or follow the road down to Inverkip and then back along the coast.

A braver option would have been to take the path - more of a “land rover route” - alongside the reservoir towards Kilmacolm.

The daft option would be to take the direct path down the “Kelly Cut” to Wemyss Bay. The signs say it’s passable on a bike, but they’re talking about a mountain bike. But it’s been dry for 4 weeks.....

It’s a 6 mile trip alongside the “Kelly Cut”. The guide books call it a “man-made waterway”. In practice, it’s a big ditch, which allowed water to be re-routed to the dam above Wemyss Bay, to serve some long-gone industry.

The first 4 miles or so are pretty flat. Track is very rough, but passable. Only had to get off the bike a few times, where small streams cross the path.

After that, it’s a rough gravel/rocky road, much steeper, down to the coast, eventually ending up in a caravan site above Wemyss Bay.

And then back along the coast to Saltcoats. 77km, 48 miles.

[Bruce]

and I took the camera!

The road up




and down to Loch Thom


A wee break



The descent down the Kelly Cut







The Kelly reservoir

[sweet caroline]

Lovely seeing parts of Ayrshire that I would not normally see. Thanks


SC

[Hughie]

Nice one, Bruce. Could imagine the peace and quiet and the birds singing.

[Bruce]

Yes, it was really quiet. Once I left Largs and got past the wee caravan park, I only saw one car on the road up to the top. 3 or 4 bikes came down the hill while I was slogging up.

Out on the path, I saw 3 walkers and one guy on a mountain bike.

Didn’t notice a lot of birdsong - the noise I did notice was from the sheep. Not a “Baa” - but the rustle they made when they moved through the bushes and long grass.

[sweet caroline]

http://clydemuirshiel.co.uk/things-to-d ... ng/routes/


Is that part of where you were .My son is never away from there . spends hours.


SC

[Bruce]

Yes, that area’s all part of Muirshiel park, which stretches from Lochwinnoch across to Gourock.

[John Donnelly]

Re cycling in Arran.

When I worked in the Butcher's in Shore Road, Brodick - these day's "The Chocolate Shop" - there was a stage of the Tour of Britain held there one year, it was also known as 'The Milk Race' at the time as that's who the main sponsor's were.
Remember looking oot the shop windae and seeing multiple pro racing bikes zooming past faster than I'd ever seen a bike going before.

Hi Michaelm,

Are you sure it was the Tour of Britain? I've a notion it was the 'Tour of Scotland' also officially the Milk Race.
It would have been around the beginning of the 70's. I was there as the French team-car driver.
I got involved through my brother who was an amateur racing cyclist. I did it for 6 or 7 years and it was great fun. BTW, it was an amateur event.
JD.

[michaelm]

Hi Michaelm,

Are you sure it was the Tour of Britain? I've a notion it was the 'Tour of Scotland' also officially the Milk Race.
It would have been around the beginning of the 70's. I was there as the French team-car driver.
I got involved through my brother who was an amateur racing cyclist. I did it for 6 or 7 years and it was great fun. BTW, it was an amateur event.
JD.

Cheer's for the extra info there JD. I don't doubt that you're entirely correct in what you say.
This would have been sometime between '75' and '78'.

Those amateur guys couldn't half fly along though.

[John Donnelly]

Hi again Michaelm,

If you're talking about the late 70's, then it's not the race I was involved in.
I came to Holland in 1974. The Scottish race I was in was certainly earlier than that.
Just Googled it, and the Tour of Britain was 1977.
My Tour of Scotland was 1973.

JD.