Tony

No disrespect to anyone but I don't have time to do the Dunoon thing, so I'm heading out early-ish as usual, just wondering if anyone would like to come along. Here is the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7389999 ...it's 49.6 miles, mainly c-roads, quite hilly, with variable surfaces. I'm planning to leave Miller St at 0800 and return at 1130-ish, maybe 1200 at the latest. If anyone's interested please post here. Dankon Tony

Hello Boyd hope you had a good run today with Chung and his band of merry men. I went out at 0750 and didn't bother to go via Miller St as it seemed there would be no-one there except possibly the LBL crowd. I did follow the playbook though: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/731968117 ...home by 1115, job done Thanks Tony

Heading out early-ish, just wanting to see if anyone else is interested. Here is the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2487869 ...it's 49.8 miles, mainly c-roads, quite hilly, with variable surfaces. The plan is to leave Miller St at 0800 and return at 1130-ish, maybe 1200 at the latest. There are no cafes, tea-rooms etc on the above route. Thanks Tony

Nice to see you taking an interest in Esperanto Kenny. It's the language of the future. I went out on Sunday but left at 7am and didn't bother to stop by Miller St. I stuck to the advertised route though - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/725938747 It was an epic ride and Knockentiber has never looked so good.

Heading out on Sunday early-ish, just wondering if anyone would like to come along. Here is the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6350425 ...it's 48 miles, mainly c-roads, quite hilly, with variable surfaces. (If you are a "shiny bike person" you might not like it...) I'm planning to leave Miller St at 0800 and return at 1130-ish, maybe 1200 at the latest. Please note there are no cafes, tea-rooms, bagel-shops or other retail establishments on the above route. Please also note, this is not a "Club Run" - it's just me messing about on my bike. I'm quite slow but happy to be towed along by faster riders, also happy to adjust my pace to suit slower riders (somewhat less likely). Dankon Tony

That is a nice route Chung. I need to be home by midday though, and if I were to join you I'd have to turn back quite early and miss all the nice bits. That's the reason why I never go north of the river these days. I don't understand the point of the Restricted Gear Time Trial. I thought restricted gears were supposed to be a way of providing a level playing field for juniors, but I did the Restricted Gear thing once (about 6 years ago) and there was no-one there under 35. Each to his own I suppose. It's a bit like mowing your lawn with a push-mower to show the neighbours how hard you are.

Saw you again on Sunday Richie. Don't be surprised if you end up having to give the shorts away for free. I had a pair of them once and gave them away to Ian McAulay. For me the turning point came when I was stopped at traffic lights and another cyclist pulled up and said "are you wearing those for a dare?". After that I decided to stick to black shorts. You can't go wrong with black, eh?

Hi Folks I'm going out for a few hours on Sunday morning and just wondered if anyone else might want to come along, as I could do with a bit of company. Route will be 40-45 miles on minor roads, many of them singletrack (steep hills, rough surfaces, gravel etc). I'll be leaving Miller St at 0800 and aim to be back by 1100-1130. No cafe stop. Post here if you are interested. (NB sunrise is scheduled for 0756 this Sunday so you will need lights.) Thanks Tony

Hi Kenny haven't seen you for years, it would be great to catch up... Well, hallawrerr china! I won't be out next weekend but probably the Sunday after... Thanks Tony

Sounds like carbon wheels are a bit of a liability. Maybe you should save up for a set of aluminium ones like mine See me? See happy?

I remember the Laughing Group like it was yesterday Kenny...the rattle of mudguards...the distant thrum of tractor engines...the sweet smell of bovine effluent... Unfortunately I get the impression that the majority of cyclists seem to prefer flatter, smoother roads. I find that hard to identify with - why anyone would exchange the solitude of the back-roads for the company of White Van Man and Ford Galaxy Woman I don't know, but many things are mysterious to me.

Hi Folks I'm going out for a few hours on Sunday morning and just wondered if anyone else might want to come along, as I could do with a bit of company. Here is the route that I am thinking of: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5901129 ...it's mostly on unclassified singletrack roads (steep hills, rough surfaces, lots of gravel, farmyards, death-by-Collie etc). You can make up your own mind about what type of bike best suits these conditions. Personally I find a touring bike with 35mm semi-slicks and mudguards does the job for me. I'll be leaving Miller St at 0800 and aim to be back by 1100-1130. (No cafe stop). Post here if you are interested. Thanks Tony

Why don't you just organise your own cycling holiday Alan? The planning (buying maps, working out your route, finding places to stay and so on) is half the fun. I used to go cycle-touring quite a lot before my kids came along. I did go on a couple of commercial cycling holidays but the ones I planned myself were the best. If you're really not keen on the DIY approach I'd recommend you start with the CTC: http://www.cyclingholidays.org/tours/index.php ...their cycle tours are organised by genuine enthusiasts, i.e. people who are doing it mainly for fun rather than profit.

Bill Thomson has been in touch to say he will be coming along. If it's just me and Bill we'll only be taking one car (obviously) so if anybody else is thinking of coming let me know, as this may decide who drives....Bill can only take 2 bikes...

Hello Folks I'm planning to head down to Minishant on Sunday and do the ride that Paul McDonald and some others did last week, probably at a more sedate pace. Just wondering if anyone else would like to come along. I'm now going to shamelessly plagiarise Paul's route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5266616 ...and his joining instructions: Parking point is on the B7045 about 3 miles south of Minishant. Take the left just after you exit Minishant signposted Straiton. Drive a couple of miles and there is gravel layby on left at the end of a rising long straight bit of road. I'm familiar with about 90% of the route, my GPS will get me round the remainder (the Wallacetown to Old Dailly section). I'm planning to be at the start point by 0815 for an 0830 start. This should hopefully see us back at Minishant for 1330, allowing for the usual amount of stoppage time. There won't be a cafe stop so bring some grub in your jersey pockets. Post here if interested or phone/text me on 07896-153853. I have a towbar-mounted boot rack which can take 3 bikes - happy to offer a lift to others. Thanks Tony

Unfortunately real life has got in the way (again). I now need to be home by about 4pm at the latest so won't have time to do the full Ayr-Newton Stewart run (with the lunch-stop etc). However - I'm planning to do the shorter "Ayrshire Alps" run which Paul McDonald posted recently - so will post something about that in the Club Runs forum and see if anybody wants to come along.

Just remembered I can't do 6th July as I promised I would take people to Linlithgow Palace to watch drama students poncing about in fake chainmail (i.e. "jousting"). Rescheduled to 13th July.

Sold

Hi Folks in previous years some of us have done an "awayday" run in South Ayrshire and Galloway. We did it in 2010/2011/2012. Unfortunately not last year as I never got around to organising it for various reasons. I'm hoping to do it again this year on 13th July. Route details: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1146451 ...it's 97 miles on mostly very quiet roads, with a few testing climbs. The lunch stop is at the Cree Inn, Newton Stewart. Previously we used to also have a late-afternoon cake stop in Barr but sadly the people of the village no longer do their "High Tea" thing in the village hall on Sundays. We will probably still stop in Barr as it has nice clean toilets and is a good place to fill your bottles, but no cake this time. Directions to start: Heading down A77 past Ayr - go thru the roundabout signposted A713, then under a railway bridge, and then about half a mile after that you come to a wee staggered crossroads. The road on the left is signposted Corton, the one on the right is Alloway. Turn right and that's you in Doonholm Road (heading into Ayr, towards Alloway). Bear right at the next roundabout and you will shortly come to Burns Cottage. When you get to Burns Cottage turn left, head down the road a couple of hundred yards and you will see public parking spaces on the left hand side of the road (opposite the big houses). When we have parked and unloaded our bikes I suggest we gather in the car park behind Burns Cottage as it's a nice open space away from the road. Rules of the road: Riding in a compact group, at the pace of the slowest rider, regrouping at the top of hills etc. Standard club run stuff. Garmin stats from the 2012 run: http://connect.garmi...ivity/192419816 Start time will be 0900, expected finish time is about 1730. Post here if interested Thanks Tony

It's 19 miles from Miller St to McInroy's point: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4876922 Cheers "Statto"

Kapow!!! Price drop!!!! Now only £150. Climb like a god!!! Descend like a swooping falcon!!! Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!!! Or just use it for riding down to the shops. Never raced or crashed

Cotic Roadrat singlespeed bike, size medium (to suit adult height roughly 5'8" to about 6'). The frame has been powder-coated in blue and does not have the original Cotic decals. The paintwork is in fair condition - a bit scuffed but no serious scratches and no rust. Shimano Deore LX v-brakes Continental Travel Contact 700x35mm tyres SKS P45 mudguards pannier rack 42x18 gearing (a spare, unused 16-tooth cog is included in price) touring-spec wheels handbuilt by Alistair Gow of Wheelcraft Please note I am selling the bike without pedals as these are a highly personal thing. If you want to come round and see the bike and take it for a test ride, bring a set of pedals with you and I will happily fit them for you. Please note this is a first-generation Roadrat - they revised the frame design about a year ago and a couple of things are different - e.g. the current Roadrat has the rear disc mount on the chainstay whereas mine has it on the seatstay. Also the current model has a gear hanger welded onto the rear dropout whereas mine has a separate gear hanger which fits over the skewer (should you wish to run gears instead of a singlespeed setup). In summary this is a very versatile bike which can be run with derailleur gears, singlespeed or with a planetary-geared hub (I used it with an Alfine 8-speed hub at one stage). It can also take disc brakes - it has disc mounts front and rear. If you want to know the exact frame dimensions you can get these from the Cotic website - as far as I know the dimensions and frame geometry have not changed since the first-generation Roadrat. Photos here: https://www.flickr.c...57644299487537/ 07896-153853 if you are interested

What's the reason for the upgrade, as a matter of interest? Your post suggests it's because you want to use a GPS for navigation (following pre-planned routes) but as far as I am aware you can do this on the Edge 500 - even though it does not have on-board maps - by copying a GPX file into the "Newfiles" folder. It's then converted into a "course" which you can follow, as a breadcrumb trail on the screen. I use my Edge 200 for this purpose quite often - I think the 500 works the same way. Apologies if you already knew this I just thought I'd mention it in case it might save you some money. I'm a bit sceptical about the value of having on-board mapping on a GPS - given that you can get maps on your phone nowadays anyway. If you're following a route on the GPS and wander off course and really don't know where you are, you can always get your phone out (?)

I have a rear wheel that is surplus to requirements. It's a DRC ST19 rim on a Shimano Deore LX hub (36 spokes). The ST19 rim is 19mm wide and suits tyres of 28mm and upwards. (This wheel is not really suitable for race-oriented bikes - it's for touring bikes with high-volume tyres, hybrid bikes, possibly cyclocross bikes.) The rim has a small amount of wear (not much), The rubber dustcap on the non-drive side is split and needs a bit of gaffer tape to hold it together. Apart from that it's a nice wheel that will give you a lot of service. £25 for quick sale 07896-153853 if interested. I'm in Kilbarchan.

I have a front wheel that's surplus to requirements - Mavic Openpro rim, Ultegra hub, 32 spokes. It was built by Alastair Gow of Wheelcraft. The rim has a certain amount of wear on it but is probably good for a few thousand miles. The hub internals were recently replaced (by Alastair) with the internals from a Sora hub. This would be a good wheel for winter training, touring or commuting - especially for the heavier rider. (The high spoke count means you could pop a couple of spokes and still ride home on it). Looking for £25 for quick sale. 07896-153853 if interested. I'm in Kilbarchan.