Tony

I will tag along

Spoke to Steve McFarlane today, some Paisley Velo guys are likely to come along which will be great

Sorry but my heart isn't in this any longer - too much else on the go at the moment. Back to early-morning solo rides for a while I think. I'm done tilting at windmills - if anyone else wants to borrow my lance, feel free Tone Quixote

Wish I could join you but I am committed to a gardening project tomorrow. Enjoy!

Cowal peninsula - riding out from Miller St to Ferry at Gourock. I may not be in attendance but Chung will be there to entertain you with stirring tales of his Italian adventures Further details nearer the weekend - you're probably aware there are a number of options - - short loop (about 40 miles?) - longer loop involving C11 and Otter Ferry Road - the above plus Ardentinny (60 miles) - big loop round Tighnabruaich (70 miles) I think Chung is willing to go with the flow, so post your preference here. If aiming for 9am ferry I would expect departure from Miller St to be about 0740 ?? Thanks Chung's PA

Hi Folks hoping to do the Ayr-Newton Stewart run on Sunday the 24th of June this year. Start time will be 0900, probably returning to Ayr at around 1800. Overall average speed likely to be around 13-14mph Route map: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course. ... rse=230692 ...it is 97 miles. Classic route with a couple of significant climbs (by UK standards) that used to feature in the Girvan 3-day Premier Calendar race. 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. Cafe stops: Yes there are two! 1. Lunch at the Cree Inn, Newton Stewart 2. "High Tea" at the Village Hall, Barr. (Open 1330 to 1700 - I expect we will get there about 1600). Now a word about hills. There are a few on this route, of which the foremost are: Doughty Hill (@ 18 miles) I don't know if this climb really has a name, but I know that when you get to the top (1100 feet) there is a forestry track going off to the right which is signposted "Doughty Hill" hence the name I have given it. Take care on the descent to North Balloch, which is quite exciting (especially if there are cows on the road) Nick O' Balloch (@ 22 miles) A stiff climb to the highest point of the route (about 1200 feet) followed by a very long gradual descent towards the River Cree. Pinmore Step (@ 72 miles) Again I don't know if this really has a name but it's the steep ramp that takes you up out of the Stinchar valley towards Pinmore Mains farm on the road to Barr. Steepest climb of the day at 20% but only for a couple of hundred metres. Milton Hill (@ 81 miles) The climb from Milton Brig to the wind farm (850 feet). ...the main reason I am going into detail here is because I want to highlight the fact that there are plenty of opportunities to show off your climbing legs (it's all good fun) whilst reminding people to regroup at the top Post here if interested Thanks Tony

You're obviously a man who likes to hoover up the miles

Sorry Ken - we must have missed you - think we left at 0920 ? Roll-call: me Elaine Muirhead John Carrigan Bill Thomson Ronnie Graham Garmin stats, for the full route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/182496409 (As discussed, we had a split on the road in Stewarton, for those who wanted a shorter route home.)

Hi Elaine I was just about to post something and you beat me to it....Bill's shoulder injury, weather and other factors mean the rough plan we drafted a few weeks ago is proving to be just that - rough! I was going to suggest a variation on this route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1065344 ...clockwise, i.e. the hilly bit first. It's 45 miles but I might add in one or two extra loops to bring it up to about 50. If you're not feeling up to that sort of distance, Stewarton would be a convenient place to bail out - if you did that and came back to Johnstone your round-trip distance would be about 30-odd miles I think. Thanks Tony PS The B769 has just been resurfaced, I rode it last Saturday - excellent road - long gentle descent almost all the way from Malletsheugh to Stewarton.

Well spotted Boyd - have fixed the date. When you say the first reliabilility do you mean this - http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1186315 ...it's a good route although personally I'd prefer to go along the Old Greenock Road rather than West Ferry. (I think the West Ferry is used because the reliabilities happen in February when untreated roads might be icy.) It's very similar to this one, which we have used in the past - http://ridewithgps.com/routes/939426 ...some nice views over the Clyde... Have a good run whatever you do

Unfortunately have just found out I won't be able to make it out on Sunday. Anyone else who wants to post a run feel free? Route/distance up to you but remember to try and arrange a bail-out option for people who are short of time etc. Weather looks good. Thanks Tony

I'm not going out. Looks like I will get a soaking tomorrow morning, I don't really feel the need to get one today as well. See you next week.

I would suggest everybody check this thread first thing in the morning. If the weather is as bad as the forecast then I won't be out but I will update the thread by 0800 at the latest.

I have not seen any 30-miler runs being posted for some time. Presumably that is because Greig has been busy. There was also a gap in the intermediate runs in April for the same reason (I had other things on). This is the biggest problem in trying to organise club runs - the onus tends to fall on one person to keep it going. That is why I had hoped we could have a single group with a number of people getting involved and keeping it going. I am not sure why anyone would think I was trying to "bin" the 30-milers. Another point (which we talked about at the meeting) was that you can easily have a bailout option in a 40-50 mile run so that people who have less time can do 30 or so miles instead. When I post a run, I am happy to take the time to arrange this by studying the map and pointing out the shorter route to anyone who thinks they might be short of time. On the 1st April we had a "30-miler/intermediate" run which was about 45 miles and we had a designated bailout point like this, for anyone who wanted to do the 30-mile thing. (A few people said they might take the shorter route, but in the event none did.) Greig, I am disappointed you couldn't make it along to the meeting a week past Thursday, we could have sat down and talked about all this and it would have been so much easier

Greig I find on recent Sunday runs we have been averaging 13-14mph over the whole route. It is a pace most people can manage. Personally I am happy to ride slower if necessary as I am not training for anything and therefore not bothered about keeping to a certain pace (as long as I get home at a reasonable time). When it comes to "beginners" - I think you just need to play it by ear. People are usually fitter than they think they are. Thanks Tony

Folks for local rides I think we can and should leave Miller St as a single group. There isn't that much variation in fitness and when it comes to distance, I think latterly the 30-milers and intermediate group were doing pretty much the same thing anyway. I know there is usually a difference of opinion about cafe stops but that needn't be a problem - if some people are really keen to stop for a coffee we can have a split on the road to accomodate that. There are enough cafes around Renfrewshire/Inverclyde/Ayrshire to ensure that we will usually be passing within a few miles of one anyway. For the "awaydays" that have been proposed it's obviously a bit different - it's inevitable that these won't suit everybody - due to lack of time, for example. So if you want to organise a shorter alternative run, on local roads, that's fine - I might join you if available. Thanks Tony

Bill's Trossachs/Stirlingshire adventure is off due to Bill having taken a tumble at Drumlanrig last week. He is on the mend but unlikely to be out this Sunday. Unless anyone else wants to organise a similar run, I think we will do something local instead, and reschedule Bill's run for another time. Does anyone have a strong preference? If not I will post one of my usual Ayrshire routes?

Link to Garmin stats & map: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175353334 ...quite a lumpy route by anyone's standards. Roll-call: me John Brian Hickey Mary Alan Fox Dominic Hugh ...also Iain Cowden briefly at the start. Dominic & Hugh are new to club cycling, having been roped into this by a Mr Chung Wong of Giffnock!

Four of us met on Thursday night (me, Mary, Boyd and Bill). This is what we came up with: Sun 6th May Benslie-Stewarton-Uplawmoor (Tony Carrigan) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/939317 46 miles Sun 13th May "Awayday" starting at Drymen (Bill Thomson) Route tba 60-70 miles Sun 20th May Kilbirnie-Ardrossan-Barrmill (Tony Carrigan) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/939408 44 miles Sun 27th May Dalry-Fairlie-Largs-Loch Thom (Bill Thomson) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1146506 54 miles Sun 3rd June (Chung) Dunoon-Tighnabruaich-Strachur 70 miles (just over 100 if you cycle to and from the ferry) Sun 10th June This is the day of Kenny Christie's Dalmally run: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6637 ...although we will probably also do something local for those who can't manage 140 miles for whatever reason. Sun 17th June Local run (Mary) 40-50 miles Sun 24th June "Awayday" starting at Alloway. (Tony Carrigan) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1146451 96 miles Sun 1st July Tour of Inverclyde (Bill Thomson) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/939426 43 miles Sun 8th July "Awayday" starting from Pollok Park. (Mary/Iain Cowden) Route tba (South Lanarkshire) Sun 15th July Greenhills-Kilmaurs-Neilston (Tony Carrigan) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1065344 45 miles Sun 22nd July "Awayday" starting at Biggar. Borders Cycleway http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1146509 50 or 75 miles (it's about 50 if you take the short cut from Traquair to Mountbenger) Sun 29th July Dalry-Fairlie-Largs-Loch Thom (Bill Thomson) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1146506 54 miles

Hi Folks I propose doing this route or a variation of it: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/939462 ...it is 48 miles but can be easily extended for those who want to do some extra miles. See my suggestion below. Just before we come to Neilston we approach a T-junction (Kingston Rd). To do some extra miles, go left towards Dunlop instead of right into Neilston. If you go left you will eventually come out onto the Dunlop-Stewarton Road and can then double back up towards Lugton and home via the Braes/Bowfield. All this will add a good 12 miles or so on to the basic route as depicted in the map link. We can discuss this on the day and, if necessary, stop briefly at the crucial T-junction to see if anyone wants to split at that point. Thanks Tony

The Ashoka has a menu on their website in PDF format. I'll print off a copy & bring it along

OK the story so far - Attending: me, Boyd, Bill, Chung, Mary, Iain Possibly attending: Greig Unable to attend: Brian, Matt, Jody, JohnM Curry might be good - how would that work, do we wait till everybody turns up and then order in a takeaway for delivery? (We could get the runs list sorted while we are waiting...) Longer club runs - yes (Cowal, 5 Ferries, for example) Awaydays - yes (it will soon be time for the "Ayr Century" for example) 45-mile Farmwatch Specials - yes When we have put the runs list together I will ask a friendly forum moderator to post it as a "sticky" so that it will sit at the top of the forum. See you Thursday Thanks Tony

Sent u a text message Martin - today between 2pm and 7pm would be good? Or any time after 2pm tomorrow? Thanks Tony

Bill Thomson has confirmed he will be out and will be happy to organise a route. I'm sure Bill will also be prepared to listen to any suggestions on this thread... See you next week

I have a gooseberry bush I no longer need. It is one of the thorny varieties, so not ideal for a garden where you have a 3yo and a 6yo running about, hence the reason I am wanting rid of it. It's 2 years old and produced a reasonable amount of fruit last year. One careful owner, never raced or crashed PS I will throw in a blackcurrant bush as a bonus. You're an athlete - you need your vitamin C