Gummers

Due to popular demand this thread has moved from 13th April to 20th April. For those of you unfamiliar with this ancient ritual we board the 0700 hours ferry to Brodick. Get off and ride round the island and get the next ferry back. This is the first 2019 edition with aspirations for the legendary Double Arran attempt later in the summer.
 
Don't be like me and miss the ferry despite living 4 miles away. 
 
Be like Darryl and pace according to the team on the climbs not according to how Many watts you can meat out on your pals
 
If the ferry master approves your boarding of the next ferry then you will enter Paul McD’s Hall of Fame! You can tell stories to your children and grandchildren at they sit at your feet in wonder for many years to come! 
 
Who's in?

Due to popular demand this thread has moved from 13th April to 20th April. For those of you unfamiliar with this ancient ritual we board the 0700 hours ferry to Brodick. Get off and ride round the island and get the next ferry back. This is the first 2019 edition with aspirations for the legendary Double Arran attempt later in the summer.
 
Don't be like me and miss the ferry despite living 4 miles away. 
 
Be like Darryl and pace according to the team on the climbs not according to how Many watts you can meat out on your pals
 
If the ferry master approves your boarding of the next ferry then you will enter Paul McD’s Hall of Fame! You can tell stories to your children and grandchildren at they sit at your feet in wonder for many years to come! 
 
Who's in?

So ‘tis the season for the clocks springing forward, lambs frolicking in the fields, bunnies preparing to hide their Easter eggs and ofcourse the new CalMac summer timetables! 
To celebrate spring once again returning Paul and I wondered what better way than a single Arran filled with 56 miles of 19.6mph joy. 
Who would like to partake?

For what should have been a miserable day, ended up being a day full of laughs.

Dipsy of course

Which one?

Plan to be out and join at bottom of Bowfield climb. 
Andy

Alan not original poster but it is a main bunch not a training run and bunch rules apply and I wouldn't wish a solo coast run on anybody. If push comes to shove you could always rejoin the coast at some point i.e off the whin. Up to you but faster and longer is a relative term and should not be co-opted to exclude people especially not people who have been part of main bunch previously and maybe coming back to a bit of fitness,  or actually ride a winter bike as opposed to full carbon with kid on mudguards.
Let the moaning commence.

Guys
too much moaning. I will be at club rooms for 9.30 am depart. Will probably arrive at Erskine bridge just before 10.00 and can pick up slackers. As long as u don’t have deep set rims u will be fine. 11 degrees is positively tropical

Chapeau chaps, I'm sitting thinking life is just too short to miss a Saturday bogs bunch !

 
 

Thanks Galeb! Tough shift today. Small bunch departed Renfrew into the wind. After Largs the pace went up leaving a highly select group of strong guys Galeb, Ian A, Gregg, Scott, Finn Crockett and Ross Clark. 

Flandrian stuff, ken.

Warm rain.
Decent bunch out today ...Millhouse a decent stop in Stewarton. Highlight of the day was the sighting of the Dalek, the guy could probably charge admission.

Looking out my window wondering where all the driech rain and fog came from then I remembered it was a DavieB ride today

Looking out my window wondering where all the driech rain and fog came from then I remembered it was a DavieB ride today

Looking out my window wondering where all the driech rain and fog came from then I remembered it was a DavieB ride today

Was very glad to get out today after numbing the man throat with paracetamol and ibuprofen!
A real solid run until we got to the dreaded Kilwinning drag. Got dropped just before the left turn which was agonisingly near the top, an oft repeated tale the past few years. However it meant a very pleasant run back with Andy and Alan.
Galeb - this is the standard route for the bogs bunch after new year, sorry I got pumped and could not give you directions. My 'radical' suggestion was to go up round the by pass at Ardrossan roundabout as opposed to trawling through the 3 towns, Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston. I think that worked well in the sense that cars have the extra lane to pass you and it saves a lot of traffic lights.

 
 

Well that was hard. Thanks to scotrail I missed the Bunch making it to the bogs at 1005. I decided to chase in the vain hope that a mechanical or the traffic light gods might smile upon my forsaken soul. Hope blossomed at the Red Swinney as I could see the unmistakable sign of car queues and flashing red lights. However by the time I made westferry there was not a sign at all. I continued to pray to the traffic light gods but the only signs they gave me were reds through the port and Greenock. So up through Spango Valley. It is indeed a dark place but shaves nearly 3k off the 56k to Largs. I made largs just ahead of Bunch which gave me a few extra minutes recovery time before joining the bunch properly. The bypass was hard and I knew by the time I reached Kilwinning I was living on borrowed time. I sat hopefully on Gregg’s wheel and momentarily was inspired by Dr Alan getting back on the Bunch. However once Gregg started to move to the front at the saltworks I was gone. Lights out. Nice company back to Beith with Paul and Alan before heading back into the wind. I was never so happy to be home! Good work out. 

Well that was hard. Thanks to scotrail I missed the Bunch making it to the bogs at 1005. I decided to chase in the vain hope that a mechanical or the traffic light gods might smile upon my forsaken soul. Hope blossomed at the Red Swinney as I could see the unmistakable sign of car queues and flashing red lights. However by the time I made westferry there was not a sign at all. I continued to pray to the traffic light gods but the only signs they gave me were reds through the port and Greenock. So up through Spango Valley. It is indeed a dark place but shaves nearly 3k off the 56k to Largs. I made largs just ahead of Bunch which gave me a few extra minutes recovery time before joining the bunch properly. The bypass was hard and I knew by the time I reached Kilwinning I was living on borrowed time. I sat hopefully on Gregg’s wheel and momentarily was inspired by Dr Alan getting back on the Bunch. However once Gregg started to move to the front at the saltworks I was gone. Lights out. Nice company back to Beith with Paul and Alan before heading back into the wind. I was never so happy to be home! Good work out. 

After a week off the bike here I was turning up for the usual renfrew bunch. Before Largs burnt some matches and chipped of the front in the head wind and stayed away...it seems bunch didn't have appetite to chase and let me go. After a quick break in largs we set off to do a slightly different route (I thought!), or radical as Paul described it...the last stretch towards Barrhead/Paisley (I think) was intresting with 6 of us left out of a good size bunch, but at that point I was running out of fuel and decided I had enough. Had no clue where I was but luckily we caught Jan on that stretch that joined me and gave me some direction .
Found my way...75 miles on the clock...good ride but a bit too long for me. I'm more of a 45-50 miles with a punch .

Great to see so many JWCC for different parts of the run today. Darryl, Galeb, James, Andy and Alan were all present at sections on the route. We had singled up through Wemyss Bay due to line of traffic, I rolled through and suddenly me Andy and Alan were way off the front. Andy and Alan were up for putting the hammer down, I was a bit more conservative thinking we might not want to poke the bears behind. However the bears were indeed poked, Gregg and Richie came flying past a km later and all hell let loose for the first balls out habble from Wemyss Bay to Largs of the winter. A similar performance on the W Kilbride - Ardrossan road in the cross tail wind. My day finished with a very civilised ride and chat with Doc Alan from Beith to Lochwinnoch.

Yep fun it was. 5 of us started off and through old Largs road we were joined by Ian and Andy. 
Thanks for the company 

The Galeb Gallop is always so much fun. In a screaming legs sort of way. Made even more interesting with the addition of Gregg and Richie. Good to see Colin, Jan and Andy out today.

 

Had Lurgy since last Thursday so will be a no show tomorrow. Happy Xmas all

Had hoped to join you but am laid up with the Christmas lurgy. Be safe and Happy  Crimbo to all.