3 ferries Sunday 16th. december

[Kenny MacDonald]

Just a reminder that this weeks Sunday run is the first of the collegiate Sunday runs . Which means members of both regular runs are invited to take part in Decembers away day.

Those travelling by car are meeting at Gourock sailing club for a 9:15am depart to Wemyss bay where we are catching 10:15am ferry to Rothesay:-

Ferry 1

 

Route :- Mount Stuart and round island to catch ferry to Colintriave :-Ferry 2

Coastal road to turn off for Loch Striven. Loch Striven ,Loch Tarsan,Sandbank,Dunnoon. :- Ferry 3

 

Retrace to cars for those using this mode of transport and ride home via Clune Brae for mileaters.

approx mileage 48 miles for those in cars (82 miles cycling to and from clubrooms)

Island hopscotch ticket £6 and some pence includes bike on all 3 ferries.

 

Ferry christmas

[redflash]

Is anyone meeting at the clubhouse and if so what time?

John

[Guest]

Sorry i can't come, shooting with cadets.

 

cya

GB

[Guest DavieR]

Who are the cadets shooting this week! Remember its Christmas.

[Kenny MacDonald]

forecast sounds favourable , dry but cold

See you all in the morning for the xmas awayday

[Kenny MacDonald]

What a a day out

3 ferries 2 major cols and a habble back to Dunnoon

full report to follow , away to do James,s shift while he attends RAH with suspected broken knuckle

His polo skills saved him from any major damage.

Plus he is claiming legend status already , 30 miles over 2 Cols with broken finger/fingers

Will update tomorrow morning

[martin]

Absolutely cracking day out! Fine weather and a tremendous hurl.

 

Sorry I had to cut and run on the Dunoon esplanade, but was on a seriously limited time budget and needed to get the 3:00 o'clock western boat.

 

Followed by a time trial to get home before it got too dark to see the dog walkers on the track.

 

Hope James is well.

 

cheers

m

[Colin H]

Grand day out indeed. Pity I had to get the missus to come and get me in Gourouck thanks to broken spoke in the front wheel Hope James finger is okay. Maybe you should try some of whaterver Bill had for breakfast this morning

 

Bill, I left my front light in your glovebox Can you PM me to arrange collection or if you could drop it into "Bikes by John" in Johnstone if you are passing and drop me a line.

 

Cheers

 

Colin.

[Guest DavieR]

Great day, great route, great company. Thanks guys.

James, hope the knuckle is not as bad as it looked.

[Kenny MacDonald]

Fractured finger knuckle swollen like a balloon ( returning to RAH 9:30am to see specialist ) slightly torn left glove, totally fecked left overshoe and ergo lever for sale - going cheap

 

Rider of the day :- Bill

actually todays performance puts him in contetion for rider of the year

his big ring attacks at Colintraive and Loch Tarsan were outstanding, lets hope we can launch attacks like those when we are pension age .

RESPECT to the big man

ps he is selling his special morning porrage at £30 a plate

[Ken Mac]

Yes it was certainly the best bunch ride of the year. Due to the praise heaped on Bill for his performance, it was only right that he picked up the tab for the final ferry!!!

Seriously Bill, thanks for that.

[Stevie Blom]

What happened to James KEnny?? Sounds Epic stuff

[Kenny MacDonald]

9:15am on the dot and we headed to Wemyss bay , barely half a mile in when shouts of rider off the back were heard

It was Mullhooligan who had sneaked up behind us and was allerting us to the fact John was also chasing us round the coast

With a full complement we set out in good spirits for the ferry, 2 MacDs,Colin,Martin,Ian ,Ken Mac,Bill,John and Davie R.

The wemyss bay ticket office must be the warmest in the land and we had to be prised out of it to board the ferry

Boarding the ferry we met a lone cyclist coming off ,it was legendary frame builder Jim Docherty who now lives in Bute .

Once on the ferry it was a rush to see who get grab the last few rolls n bacon/sausage , we set sail in calm conditions for the isle of Bute.

Halfway across and the boat started to roll as the wind picked up.

3/4 of the way across and the boat was rolling violently from side to side Some of our less generous members hinted that this had something to do with Colin who had went for a comfort break and had imbalanced the boat funnily enough it did stop when he sat back down

Once off the boat we were met by the Bute wheelers local scout who was to escort us round the island, once he had got a new tyre fitted to his bike

en route to the bike shop we were accosted by a local worthy on a MTB who challenged us to a fight as he rode by waving both fists in the air ( obviously a Dundonian who had emigrated to the isles )

Now ten strong we set out for Mount Stuart and the road round the island , this was into a rising headwind which was gettingstronger by the minute.

Over Mount Stuart and Martin guided us down a farm watch Category 1 road to add a few extra miles and add some excellent pave.

The wind was taking its toll and a few wee breaks appeared in bunch as the sidewinds made it tough going . On the back of island with the wind behind us the pace quickened and going down a quick descent Colin pulled away from the bunch as it strung out. There was a tight turn at bottom over a bridge. James in his youthfull exuberance took the bend too quick and slid on gravel hitting the drystone wall side on

no one witnessed it and so we wee surpised when he complained about a sore hand 1/2 mile down road. When we stopped we could see his ergo lever was trashed as was his left overshoe. Removing his glove the finger looked badly swollen but he could still bend it at this point so elected to carry on.

( there is no truth in rumour that I started crying when I saw the damage to bike and newly purchased overshoes )

We set off to ferry over to Colintriave and bid farewell to our local guide as we turned for the last leg to the slip. Whilst waiting for the ferry we refuelled and mocked the canoers fighting the stormy waters( who would be mad enough to take part in sporting activities on a cold day like this

??? us come to think of it

Once more we let a warm lounge and headed towards Glendaruel.

Bill who was on his racing winter bike took command and cyclocrossed over the grass and onto a track " follow me" he shouted

and we did for the next 5 miles as he attacked the downhills with gusto turning his big ring ( even sprinting out of the corners to maintain momentum

This gem of a road is little used but is so much more scenic than the boring new road , it even had some more pave

We rejoined new road for last mile to cut off for Dunnoon.

The long steady climb to Loch Striven starts as soon as you turn right and riders soon selected grouppettos of similarability to climb with.

The lead group of 2 MacDs ,Martin and Colin rode at a steady pace , followed by Bill,Ken and Davie and Ian and John not too far behind .

Half way up this long climb James upset Colin by asking " are we on the hill yet?" Colin,s face was a picture as he ranted at the young upstarts comments between gasps of air

Bill was flying today and surpised Ken Mac by hanging onto him all the way up the climb and even sprinted over summit to sneak the victory over his companion Ian returning from his long lay off found the long climb challenging but ploughed away at own pace and was glad off the refuel at the top.

The descent down into Loch Striven is steep and over in a short time and everyone bar James( who was struggling now to pull left brake ) enjoyed this quick descent . The swing round headland came quickly and we were soon on the Tarsan climb with quick descenders Bill,Martin and Colin at the head of the field. The 2 MacDs worked their way thru the field and James set the pace up the climb marshalled by Martin and yours truly as the others split into single riders .

Bill was still in rampant mood and was even attacking team mate Ken on the steep parts of the climb. They rode as a 2 up chasing Colin just in front , followed by Davie R chasing them down with John just ahead of Ian.

Over the summit and Bill engaged the big ring and set off for Dunnoon at pace

the group split into 2 and Bill,Martin ,Colin James,and yours truly were pushing on for home. The second group followed behind also with the bit between their teeth. Bill was in stunning form and even attacked out of the saddle on last stretch to cut off for Sandbank.

Turning now into the headwind Colin showed some of his form from days gone by and set a cracking pace into the headwind maintaining our quick pace

The wind was blowing a storm but we ploughed on relentless , only to see the Cally Mac boat depart within touching distance. Martin turned quickly and headed for western ferry whilst we debated best plan ( wait an hour for ferry or retrace to Western) we turned and stopped at shop where Bill bought tickets for ferry and we picked up second group and headed back to Hunters Quay.

Once on the ferry we discussed an epic day out , a challenging ride done at the wrong time of the year in difficult conditions which made it all so more of an achievement. A ride to be remembered for a long time.

 

Stars on the day :- Bill stands out head and shoulders above everyone with his performance on the day

Ian Simmet and John battled round and rode well above expectation

Ken Mac not to be outdone by his fellow Houstonian , climbed better than I have ever seen him climb

Davie R showed his strength in riding into the wind and always comes good at the end of the run

Colin showed that his TT ability is still there and if he can get some valuable training time , will be a threat in next years confineds

James despite riding bulk of the day with fractured hand showed that he could have blown us all away on any of the climbs if he wished

Martin rode comfortably all day and sportingly didnt attack James on the climbs , although he had a dig at Bill in the run in to Sandbank

 

Excellent adventure despite the mishap with James , great day out with brilliant club members well done to all

 

ps huge thanks to Bill who bought the ferry tickets on way back

[duncan thomson]

tremendous write up, they get better and better. Feel tired just having read it.

chapeau to James for carrying on wiith broken finger

obviously made of the rite stuff

good effort from Bill

sorry not to have made it as was on call, but hoping to sneak out on 23rd although missus might have somehting to say about it.

any plans for sunday yet?

duncan

[ianfsimmet]

yes kenny a very accurate write up, what a fantastic run ,excellent day with the very best of company, encouraging me greatly when needed on that wee hill (loch tarzan)!! i felt like jane at times. :oops,.no need for any comments thanks, really great to be back and recorded 40.6 mph on back side of that wee hill, you are a great bunch, and i definately joined the right club...james hope your injuries heel well and soon. thanks to bill for transport to gourock.

a wee note to iain manson if you happen to read this, could you possibly drop m/ship card off at bikes for john if convenient... thanks

will be back oot sun30th if there is an outing of the 30/42+ers.

[Stevie Blom]

Hats off to James

Hope you can get back to your best soon.

[redflash]

Yes well done to James that finger looked sore ,Great day out can i say thanks to Ian and Davie for running me back to Paisley Thanks. Hope to see you on Sunday

John