Just got back from a lovely ride south of Peebles. Planned to download all the stats from the GPS and show lots of pretty graphs and maps and stuff, but the GPS is in the car, and I can't be bothered to go and get it. Sorry, but you'll have to put up with me wittering instead.
We did a route heading southwest out of Peebles to the A701, then south a bit, then east past the Talla and Megget reservoirs (including a nice little 20% climb), along to Mountbenger, then south again to Crosslee, over towards Selkirk, and then back to Peebles.
The day was much more interesting than anticipated. It started with the discovery that Peebles had decided to hold their "Beltane Festival" on the one day of the year (possibly the decade) that I wanted to drive through. And for a bit of fun, they hadn't bothered putting up any diversion signs after closing the A road that goes straight through the middle. iPhone satnav came to the rescue, though, and after a couple of false starts we made it to the car park.
Our next exciting encounter was with a classic car rally - 200 cars - which had decided it would be a fine day to process along the single-track, 1 in 5 hill that joins the Talla and Megget reservoirs. Most of the drivers were considerate, though, and Helen got lots of encouragement (plus a load of verbal from a gruff Weegie that we'll assume was positive).
Just when we thought the day couldn't get any more exciting, we encountered an RAF helicopter landing in the road west of Mountbenger, apparently picking up the victim of a motorcycle accident. We appreciated the enforced rest, but hope there is good news for the casualty.
And then, finally, the highlight of the day! Descending into Crosslee, Helen spotted a sign advertising "Riks Cream Teas". It was out of our way, and didn't say how far, but it's never wrong to seek out a scone, so off we went. In the event it was only a mile or so, and well worth the effort. Rik's little catering enterprise is run out of a couple of stationary caravans, with a tented outdoor area, but the scones were excellent.
So how was the riding? Fairly comfortable, a bit tired towards the end, but no real problems. The only challenging bit was the 20% hill, which I tackled rather more aggressively than Helen, giving me time to stop for a flapjack half way up. Helen managed not to stop and overtook me while I was munching; I gave chase and we summitted together.
We'll both sleep well tonight. Until I roll over onto the blistering sunburn on my arms, that is. Ouch!
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