“The weather out-side is frightful”, as the old song goes so I’ve spent my time indoors writing some more reviews for my gear page. None of them are sponsored and I hope anyone reading will find them helpful. I have linked the reviews to the manufacturers’ pages but this is not as an endorsement of the products apart from what I have written about my experience with them. I have considered providing links to retailers but am still debating with myself over whether I should.

The days are getting noticeably longer and the temperature is rising. So it’s time to start thinking about my cycle trips for this summer. Since my visits to the Outer Hebrides and Arran last summer I’ve had an inkling to continue with the island theme. I had considered extending my Arran cycle to take in Jura and Islay by cycling over the Kintyre peninsula but that didn’t come off so maybe I’ll condider finishing by visiting some more of the inner hebrides. I also want to visit Shetland and maybe Orkney on the same trip. So it will be a toss-up between the Northern Isles and the Western Isles.

If I decide on the Shetland trip I most likely will do that in June. That way I could probably fit in a week’s cycling/camping as a build up either in April or May. I may take the train to Oban and cycle part of the Caledonian Way to Inverness. Then I can come home by train from there.

I looked out maps today and I’m looking forward to this summer already.

I’m gradually building up my fitness again. Gradually is the operative word here. I’ve been trying to get out on the bike a couple of times a week at least but feel like I’m going to have to up that to daily. I managed twenty miles today without feeling absolutely wrecked but I know if I take another break for even a week I will be back to where I started in no time at all.

At least now Spring is on its way so it should be easier to convince myself to go out. It actually felt quite warm in the sun so maybe the weather will help. I could always blame my age for the reticence but I know (and not even that deep down) it’s laziness. I’ve got too used to sitting around over the winter.

Now the weather’s getting better, snowdrops and crocuses are beginning to appear and the frost has gone (for now!), I have decided that it’s time to get back out cycling regularly.

I’ve only been out a couple of times in the last few months and then only for a mile or two at a time. I feel it too. After a ten mile cycle today, my legs are like jelly and my bum is aching. At my age it is telling how much fitness gets lost in a few weeks. I had forgotton what it was like turning around and heading back into a head wind and the burning thigh muscles on an incline which is really too shallow to be considered a hill.

I really need to be doing this distance every couple of days. Especially as I intend to cycle to Edinburgh and back next month. Even just a couple of years ago I could have probably done a cycle like that after a day or two back on the bike following a break. Nowadays I’m going to have to build up gradually over weeks rather than days.

It’s the final day of 2023 and the weather continues to be driech. Yesterday’s snow has gone, washed away by the almost incessant rain.

I’m not one for making New Year’s Resolutions so will continue that for the one coming. What I will promise myself is that I will keep on making an effort to get out on my bike as often as I can.

I’ve just had two chains delivered, which I bought new from e-bay. They are KMC DLC 10 speed and would be expected to retail at £90 each. I usually buy Shimano HG 95s. They cost about £24 but the RRP is £35. The KMCs cost me £36 each. Much more than I’d usually pay for a chain but for the quality well worth it. I don’t even need to change a chain right now but no harm in holding some spares.

On my return from the Western Isles trip I had decided to change my bike for one which was more suited to touring so had built ALICE. You can read about that build on “my bikes” page.

The weather was looking as though it was going to improve, following a wet August, so I decided to get away before it changed its mind and returned to seasonal normal. I booked a ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick on Arran, packed up the bike and set off. Another thought I’d had, following my couple of weeks in the tent in the Outer Hebrides, was that I had decided that my age was dictating I needed more headroom in the tent. So on the back of my rack was my new Nordisk Halland tent. (new to me, this was another e-bay purchase). It was roomier than the previous tent but at almost half the weight, certainly an improvement.

I was lucky with the weather and had three days of glorious sunshine and only one night of rain but by that time I was heading for home anyway. I had originally had the idea of crossing over to Kintyre and carrying on to Islay and Jura but those islands will wait for a future trip. Arran was much hillier than I remembered from my previous visit which was nearly 40 years ago so I didn’t get as many miles in as I had thought I would. A more in-depth report will follow on my “trips” page when I get round to typing it up.

I’ve been back in Glasgow for one day and already missing being on the road and sleeping in my tent. I will post a review of the past couple of weeks on the Hebridean Way soon. But for now I’m planning my next trip. I want to get some more camping before the weather turns.

So there I was. My 66th birthday, my last day at work and looking forward to Monday when I can lie in bed all day and do nothing! I should have known better. I was awake at the usual time and feeling like I should get out on my bike. So at 6.30 am I set off on my bike along the canal. I went west, the opposite direction from my usual commute. After a couple of hours I ended up back home and it struck me that I was really going to enjoy this retirement lark.

The more I got out and about on my bike the better I wanted it to perform. I had started looking at up-grades over the time I was commuting. First I replaced the wheels, derailleur and brakes. Over the next couple of years I had changed almost all of the components. I was gradually rebuilding a bike which I thought would suit my purpose. It got to a point when my spare room had so many bits lying about I bought a second hand mountain bike frame from e-bay and transferred all the better parts onto it. That left me with almost a complete bike which I put together and sold to a neighbour. I gathered a collection of tools which enabled me to completely strip down and build up the bike several times. It was getting better but I doubt if I will ever be completely satisfied and have an end product.

My thoughts began to stray on to where I could cycle to. I started reading cycling blogs and web-sites. I began to develop ideas about going cycle touring. I hadn’t been camping for a couple of years but still had most of the gear. The thought of going camping on my bike started growing in my mind.