06 June 2014 – West Linton and the Meldons

It has been raining so much recently it’s unbelievable. Our last outing, earlier in the week, was during a rare dry spell, but we cut it short almost immediately when it started raining again, then I got a puncture a mile from home just for good measure. The forecast for the next week is again pretty much solid rain, but today was to be different – warm and sunny: a day not to be wasted on cutting the grass, even though it’s about a foot high by now.

It was also a chance to try out my latest addition to the stable: a Raleigh Mustang “all terrain bike” of ca. 1990 vintage that I picked up from Gumtree for next to nothing. I stripped it down to the bare steel frame, which was in pretty much immaculate condition, and over the past couple of months, built it back up to a robust mule of a touring-style bike. It is pretty much as I’d like it now, apart from the mudguards being cheap plastic mountain bike ones. That could be the final new bit of tack for the bike if it makes the grade.

Our plan was to head for West Linton via Penicuik, then go south till we hit the A72, head in the direction of Peebles then go back north through the Meldons on our way home. Although I’d made a rudimentary plan, I omitted to print it out or bring a map, which was a bit rash, seeing as I don’t know that area very well.

At least the first part was easy, heading down the A7 to Newtonloan, then on to Bonnyrigg, where we followed the railway path to Penicuik. I should have thought that part through though, as the past week’s rain had made the cycle path very muddy. Colette’s bike didn’t have mudguards, so it and her back got quite dirty, something we’d managed to avoid for the past couple of months. My rear mudguard, combined with pannier rack and the rack bag on top served to keep my back clean, but the front mudguard was too short to be much use, leaving my legs and most of the bike well and truly splattered. That mudguard upgrade sounded like a good idea!

The other thing we had to contend with was insects – loads of them. When Colette suddenly started coughing uncontrollably, the only conclusion was sudden inhalation of fly. Ugh, horrible! The whole episode left her feeling a bit wheezy and queasy, but she got over it and at least the swallowed bug will have gone some way to fuelling the day’s outing…

After reaching Penicuik and heading out up the A701, I managed to let the chain come off somehow. It went back on quickly, and as I was doing so, another cyclist went past on his road bike. I got back on quickly to see if I could catch him up, but the answer was an emphatic no! This bike was more than 50% heavier than my own road bike, so I had to be content with going a bit slower. On the plus side, the tyres are much bigger than road bike tyres, meaning that I was having a much more comfortable ride up this bumpy road.

The long, straight road to West Linton

The long, straight road to West Linton

We then took the turn-off for West Linton and headed out along the long, straight and quiet road. A young lady was apparently having her first driving lesson, and we leap frogged the little red car a couple of times before it turned back, passing us one last time. She did that well and very carefully, better than some of the other drivers we encountered today.

Eventually, West Linton came into sight – the first time we have approached it on this road. Up to now, we have just been passing through on the main road, so the layout and extent of the village came as something of a surprise. It was bigger than I thought, and I wished I’d printed out a map so we could be sure of finding the right road out.

We came out beside a second-hand book shop, which we browsed for a while, then went in search of a cup of tea, which we found courtesy of the Old Toll Tea House. It was a good cuppa in china cups, plus some lovely home baking at very reasonable cost. Leaving the tea house, we found that it was now officially warm, just as forecast, and it really felt like summer. In the park alongside the tea room, a fair was setting up and it looked to be Gala weekend. Hope the weather holds for the festivities to come….

West Linton, with the bunting out

West Linton, with the bunting out

In my half-remembered map, we were to follow a road going roughly south out of West Linton and turn left when we reached the A72. I picked what I thought was the right one and we set off into pleasant green countryside. Sooner than I expected we came to a main road. I hadn’t been expecting it to be the A701. I was a bit stumped, so we went left for a mile or so, then doubled back and took the B7509, signposted for Peebles. Although I wasn’t certain at the time, we were on the right road after all, but I was happy just to be heading for Peebles, as I could find our way home from there without a problem.

The sun continued to shine on us, my “new” bike was rolling along smoothly and we were riding through a beautiful green valley that we’d never been through before. What could be better!

We then reached the A72, which we followed in the direction of Peebles, with the fast-flowing Lyne River running alongside us to the left. I heard a loud splash at one point, possibly a salmon jumping out. A buzzard calling then got me looking out to the right. It struck me that none of the loud motorbikes or lorries rushing past us would have a chance of hearing anything like that.

A little bit further down the road, we came across the unusual sight of a truck that had been tipped over onto its side, spilling some of its contents onto the verge, with the driver warning traffic at one side and the driver of a passing truck stationed at the other side. It looked like coming out from a tight junction had caused the problem and the driver said he wished he’d chosen a different route. As there wasn’t a lot we could do, we left them to wait for help to arrive and went on our way, very happy with our own choice of route.

Fairly soon, we arrived at the turning for the Meldons, and headed into the hills. The gradient was never steep however, and after a while, we arrived at a picnic spot, with a plastic bench where we decided to stop and have lunch. I unpacked the tuna sandwiches and we sat down to eat themĀ  between strange-looking melted patches on the top of the bench. Setting up a BBQ on a plastic bench appears to be a bad idea!

Colette spent a while cooling her feet off in the stream that ran alongside, then a couple of cars pulled in to the same spot, so we decided it was time to get back on our bikes. I stood up on the pedals to get me moving up the steep little slope back to the road, when I just about fell forward off the bike. It turned out that I hadn’t done up the quick release lever tight enough and the rear wheel got pulled out of position (this bike has horizontal dropouts, for those in the know). For a split-second, I was surprised to see a loose washer threaded onto the quick release skewer, until I remembered I’d put it in as part of a bodge when I was getting the wheels set up but I’d never turned it into a proper fix. I got everything good and tight again, then we continued going uphill.

In the Meldons. Which came first, the rocks or the trees?

In the Meldons. Which came first, the rocks or the trees?

We had got about a mile when Colette realised she didn’t have her gloves. They were probably left behind at the picnic spot, but she said it was too much hassle to go back for them, plus she also had a spare pair at home. I had my own problem with the gears not indexing properly, which got a bit annoying, but nothing that I couldn’t work around.

Once over the top, it was a quick cycle down into Eddleston, where we headed north up the A703. This road has some of the worst surface known to cyclists, as well as being quite busy, so when Colette suggested we stop for another break at The Scots Pine Tearoom, it didn’t take too long for me to see the sense. With more tea and more cake, we felt refreshed enough to tackle the final leg of our trip.

After a few miles of the A703, we gladly took the turnoff for Gorebridge and left the busy main road behind. The steep, windy climb was just about OK on my bike. If I was carrying more luggage, I might have been glad of one or two lower gears.

Heading home over the moor, we were both beginning to feel a bit tired. I didn’t have any pains in the hands, arms or the back, though my right knee was getting a little sore – possibly the saddle wasn’t in quite the right position. During the final few miles it got gradually worse, such that by the time we got home, I couldn’t have gone a mile further! That was a slightly disappointing end to a lovely day out, but it didn’t prevent me from giving the bikes a good wash and sorting out the gear problem with the Mustang, which was due to putting the wheel back on with the washer on the wrong side of the dropouts. Now the wait is back on for the next dry day, assuming my leg returns to normal by then!

 

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