Back to Midlothian this time, if only for a few miles before heading out into the Borders and East Lothian. It was also another solo effort, as Colette was away visiting her mother.
The day was forecast to be sunny, but about 10 degrees cooler than we’ve had it recently, so I set off with two layers on top. Heading south along the A7, the road was quieter than normal. I rounded a bend to find a fox about to cross the road. He stopped for a moment to figure out what sort of creature I was before smartly trotting over to the other side and disappearing into the undergrowth.
As I got closer to Stow, a few more cars started to appear, but it was certainly nothing like as busy as Mallorca last week. About 13 miles after setting off I reached Stow, and turning left at the turnoff for Lauder, I used my brakes for the first time, and found them wanting. Not totally ineffective, but a bit weedy. I stopped to adjust them and also check my progress. Despite trying to pace myself and take it easy, I was averaging over 15 mph on my heavy hybrid bike. That was a sure sign that the wind had been behind me.
Next was the climb over the hill to Lauder, which I took very gently in lowest gear, as I was keen to reserve as much energy as possible for later in the day. I was actually more worried about going down over the other side, as I still wasn’t completely happy with the brakes. They didn’t cause me any real problems on the descent, although I would have liked to slow down a bit more before I overtook the horse and rider on the downhill. Mind you, I did call out in plenty of time to let them know I was coming.
Lauder came and went, and I ambled my way to the village of Westruther on the B6456. After that, I was on the lookout for the first left turn, which was part of my plan for a shortcut to Longformacus. I got there, checked my map, then turned left. It wasn’t long before I stopped again though, as I was now heading back into the wind and it felt decidedly chilly. Luckily I’d packed an extra layer, so on it went and on I went…
Gently climbing, the road was verged by a narrow strip of woodland on either side, after which I came to farms and some steeper climbs. On one short sharp climb, a Land Rover came up behind me and I stopped on the verge to let it pass on the narrow road. Getting back going on the steep gradient, I managed to twist my hip somehow and it really hurt. I had to stop again and wait a few moments, cursing myself for being so stupid as to stop on a steep hill. Luckily, there was no lasting damage and I was able to continue, feeling a bit silly.
The tarmac ran out at Wedderlie, after which I continued on one of the two strips of bumpy concrete that took its place. I was glad that I didn’t bring my road bike – I didn’t know what the surface was going to be like but I had anticipated it being less than perfect in places!
The road after the concrete section continued as hard-packed gravel, seemingly fairly recently laid, serving the wind farm beyond. As I continued, the Lammermuir hills opened up before me in the sunshine, looking remote and stark and impressive in all their brownness.
This could be anywhere in the Lammermuirs…
Sounds of gunfire shattered the tranquility, making me a little apprehensive as I grew closer to their origin. At first I convinced myself that it was clay pigeon shooting, as there were definite double bangs, as if shotguns were being used. Eventually I discovered a number of shooters surrounding a small plantation of trees, downing the crows that were circling above. I presume that the crow armageddon was serving some useful purpose, but I didn’t hang around to ask, and was happy when the sound had disappeared into the distance.
A little later, I noticed that my front mudguard was flapping around. The bumpiness of the road had taken its toll, and the “bracket” holding the mudguard in place had snapped. It wasn’t a proper bracket as such, just some flimsy strips of metal that I had cobbled together to serve the purpose when I first fitted the mudguards, although that temporary solution had worked until now. Luckily I had the right tools to take off the broken bits, which I replaced with a simple cable tie. Not perfect, but good enough to get me home.
Good to know you’re on the right track
At some point, this road merged with the Southern Upland Way, and I began to see wooden signs helpfully telling me how far to Longformacus, and importantly, which direction to go. That meant I didn’t miss the right turn that took me to Watch Water Reservoir.
As soon as I reached the reservoir, the track turned back into paved road, but still with some serious potholes, so it was still important to keep the eyes peeled. Although remote, the reservoir was actually relatively busy with anglers. Well, there were at least half a dozen cars parked there. It was certainly a very peaceful and beautiful spot for me to stop and eat my sandwich.
What a lovely place to stop for lunch. Trying to ignore the fact that I was sitting on a thistle.
Leaving the reservoir, there was a stiff little climb, which I took at a nice slow pace, then the road became iffy once more as it passed through Rawburn Farm. After that, it was fun, twisty, turny all the way to Longformacus, with a few scary potholes thrown in to keep you on your toes.
Reaching the T-junction at the village of Longformacus, I turned left and was straight away going uphill again. I wasn’t certain about how many climbs there were to come, but I knew there were quite a lot and that I needed to just take it slow, enjoy the scenery and not worry about it. So that’s exactly what I did.
Tip: don’t try to cycle over this at 30mph…
After a wee while, I came to a familiar sight – the cattle grid where I had the double blow-out earlier in the year, and where I was lucky to escape without injury. Well, despite having sent a report to the relevant council about it, nothing has yet been done, and there is still a protruding blade of iron in the middle of the grid waiting to catch unwary cyclists. Ah well, at least I tried.
While I plodded slowly uphill, several road cyclists going the opposite way sped past in a hurry, making me feel very much the tortoise. But as we all know, the tortoise gets there eventually, and pushing slowly in the lowest gear was saving energy that I knew I’d need later.
A little later, I was going slow enough to spot something interesting in the road and stop before shooting past. It looked just like a snake, and on closer inspection, it certainly was a snake (later identified as an adder). It was just a baby, about 6 inches long, and was badly injured though still alive after apparently being run over. I moved it to the verge and left it there, as I couldn’t bring myself to kill it, even if that would have been the kindest thing.
The snake-related sadness stayed with me for a while as I pootled onwards, then all of a sudden, the hills seemed to stop and I could see the Pentlands in the distance. I had reached the top! I stopped for a wee rest and took on some more food and drink before setting off on a long downhill run.
I turned left at Danskine and headed for Humbie by way of the Pishwanton road. Just before Humbie, on the nicely resurfaced road, I turned right along the B6371 for Windy Mains. That meant some up and down and up again, by which time my legs were definitely beginning to get weary.
The final 7 or 8 miles of familiar road that were needed to complete the journey started to become tedious. I know that’s the wrong attitude, especially as I’d told myself that today was all about the journey. It was about taking it easy and enjoying the sunshine, the views and the wildlife. For most of the journey, I’d give myself about a 7 out of 10 in that, but now that little voice was saying you just want it to be over and done with. This is when it would be so much better to have company, but being solo, and with tired legs, the last part was not so enjoyable. As soon as I got home though, all that was forgotten (until I decided to write this) and I was able to enjoy a hot shower, a hot cup of tea and bask in some warm endorphins with my feet up in front of the telly… Nice.