“If the wind is not against you, it is not blowing” – James E. Starrs

Sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself to get out on my bike. I haven’t really figured out why; for someone who likes being out on my bike so much it does seem like a contradiction, but the problem usually rears its head at this time of year when I am yearning to put the mudguards and thermal underwear away. I’ve got a whole bucket-load of excuses, just waiting to be used: it’s too wet, it’s too cold, and I’m too tired are some of my favourites.

Last Friday was one such occasion. A couple of friends were going out for a lunch-time ride and the invitation was extended to me. I had a busy morning and to get out for a ride was going to involve some logistical shenanigans; it all seemed like too much effort. Also, despite the shining sun, the wind was blowing a hooly; a perfect excuse. However, telling my friends it was too windy was not going to cut it and thankfully my better sense prevailed. I managed to get home quickly, change and then race, well crawl would be more appropriate, out into the head wind to meet my friends.

We rode 16 miles, half of which was battling into the wind that was being hurled down Glenshee. It was tough, we cursed through our gritted teeth and we complained amongst ourselves, but as is always the case when we are on our bikes, we couldn’t help but smile; in a masochistic way, that only those who have battled into such conditions can really understand, we were enjoying ourselves. The cherry on the top came as we turned at the fording of the Shochie Burn and rode towards Glen Almond; the wind that had been our enemy now became one of life’s simple pleasures and gave us a mighty push back home.

Route details below.

The cycling stars of the future could come from Dundee.

The sport of cycling is becoming more and more popular and at the highest levels of the sport our professional riders are leading the way. This is no accident or blip on the timeline of the history of the sport. Going back to late 20^th century a complete overhaul at British Cycling led to new plans and directions.

“Good advice comes from people who know what they’re doing. Don’t listen to anyone who’s doing it wrong” – Myles Rockwell

During this process British Cycling realised there was a need of a grass roots programme to foster the stars of the future and they introduced the Go Ride scheme which would provide a framework for Youth and Junior cycling clubs to start, and introduce under 16′s to cycling, in a safe, friendly environment, coached by local volunteers.

Scottish Cycling identified Dundee, with its cycling track at Caird Park as an ideal place to start such a club. Initially there was little enthusiasm, but a few local riders, including Martin Harris and John Bremner, underwent their coaching qualifications and the Discovery Junior Cycling Club was born. The club purchased ten new track bikes through an “Awards for All” grant and in April 2006 the first session, to which only three riders turned up was held, but over the following weeks the club grew. Now the club can see 25 to 30 riders turning up to sessions during the summer. Harris, who was almost at the point of giving up the sport after a serious accident in 2005, and Bremner are still deeply involved in the club and when I asked Harris he said “Seeing the enthusiasm and excitement of the kids got my cycling flame going to the point where it’s almost a full time job for me, seems like it anyway”

The club now has six regular volunteers and ten involved in total and Harris can see the club growing in the coming years, with the Discovery JCC Youth Omnium, held at Caird Park, already the biggest track meeting in Scotland

When I asked Harris about the initial aspirations for the club he said, “When the club started, the plan on paper was to get some Scottish Champions within 5 years, This was done inside two”. Indeed the club website has a long list of awards and medals that the riders have won in the last six years. Another standout for Harris was seeing Discovery JCC rider Kevin Stewart competing at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010

So in the hands of Harris, Bremner and the rest of the team of volunteers at Discovery JCC, the sport of cycling seems to be in safe hands for many years to come and we could well be seeing some local riders at the top of the sport in the very near future.

The magic ingredient of the KoM  smoothie is beetroot juice. Beetroot juice has made a lot of headlines recently because of its high nitrate content. The nitrate content gets to work by speeding oxygen flow to the muscles and allowing them  make the most of the oxygen breathed in.

This smoothie recipe is filled with beetroot juice and has a kick of ginger and lime. It’s very refreshing and is a great pre and post ride drink, just don’t be alarmed when your pee turns pink.

I recommend buying bottled beetroot juice as it is less messy and more economical than trying to juice your own beetroot. You can buy beetroot juice at many health food stores and on-line.

The recipe:

• Wash one red chilli pepper, slice the top off, but don’t de-seed, then juice  (it’s important to juice this first as the juicing off the lime later will clean out the chilli taste from your juicer
• Wash one large lime, slice into several pieces and juice with skin on
• Cut a thumb sized piece of ginger (don’t peel) and put through the juicer
• Wash and juice one granny smith apple
• Freshly squeeze the juice from three oranges (this step can be missed and bought fresh orange juice used instead)
• Fill a pint glass with half a pint of beetroot juice
• Pour the chilli, ginger, lime and apple juice into the pint glass and top up more fresh orange if required.
• Give a quick stir and enjoy

The Snow Roads Audax

A challenging ride on the snow roads of Angus

Audacious – adjective extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless: an audacious explorer

Starting a little over 100 years ago, Audax rides, the name is derived from audacious, started in Europe as loosely controlled group rides, where cyclists would complete a set distance, measured in kilometres, and be timed through a number of control points, with evidence being stamped on the back of a control card, known as a brevet card.

Still as popular as ever there are literally hundreds of these rides going on throughout the year on quality routes in the UK.

The Snow Roads is an Audax event organised by Alex and Allison Pattison who are members of Angus Bike Chain Cycling Club; together they have organised it for the last four years and this year looks to be bigger than ever with more and more riders entering.

“The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew, and live through it” – Doug Bradbury

The 300km route has taken on a mythical status and is regarded as one of the hardest in the UK, with almost 5,000 metres of climbing. If you listen to the winter travel reports, you will be very familiar with roads such as Cairn o’Mount, the Lecht, and the Cairnwell often being the first to be closed due to snow, hence the name of this route. The time limit is just over 20 hours, with riders setting off at 6am and the fastest completing the route in about 13 hours. However, Audax events are not meant as races and the challenge is completing the route in the time limit.

If it all sounds a little too adventurous for you then the Pattison’s also run a shorter 100km ride, run on the same day, known as “Potter for tea”, which is much more relaxed with a time limit of just under 9 hours.

Both events attract riders from all over the UK; club cyclists, triathletes, tourers, mountain bikers and leisure riders have all tackled the challenge and it has even been completed by a couple on a tandem.

In recent years there has been a surge in sportive cycling events that, like an Audax are non-competitive timed rides.  So if you are wondering what the difference between the two is, I’ll leave you to ponder on the old joke:

Q: what’s the difference between a sportive and an Audax?

A: a Sportive is for people who like to pretend they are racing;  an Audax is for people who like to pretend they are not racing.

Mucking around in Pitmedden Forest

Scotland is blessed with a multitude of truly world class mountain bike venues; there is no part of the country that doesn’t boast at least one must do trail, route or venue. Some, such as Aonach Mor in Fort William are world famous, but there are many that are less so and Tayside has more than its fair share.

Pitmedden Forest, tucked anonymously away behind Abernethy on the hills of Dumbarrow, Broom and Pitcairlie. When viewed on a map the topography belies the wonders of the trails hidden in this pocket of woodland; Pitmedden is like a tardis, the area it covers appears small, but crammed into this area are endless miles of mountain bike trails. Even now after many visits, I return and notice a new trail heading off through the trees that had previously escaped my attention. You can ride all day here and not cover the same trail twice and there is something for everyone.

“Mountain biking is a misunderstood sport – especially when you miss the technical section you thought you understood” – Chris Cannon

The spine of the forest is a network of forestry access roads, but as you ride along them single track trails veer off in every direction, and off these, more trails and so on until you have the feeling that a map of these tracks would look more like a map of a human nerve system. There are lovely flowing and fast sections, technical climbs, downhill sections that will get your heart pumping and enough variation to keep everyone, from beginners to experts happy. Aaron Gray, organiser of the Muckmedden MTB event and other volunteers have been involved in the repair of many of the trails and improving drainage. He told me that there is still plenty of work to do and it is down to volunteer enthusiasts, such as Aaron, that Scotland has such a great range of trails

When you go, and you should if you haven’t already, park down at the main gate. The initial climb is rewarded at the end of the day by my favourite section; a twisting single track descent that drops you over boulders, tree roots and a lovely bomb hole before finally depositing you out directly at your car.

Situated in Glen Lyon in Highland Perthshire, this is a great cafe with great cycling routes round about. The cafe also features as a lunch stop on the Skinny Tyres three day trip – The Highland Perthshire Revolution

For more cycling cafe’s in Scotland visit our post here

Descending from Ben Lawers into Glen Lyon

January is traditionally the time when road cyclists start thinking of the coming race season. In the days before many could afford a winter training bike a ride known as the reliability ride took place. Each cycling club usually had their own ride which was open to riders from other clubs and on these early season rides the cyclists would be able to check the reliability of their equipment before a new racing season. These rides still continue and many clubs around Tayside have organised these events for years with routes heading out into the Angus and Fife countryside.

The routes of several of the Dundee Clubs traditionally head out towards Strathmore via towns such as Kirriemuir, Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie and a look at the OS Map will reveal the network of roads that make the Strath ideal for cycling.

My first club was the Charles Star CC, who were based, when I joined, in Menzieshill Community Centre in Dundee. At the Monday evening club meet, members such as Jimmy Gordon who had ridden with my father in the 1950s would discuss races and rides and one route that caught my young imagination was out by Tullybaccart. I had no idea where it was, but the way it was spoken about in the club, I imagined it to be of similar status to the Alpine and Pyrenean giants I watched Robert Millar tackling on the Channel 4 coverage of the Tour de France. One Sunday, during a club ride from Dundee to Perth and back, we tackled the airy heights of Tullybaccart on the return leg.

“You want to be like a carpet unrolling. Get faster as the climb goes on.” – Chris Carmichael

The reality was not as painful as the anticipation had led me to believe, but I can still picture myself grinding up the initial modest hairpin bends. In the end another new club recruit and I still had energy enough to ride out to Carnoustie and back, before returning home.

The route

Starting in Muirhead to the north-west of Dundee, head towards Newtyle on the B954. As you enter Newtyle turn left at the bottom of the hill towards Keillour. After half a mile take another left towards Kinpurnie Castle and Leys then follow this road until you join the A923 on the North side of the Tullybaccart climb. You can follow the A923 all the way back to Muirhead, but a nice wee detour is to follow the Lundie Road, which will take you back onto the B954 just north of Muirhead.

Some up and coming club reliability trials.

FIFE CENTURY – 12.2.2012 – Falkland (9.30am) £5

DUNDEE THISTLE – 26.2.12 – Lochee Boys’ Club (9.30am) £5

DUNDEE WHEELERS CC – 4.3.12 – Muirhead (10am) £5

Note: These rides are not supported. You must be fully self-sufficient. Please visit the club websites for more information.

A recent survey commissioned by the Big Lottery Fund found that 87% of children aged between seven and 15 regularly played computer games. However, debunking the assumption that our children are becoming a generation only interested in sedentary activities the poll also found that more than half (56%) of children surveyed currently go cycling and an additional 13% would like to have the opportunity to do so.

Parents can often be a key to whether children cycle or not and if they are enthusiastic they can open up a whole new world of discovery for them and their family. So your children want to ride, you want to get fit, what better excuse to get out on your bikes this weekend and go for a family cycle ride.

“Sighing for new worlds to conquer, I determined that I would learn the bicycle.” – Frances Willard

Balance Bikes

Getting children cycling used to involve a period of learning on stabilisers. For many it still does, but a quiet revolution in how children learn to cycle is taking place. Balance bikes are nothing new. The forerunners of today’s bikes were wooden frames on wheels, propelled by the rider’s feet on the ground. The balance bike follows the exact same principle and its beauty is that the rider learns to balance, which when you think about it, is the key to riding a bike. Once learnt the rider can then scoot along to their heart’s content and then when they are ready to progress to a pedal bike without stabilisers, they will have learnt the hardest part. The rest will be as easy as, well, riding a bike.

Tayside and Fife are blessed with a huge amount of green space areas and parkland that are ideal for children on their balance bike or just starting out on their pedal bike.

One of my favourites, where both my children learnt to balance and cycle is the North Inch in Perth. Situated right in the heart of the city, its circular path has a good surface for young children to ride on and is flat enough that even the youngest children will have no problems. Close to the centre of Perth, it’s very accessible for many and with amenities at the Bell’s Sport Centre and a play park on its route, it is a great place to take those first few bike rides.

Route details

A family friendly cycling route on the old A9

Cycling in Britain has never been more popular, and the successes of our Olympic and World Cycling Champions have further boosted the profile of an already growing sport. Whether it be for commuting, health benefits, environmental and financial concerns, or just wanting to revisit the sheer youthful joy of hurtling along under your own power, cycling is now a big deal. Whatever your reason for getting back into the saddle, now’s the time to start the New Year in a positive pedal-powered way and cycle your own trail along the roads and tracks of Courier country.

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride” – John F. Kennedy

When I think back to my first bike I can still remember the feeling of independence it gave me, allowing me to explore further and further afield with my friends. Now my own children are cycling and I was keen for them to have the same experience, even though things have changed since my childhood. This is partly to do with perception, but undeniably the roads are now busier and as a parent I would think twice about letting them ride about as I did so many years before. Thankfully there are still many, many options, both on and off road for families and individuals to ride. Over the coming weeks we will be looking at some of the popular and some of the less well known routes, as well as adding other little bits of information to get you out and about on your bike.

Driving along the A9 North of Pitlochry you may have noticed the National Cycle Network Route 7. Although it is surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery it is not the most appealing route for a family cycle. However, one section from Calvine and Struan to Dalnacardoch is a hidden gem. It follows the old A9 and is a surface suitable for all kinds of bikes. It isn’t closed to traffic, but since the only reason for driving along its length is to get to the few houses, it is virtually traffic free. Indeed the sunny summer’s day our family cycled along it we didn’t see a single car. Ideally for young children it is also very flat and our little boy rode the six miles out and back on his balance bike. As you ride the first few miles you are surrounded by natural woodland, with the River Garry on your left, you can almost imagine you are in the middle of nowhere, rather than right next to the busy A9. There are numerous places to stop for picnics, and the thought of cheese sandwiches, crisps and juice was more than enough motivation, if any was needed to keep our kids riding.

Route: Calvine to Dalnacardoch (return by same route)
Grade: Easy – Suitable for all levels of cyclist, including young children.
Distance: 12 miles (19km) return (the route can be shortened by returning before Dalnacardoch)
Climbs: No climbs, but a gradual ascent of 313ft (95m) in 6 miles (9.7km)
Start: OS 1:50,000 Map 43 – NN803 659
Finish: OS 1:50,000 Map 42 – NN723 704
Parking: There is plenty of roadside parking available by driving onto the first section of the cycle route.
For the more adventurous: The route can made into a circular by turning South at Dalnacardoch and following the old Military Road to Trinafour and returning to Calvine via Glen Errochty. This is a challenging climb from either side, but one of the best in the area and I would highly recommend the climb from Glen Errochty.

The column will be in the weekend supplement and cover all aspects of cycling from family rides, to competitive racing, sportives and all disciplines. The column was preceded by a profile of Scot Tares today

Profile Preview Courier — Scot Tares’ cycling column