Edinburgh to St Andrew's route

fuzzynavel

AMcD wrote:

"It is a reasonably smooth climb at about 5-7% gradient according to my garmin. it increases to about 13% ish for about 50 yards before going back to 7, 6 , 5 etc before getting flat. It is a nice ride once you get in the zone and is just enough to get me tiring before it flattens out, it does get easier once you keep repeating a route. .

Thanks for the info fuzzynavel but I don't understand gradients :oops: . How do work out a gradient - do you need a Garmin (I could borrow my husband's )? I've used Anquet maps to plot my routes and it just shows the profile of the route per mile (in feet above sea level). For example, today I knew that at 6.5miles I'd have a steep bit and the route would gradually climb to the 15 mile point and that the last two were all downhill. Thankfully the Anquet map and my bike computer were spot on.

I was quite sure I'd really struggle today as all my other rides have been flattish and fairly cool. It took me three hours to pluck up the courage to head out the door! The first flat 6 miles flew by and all was great until I headed through Crossford up to the Carnock road. A super fit Dunfermline CC rider flew past up the hill with a cheery good morning. I was overheating at this point (still wearing a winter top!) and stopped to take off my superflous gilet. After that the only two stops I had were to swap over empty water bottles (the spares in my pannier) and to arrange my lift home just as I set off up the hill to Cleish. This hill was such an anticlimax in terms of effort - yes I was tired, hot and in my granny ring but nowhere near stopping . In fact I didn't want to stop and could've done a few more miles today. The descent with the super views of Loch Leven was FANTASTIC.

Gradients are worked out by dividing the vertical distance by the horizontal...

for example....100metres of climbing over a distance of 1668metres (1 mile-ish) = 0.0599

Multiply this by 100 to get the percentage = 5.99% gradient.

The Gramin 705 is a nice bit of kit but it is a bit of an extravagance. I wouldn't be without mine now though....
I notice near the end you say that you could have gone further ......why didn't you just start heading home and arrange the pickup slightly later.

AMcD

Thanks for the info - I can work out the gradients for my next ride. I have one difficult hill that I struggle on near home - I'll work out the gradient for that and can then guage whether other hills will be easier or harder - great stuff! .

As for going further yesterday I had already phoned home before I set off over Cleish hill so that we'd both get to Cleish at the same time. I expected to be wasted after this, or to be passed by my husband as I walked up the hill, so didn't expect to feel as good as I did. As it is my knees are very tired today so perhaps it's best I stopped when I did .

scapaslow

I cycled the Wester Balgeddie to Strathmiglo part of the route yesterday as part of a longer run i was doing. Take great care on the first half of this road as it has some serious potholes - more like black holes!. It is also very narrow and could cause problems with the volume of riders.

AMcD - why go to Arthurs Seat when you have the Loch Glow climb nearby? The climb from Cleish up toward Dunfermline is tough enough for training on.

AMcD

Hi Scapaflow,

Yes the potholes have been mentioned earlier in this thread, thanks for the reminder! I think I'll be doing that route in two weeks as I can't guarantee a lift home this weekend .

When doing the Cleish route on Sunday I thought "glad I didn't come the other way" as the route back to Dunfermline would be a killer hill for me at the moment - something to aim for in a few weeks.

I don't know Loch Glow - despite living in Dunfermline for nearly 5 years I don't really know where many of the B roads go or the good road cycling routes - have been sticking very close to home till now. Most of my cycling in the past few years has been on my MTB, either local trails or at Glentress etc. Will look up Loch Glow on my Anquet maps - thanks! Perhaps one for this weekend depending on how hilly it is .

AMcD

Doh! Just realised Loch Glow is the same climb up from Cleish, sorry .:oops: Don't think I fancy that way round just yet. Perhaps in a few weeks I'll make a round trip from home going up the hill the hard way. I'll let you know if I get up without stopping .

fuzzynavel

AMcD wrote:

Doh! Just realised Loch Glow is the same climb up from Cleish, sorry .:oops: Don't think I fancy that way round just yet. Perhaps in a few weeks I'll make a round trip from home going up the hill the hard way. I'll let you know if I get up without stopping .

Sounds like fun...maybe I will brave the bridge and cross into Fife for a few rides.....as long as I don't fall down a pot hole I should be fine....Might try the "Round the Forth" ride from Edinburgh....across the bridge along to Alloa and then back along the south of the river..

scapaslow

AMcD

You may already be aware of it but just in case you're not - there is a high quality tarmaced cycle track along the old railway line from Dunfermline to Clackmannan (i think it's 17K one way). It's more or less dead flat with a very slight uphill toward Dunfermline.

The West of Fife has some good cycling and a fair few manageable hills.

A good route to challenge you would be to take the cycle track out of Dunfermline and come off at Oakley then work your way up to Saline then continue up to join the Crieff Road. Take the back road to Cleish then climb up the hill and back down to Dunfermline.

Or for an easier option come off the cycle track at the next exit after Oakley and take the back road to Culross (nice wee hill to climb) and come back along the river.

tyax

fuzzynavel wrote:

Sounds like fun...maybe I will brave the bridge and cross into Fife for a few rides.....as long as I don't fall down a pot hole I should be fine....Might try the "Round the Forth" ride from Edinburgh....across the bridge along to Alloa and then back along the south of the river..

Any ideas on distance for this one? I'm going to struggle to find routes when I get to my 35/40/45 miles training rides :shock:

Training is going okay so far. Have to admit I'm finding it a struggle to get out after work, but as it's only been 5 milers so far I've made myself do it, and haven't missed a cycle yet. BUt then it is only the middle of week 2, I've another 8.5 weeks to go :evil: Will be even more fun when it gets to 10 and 15 miles in the evenings after work :roll:

Also finding myself more tired in the evenings, not sure if it's just the regularity of cycling, or if I'm merely being an absolute wuss Been trying to get my average speed up a bit too, managing 14-15MPH on a 70/30 mix of road and cycle paths...

Crapaud

tyaxnoob wrote:

... Any ideas on distance for this one? I'm going to struggle to find routes when I get to my 35/40/45 miles training rides :shock: ...

Have a look at Bikely, Mapmyride, Bikeroutetoaster etc for ideas. Half the fun is finding new rides.

fuzzynavel

Crapaud wrote:

tyaxnoob wrote:

... Any ideas on distance for this one? I'm going to struggle to find routes when I get to my 35/40/45 miles training rides :shock: ...

Have a look at Bikely, Mapmyride, Bikeroutetoaster etc for ideas. Half the fun is finding new rides.

I'll second that....I love trying out a new ride and not knowing what is coming next....I just need to find routes avoiding motorways. Maybe I will trust my garmin and ask it how to get from Edinburgh to Stirling and see where I end up.....

Tyaxnoob....the round the forth route is around 90 miles I believe...I drive Edinburgh to Alloa for work everyday along the M9 and that is about 35-40 miles depending on the route I use.....there is a nice hill after the new Clackmannanshire bridge on the north side...have been intending to hit that one at some point and maybe head up to KnockHill on the bike over the hills.....I am sort of time constrained at the moment with a 14 month old Daughter so may have to get special permission from the wife for a nice long 5 hour ride!
There are some great looking hills around Menstrie/Stirling but not sure if they have roads up them....need to explore more!

tyax

Crapaud wrote:

Have a look at Bikely, Mapmyride, Bikeroutetoaster etc for ideas. Half the fun is finding new rides.

Ta for this, thru this forum I've discovered the unmitigated joy that is bikely so I'll likely be able to upload some of my own fave routes to that, and find some others to have a try at. Have come across mapmyride but it seemed to be a fee-based thing to print, which I wasn't impressed with. bikeroutetoaster seems interesting, will give this a good old going-over later

I agree that finding new routes is good, but my location (East Edinburgh) means I'm limited to two directions - west or south. If I go north or east I'd end up in the Firth Of Forth or North Sea. This may appeal to triathlon-ers, but it doesn't appeal to fat recreational cyclists like me

scapaslow

tyaxnoob wrote

There are some great looking hills around Menstrie/Stirling but not sure if they have roads up them....need to explore more!

There is no road up into the hills from Menstrie. If you go along the A91 toward Stirling then there is a single track road at Logie Kirk or you can go up from Bridge of Allan. Be warned - this is a serious climb, i'd say one of the hardest in Central Scotland - very steep at first - 20% or so for some considerable time and then easing off, but it keeps going up until Sheriffmuir (4 or 5 miles).

The Bridge of Allan approach is the hardest but has the better road surface.

You can do this as a loop from the Wallace Monument car park by returning via Dunblane then Bridge of Allan or for a longer run descend and cross the A9 at Blackford (on foot!) and head onto to Auchterarder then back up Gleneagles to Muckhart and back down to Stirling.

Finish off at Corrieries Cafe for a bike friendly refreshment stop. Highly recommended!

Crapaud

tyaxnoob wrote:

... I agree that finding new routes is good, but my location (East Edinburgh) means I'm limited to two directions - west or south. If I go north or east I'd end up in the Firth Of Forth or North Sea. This may appeal to triathlon-ers, but it doesn't appeal to fat recreational cyclists like me

You could head north over the Forth Road Bridge into Fife. There're some good cycling roads there. Depending on how far your cycling takes you, you could then make a border raid into Angus - more good cycling territory - or take the train partway.

tyax

fuzzynavel wrote:

I'll second that....I love trying out a new ride and not knowing what is coming next....I just need to find routes avoiding motorways. Maybe I will trust my garmin and ask it how to get from Edinburgh to Stirling and see where I end up.....

Tyaxnoob....the round the forth route is around 90 miles I believe...I drive Edinburgh to Alloa for work everyday along the M9 and that is about 35-40 miles depending on the route I use.....there is a nice hill after the new Clackmannanshire bridge on the north side...have been intending to hit that one at some point and maybe head up to KnockHill on the bike over the hills.....I am sort of time constrained at the moment with a 14 month old Daughter so may have to get special permission from the wife for a nice long 5 hour ride!
There are some great looking hills around Menstrie/Stirling but not sure if they have roads up them....need to explore more!

Funniliy enough, my folks live out Falkirk way so I'll probably use that one way as a training run, I reckon it's around the 35-40 mile mark. My garmin ForeRunner is old, cheap and pants, and is therefore only capable of telling me where I've been and how quickly, not where I'm going, but I like the sound of being able to navigate on the bike - which model have you got? Might have to look into it

90 miles :shock: Something tells me I'll not be going round the forth for quite some time then :oops:

The roads up around Knockhill are fantastic (I'm also a bit of a petrolhead... am I allowed to say that on a cycling forum?!), but I'd check their website and avoid using the surrounding roads when there are trackdays/shows aimed at the "yoof" on at the circuit. The standard of driving on the roads up there by the Corsa-driving chav/bampot contingent leaves a lot to be desired :roll:

tyax

Crapaud wrote:

You could head north over the Forth Road Bridge into Fife. There're some good cycling roads there. Depending on how far your cycling takes you, you could then make a border raid into Angus - more good cycling territory - or take the train partway.

Have made it to Fife once on the bike, but it was literally to the other side of the bridge, then home. That was a 38 mile round trip :? Been thinking about heading down to Innerleithen over the hills there, on the National Cycle Route, but not sure I could find my way to the Leithen road without going down the A7! Must do more mapreading... Also not sure if I'd make it over the hills, given my general rubbishness at them. FWIW it looks easier going down the way than coming back, and I'd be doing it one way 8)

fuzzynavel

scapaslow wrote:

tyaxnoob wrote

There are some great looking hills around Menstrie/Stirling but not sure if they have roads up them....need to explore more!

There is no road up into the hills from Menstrie. If you go along the A91 toward Stirling then there is a single track road at Logie Kirk or you can go up from Bridge of Allan. Be warned - this is a serious climb, i'd say one of the hardest in Central Scotland - very steep at first - 20% or so for some considerable time and then easing off, but it keeps going up until Sheriffmuir (4 or 5 miles).

The Bridge of Allan approach is the hardest but has the better road surface.

You can do this as a loop from the Wallace Monument car park by returning via Dunblane then Bridge of Allan or for a longer run descend and cross the A9 at Blackford (on foot!) and head onto to Auchterarder then back up Gleneagles to Muckhart and back down to Stirling.

Finish off at Corrieries Cafe for a bike friendly refreshment stop. Highly recommended!

I know where the logie kirk is as my company have an office at the Stirling uni business park but is it a road that can be tackled on a road bike?....it looks a little rough and ready!
I may take a drive up there during lunch one day and get my bearings.

There is a rout on bikely.com that takes in this hill....

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Callander-to-Tillicoultry-via-Sheriffmuir

looks like around an 800ft climb.....double what I am used to with Arthurs seat....sounds like a worthy challenge!.

have been to Corrieries cafe before....good food.

fuzzynavel

tyaxnoob wrote:

Funniliy enough, my folks live out Falkirk way so I'll probably use that one way as a training run, I reckon it's around the 35-40 mile mark. My garmin ForeRunner is old, cheap and pants, and is therefore only capable of telling me where I've been and how quickly, not where I'm going, but I like the sound of being able to navigate on the bike - which model have you got? Might have to look into it

90 miles :shock: Something tells me I'll not be going round the forth for quite some time then :oops:

The roads up around Knockhill are fantastic (I'm also a bit of a petrolhead... am I allowed to say that on a cycling forum?!), but I'd check their website and avoid using the surrounding roads when there are trackdays/shows aimed at the "yoof" on at the circuit. The standard of driving on the roads up there by the Corsa-driving chav/bampot contingent leaves a lot to be desired :roll:

The garmin I have is the 705.....I had an insurance payout after getting mowed down on my bike and decided to buy something that I usually wouldn't let myself have..I have absolutely no regrets and would recommend it to anyone....you will need about £200 or so to get one though....It has a reasonable map as standard but that it all it is....most people seem to upgrade to the City navigator pack for better mapping which costs a little extra...As a training aid I can't fault it...I have set routes with my PB's and I try to beat them each time out using the virtual partner which shows where I am in relation to my best time...

I can also admit to loving the 4 wheel motorised form of transport....have had a couple of track days at knockhill and they were great. Stick me in a room alone with a skyline GTR and I will quite happy

AMcD

scapaslow wrote:

AMcD

You may already be aware of it but just in case you're not - there is a high quality tarmaced cycle track along the old railway line from Dunfermline to Clackmannan (i think it's 17K one way). It's more or less dead flat with a very slight uphill toward Dunfermline.

The West of Fife has some good cycling and a fair few manageable hills.

A good route to challenge you would be to take the cycle track out of Dunfermline and come off at Oakley then work your way up to Saline then continue up to join the Crieff Road. Take the back road to Cleish then climb up the hill and back down to Dunfermline.

Or for an easier option come off the cycle track at the next exit after Oakley and take the back road to Culross (nice wee hill to climb) and come back along the river.

Thanks Scapaflow, yes I already know this route - a few years ago I lived at the Dunfermline end of the cycle path and worked at the Alloa end. I commuted to work a couple of times a week - although nearly 30 miles return I didn't think of it as high mileage at the time because it was so flat - as you can tell, I seem to seek out all the flat routes in Fife . At the time the cycle path was tarmacced till the Clackmannanshire border, then it was all potholes which was fine on my tourer. By the time I'd finished my 6 month temporary job Clacks had finally tarmacced their end. I loved that job and the cycling - downhill on the way out I could get to 18mph easily but it always took me an extra 10mins to get home due to the slight gradient .

I've been thinking of heading out towards Saline via the costal route for a while now. The guy at the LBS gave me a route ages ago (think it's about 35miles) and I always meant to get around to building up to that distance but didn't do anything about it until now that is .

Rather than being daunted about new routes I'm actually looking forward to exploring this weekend - will aim for 20-25 miles based on how I felt on Sunday, perhaps going a more direct route over Cleish hill, crossing the motorway and heading back towards Crossgates through Kelty? Whatever I decide, some of the roads I won't have travelled before but I'm no longer daunted.

quote "Training is going okay so far. Have to admit I'm finding it a struggle to get out after work, but as it's only been 5 milers so far I've made myself do it, and haven't missed a cycle yet. BUt then it is only the middle of week 2, I've another 8.5 weeks to go Will be even more fun when it gets to 10 and 15 miles in the evenings after work" quote

Hi Tyaxnoob, I'll be having to train after work from next week too as I presume most people do already . I think the hardest part is sometimes getting your kit on and heading out the door - I found that when I was a runner; once you were out the door generally you were glad you'd made the effort. Good on you for not missing any yet. I've not missed any planned sessions yet and haven't ran out of motivation which I'm amazed at given it's now my third week . I Currently work 3pm-10pm so loads of time for morning or lunchtime runs - only wish I'd made the effort years ago - all those morning rides I could've enjoyed. I'll only be working Tue/Wed/Thurs days though so will only need to force myself out at night on a Wednesday - I plan to go out Mon and Fri during the day and Sat or Sun, taking me to 4 days per week.

fuzzynavel

I have found that my weight has been stagnant since November....I lost 2 stones and now I can't shift any more..sitting at about 15st at the mo.

I found that I did most of my cycling through the crappy weather in December/January (out 3 nights a week and a long one at the weekend without fail) but it wasn't having any effect....well not the way I wanted anyway so I have gone back to the gym for the evenings to mix it up a bit...
Doing the weights that I am I am seeing a slight increase in weight just now but I am getting stronger on the hills and my endurance is increasing. Thighs staying much the same size....muscle definition improving though....bum shrinking and so is my gut...
I now do a lot of rowing to work different areas of my body and to stop my arms, shoulders and back muscles wasting away...As usual I have set targets for myself to attain such at doing a 7 minute 2k and a 15 minute 4k...I would also like to be able to do the 10k in less than 45 minutes but I get bored with rowing.

Keep up the good work guys....once the motivation goes it is a real struggle to get ready to go out!

scapaslow

Fuzzynavel wrote:

I know where the logie kirk is as my company have an office at the Stirling uni business park but is it a road that can be tackled on a road bike?....it looks a little rough and ready!

Yes, i have done it many times of the road bike although the road surface is poor at first and because it's so steep the rear wheel can slip a bit if you get out the saddle. This year i've only gone up from the Bridge of Allan side (this is actually just after the main entrance to Stirling Uni and is clearly signed "Sheriffmuir". This road is wider and has a better surface and is IMO harder.

Good luck - it's a real lung burster! You'll need the granny gear. Second only in Central Scotland (IMO) to the Path Of Condie climb out of Dunning in the Ochils.

fuzzynavel

scapaslow wrote:

Yes, i have done it many times of the road bike although the road surface is poor at first and because it's so steep the rear wheel can slip a bit if you get out the saddle. This year i've only gone up from the Bridge of Allan side (this is actually just after the main entrance to Stirling Uni and is clearly signed "Sheriffmuir". This road is wider and has a better surface and is IMO harder.

Good luck - it's a real lung burster! You'll need the granny gear. Second only in Central Scotland (IMO) to the Path Of Condie climb out of Dunning in the Ochils.

Lungbuster you say??? Makes me even more tempted!

themightyw

The good news is that you won't be last. I'm a fantastically incompetent cyclist and I've signed up to this as my first 'official cycle. No idea whether I'll finish, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I did a 30mile cycle this weekend (very slow, only 15mph average) - out of curiosity what sort of speeds are other first timers going for?

I did receive a wee map in the post a couple of days ago - ice cream stops and cake break clearly marked!

Crapaud

themightyw wrote:

...I did a 30mile cycle this weekend (very slow, only 15mph average) - out of curiosity what sort of speeds are other first timers going for? ...

15 mph isn't slow. 12 mph over that distance, for a beginner, is a good speed IMO - and there's bags of time to build up distance from 30 miles, Mighty W. If 30 miles is the greatest distance that you've done, you'll probably find that your average speed'll drop on the next 30. Concentrate on distance (endurance) rather than speed on the run up to the big day and you'll finish no probs.

themightyw

The area I live in is relatively hilly - so the ascent on my 30mile cycle was about 2200 which is roughly the same as the total Edinburgh - St Andrews cycle (though I might be totally wrong on that one).

Thanks for the advice, folks.

AMcD

themightyw wrote:

The good news is that you won't be last. I'm a fantastically incompetent cyclist and I've signed up to this as my first 'official cycle. No idea whether I'll finish, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I did a 30mile cycle this weekend (very slow, only 15mph average) - out of curiosity what sort of speeds are other first timers going for?

I did receive a wee map in the post a couple of days ago - ice cream stops and cake break clearly marked!

The good news is YOU won't be last MightyW . I am only aiming to finish by building up my endurance before the day .......... but if I average 10mph I'll be very pleased - seriously . I find I average 11mph whether on a flat or hilly route (with something left in the tank) but expect to slow over the 67 miles. Mileage has been nil since last Tuesday - missed Thursday's ride due to it being a busy day but expected to go out Friday instead however ended up with a stinking cold. Now hoping to get out perhaps tomorrow if it clears up enough :x . On a positive note, probably won't get another cold before the big event so should get 6 weeks of good training in .

tyax

themightyw wrote:

The good news is that you won't be last. I'm a fantastically incompetent cyclist and I've signed up to this as my first 'official cycle. No idea whether I'll finish, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I did a 30mile cycle this weekend (very slow, only 15mph average) - out of curiosity what sort of speeds are other first timers going for?

I did receive a wee map in the post a couple of days ago - ice cream stops and cake break clearly marked!

Err I'm agreeing with Crapaud, 15MPH is NOT slow My training run speeds are around the 14-15MPH mark, with very few hills, but a fair bit of cycle path. I reckon my average is a wee bitty higher on the roads than on the paths. Can I ask what sort of bike you're riding?

When I done Pedal For Scotland last year my average speed was just over 12MPH, and that was without much climbing, so I'll be more than happy if I can manage 12MPH to St. Andrews

Training is going okay, despite a few setbacks - partner taken seriously ill to hospital, and a death in the family Still haven't missed a ride, although I've had to re-shuffle a few to different days. And the cycle to and from the hospital is 15 miles exactly, which is useful

AMcD

tyaxnoob wrote:

Training is going okay, despite a few setbacks - partner taken seriously ill to hospital, and a death in the family Still haven't missed a ride, although I've had to re-shuffle a few to different days. And the cycle to and from the hospital is 15 miles exactly, which is useful

Congrats on continuing your training in the circumstances, especially cycling to the hospital! I suppose it beats trying to find a parking space :roll: . Seriously, I hope your partner is on the mend already.

themightyw

tyaxnoob wrote:

Err I'm agreeing with Crapaud, 15MPH is NOT slow My training run speeds are around the 14-15MPH mark, with very few hills, but a fair bit of cycle path. I reckon my average is a wee bitty higher on the roads than on the paths. Can I ask what sort of bike you're riding?

A Trek 1.5 road bike.

tyaxnoob wrote:

Training is going okay, despite a few setbacks - partner taken seriously ill to hospital, and a death in the family Still haven't missed a ride, although I've had to re-shuffle a few to different days. And the cycle to and from the hospital is 15 miles exactly, which is useful

Sorry to hear your news - congrats on keeping going.

Will be aiming to do a 40 mile cycle this weekend to work on distance a bit.

Out of curiosity, having not done a ride like this before, I was planning on taking a couple of water bottles and a couple of snack bars in saddle bag. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of watering holes and nosh stops along the way...

The bumph that got posted out referred to a puncture repair van trundling along the route. Any suggestions as to 'on the fly' repair stuff I should take?

tyax

AMcD wrote:

Congrats on continuing your training in the circumstances, especially cycling to the hospital! I suppose it beats trying to find a parking space :roll: . Seriously, I hope your partner is on the mend already.

Thanks for this, and yes it sure does beat the parking space madness! On an average weekday it also takes precisely half an hour to cycle to the hospital, which is exactly the same time it takes to drive. Food for thought :shock:

themightyw wrote:

A Trek 1.5 road bike.

Ah, explains why you're that bit quicker off the bat!

themightyw wrote:

Out of curiosity, having not done a ride like this before, I was planning on taking a couple of water bottles and a couple of snack bars in saddle bag. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of watering holes and nosh stops along the way...

The bumph that got posted out referred to a puncture repair van trundling along the route. Any suggestions as to 'on the fly' repair stuff I should take?

Not sure about Edi - St Andrews, but Pedal For Scotland was very well catered for in, well, the catering dept Every stop had plenty of free grub/fruit/drinks, but I've a feeling Edi - St. A's riders will be expected to be a little more independant. Much as they look naff, I'll be taking a 2L camelbak/rucksack type-thing with water, a couple of bottles of Bikefood, some flapjacks, some jelly babies, and probably a sandwich. I reckon that'll be most of my needs for the ride.

With regards tools etc, I'm a very paranoid individual so even on short rides I take a puncture kit, cycle tool, Leatherman multi-tool and ten-quid mobile phone (in case it gets broken/lost/drenched) in a saddle pack. For longer rides I try and add a spare tube (2 is better!), some allen keys, a mini-pump, plus a little first aid kit with plasters, painkillers, hayfever tablets (sneezing at 35MPH on a downhill sucks!), sun cream and some cash.

And despite myself, I still take my psychological crutch along with me - better known as a gel-pad for my saddle :roll:

AMcD

I'll be taking a pannier full of everything I might need - it's a front pannier fitted to the rear carrier so fairly small. As a big gal with a steel tourer a bit of extra weight in the pannier won't make any difference .

I'll take two spare tubes, multi-tool, pump and repair patches, as well as a few extra bottles - some with sports drink, other with water. Won't bother with spare cables or chain breakers as I would struggle doing roadside repairs other than changing a tube. I'll take plenty of food too.

My husband will drop me off in Edinburgh and collect in St Andrew's and we will arrange to meet on the way (he's taking extra water / sports drink as I get through loads :shock: ). I also plan to use him as a look out when I need a roadside wee - he can shield me with the car whilst saying 'mornin' to imaginary passers by - gets me every time

PS don't forget to pack your camera too!