- Location
- Egham
[QUOTE 4634539, member: 9609"]A wild day to be out in the hills.
Headed about 12 miles up the Ettrick in big big winds, rarely out of my lowest gear and occasionally standing on the pedals to keep going on the flat, but the sun was shinning and the views made it worth while
View attachment 157242
Lower Yarrow from Witchie Knowe road
View attachment 157243
View attachment 157244
The perfect home for me
View attachment 157245
And then the weather started to change
View attachment 157246
When I left the Ettrick and started to climb the Tushielaw to get back over to the Yarrow the snow started to come down, quite heavy for a while but it never lay. The wind was all over the place, sometimes behind, sometimes it would vanish only to suddenly return head on with a vengeance, at least half a dozen times I was brought to a stop, this is a tough ascent at the best of times, today it was a real test piece of endurance.
View attachment 157247
By the time I got over the top the sun was going down and it was cold, I think I had over done it, may be sweated a bit much and I was now starting to feel the cold. What should have been a wonderful 15 mile wind assisted high speed blast down the Yarrow was not much fun, my face was freezing and my hands just got colder and colder, I should have maybe stopped with about 5 mile to go and tried to get some warmth in my hands as they were starting to feel a little wooden, but I persisted on, by the time I got into my van my hands were virtually useless, couldn't feel the buckle to unclip my helmet, had to just sit there for about 10 minutes with my hands tucked under my armpits before I had enough movement and feeling in them to get my lid off and start driving.
A great afternoon all the same
View attachment 157248 [/QUOTE]
Looks like a great ride, perhaps in fairer weather....
Headed about 12 miles up the Ettrick in big big winds, rarely out of my lowest gear and occasionally standing on the pedals to keep going on the flat, but the sun was shinning and the views made it worth while
View attachment 157242
Lower Yarrow from Witchie Knowe road
View attachment 157243
View attachment 157244
The perfect home for me
View attachment 157245
And then the weather started to change
View attachment 157246
When I left the Ettrick and started to climb the Tushielaw to get back over to the Yarrow the snow started to come down, quite heavy for a while but it never lay. The wind was all over the place, sometimes behind, sometimes it would vanish only to suddenly return head on with a vengeance, at least half a dozen times I was brought to a stop, this is a tough ascent at the best of times, today it was a real test piece of endurance.
View attachment 157247
By the time I got over the top the sun was going down and it was cold, I think I had over done it, may be sweated a bit much and I was now starting to feel the cold. What should have been a wonderful 15 mile wind assisted high speed blast down the Yarrow was not much fun, my face was freezing and my hands just got colder and colder, I should have maybe stopped with about 5 mile to go and tried to get some warmth in my hands as they were starting to feel a little wooden, but I persisted on, by the time I got into my van my hands were virtually useless, couldn't feel the buckle to unclip my helmet, had to just sit there for about 10 minutes with my hands tucked under my armpits before I had enough movement and feeling in them to get my lid off and start driving.
A great afternoon all the same
View attachment 157248 [/QUOTE]
Looks like a great ride, perhaps in fairer weather....
Went out anyway on Patsy #3 The Hybrid (with ice tyres) for an 11 mile pootle to Levington and back. The headwind on the return leg was horrendous. How you folk in the more exposed parts of the country/world cope, I dread to think.
It's horrendous here, blowing a right old hooley. The joy of living out in the fens I suppose...
It's hard to stand upright, let alone try to ride a bike. Ah well, will get my daily exercise by sawing and splitting logs for the solid fuel heating instead. 
Can hear the wind whistling down the chimney as I type. 
That lasted less than a mile, and then I discovered what the fuss was about. Blowing a hoolie it was. Still, head down and pressed on. Never really got cold, despite Garmin showing 3.4 degrees, though I was grateful for the windproofs.
