East Coast - Lockdown release

With the coronavirus lockdown finally easing, I fancied a long bike ride to blow away the cobwebs. I wanted to assure myself as well that I hadn’t lost too much fitness from months of being less active. Family visits, strung along the east coast north of Edinburgh, provided a goal for what was an 80 mile plus ride. I travelled light with not even a camera so the photos here are from my phone.

I used National Cycle Route 1 to cycle away from my front door and north out of Edinburgh. For sure the highlight of this first section is crossing the old Forth Road Bridge. With the bridge now only being used by buses and timetables still reduced, it was wonderfully peaceful cycling over it. I’d left the house early to cross before the winds picked up. It’s incredibly exposed at its high point and a less than pleasant place to be when it’s windy.

From the other side of the bridge in Fife, the route then climbs for a long, long way. I cycled up through Inverkeithing and Dunfermline, eventually popping out on the north of town to climb even more into the Cleish Hills. Passing through the outskirts of the town, through modern housing schemes, had been dreary but the road up and over the Cleish Hills was superb. A skinny, little road with no traffic, crested the ridge to reveal views over the Lomond Hills and the big splodge of water that is Loch Leven. It then plummeted down to Kinross through Nivingston Crags, an extension of the Lomonds escarpment and a surprisingly dramatic spot.

Out of Kinross the route used a section of the Loch Leven Heritage Trail. It's a dirt track that encircles the loch and is one of my favourite places to cycle. I only stayed with it for a couple of miles though before leaving at Wester Balgeddie. Here I picked up a wonderful, single track road that sneaked behind the Lomonds to Strathmiglo. A bit of a dogleg then took me to Auchtermuchty. I wanted to pay a visit here to the beautiful sculpture that commemorates Jimmy Shand, the Scottish accordion player. I sat for a few minutes on the grass beside Jimmy for a rest and something to eat. The onward route involved another climb to get over the hills and to return to the coast at Newburgh.

The back road out of Muchty quickly spawns a tiny, unclassified road that skirts to the west of Ormiston Hill. The little hills here actually belong to the Ochils range, representing their easternmost extension. As I cycled over the high point, I could see the River Tay below and follow its course back into the southernmost Highlands. From here there was another dizzying drop to Newburgh. 

I might have thought that was all the hard work done but the coast road to Newport is a bit of a rollercoaster of a ride and the day was now hot and sweaty. Things flattened out however, by the time I reached my second bridge crossing of the day over the Tay.

 

The final stretch from here is another favourite place to ride. A seaside cycle path leaves Dundee through the port to head for Broughty Ferry.  In times gone by, I used to tell people that you need your passport to visit the Ferry! Until a couple of years ago, the cycle path used to pass within the port’s security so photo ID had to be shown to get through. 

The last time I cycled up the coast beyond the Ferry was at Christmas, well into the dark evening. The cycle path was covered with white frost that sparkled in my headlight. Between Monifieth and Carnoustie there are a lot less houses so the light pollution is diminished and that night the sky was twinkling with stars. But now in summer the verges were awash with flowers and the heat of the sun made the pine trees cast an aroma that reminded me of cycling in Portugal.  Arriving at the championship golf courses however, reminded me that I was actually in Carnoustie.

Gear Review - Bikepacking lugagge

Bikepacking has probably been one of the main evolutions in cycling in the last few years. It is essentially off-road or mixed surface bicycle touring with minimal amounts of gear. Mind you, it’s exactly what I’ve been doing at the weekend for the last 25 years but this latest evolution is accompanied by some nifty new ways to carry stuff on your bike. The traditional luggage options were always panniers and a rack but bikepacking luggage attaches directly to the frame. This makes it lighter, more aerodynamic and better for nimble off-road handling. What I have found though is that different cycling situations still require different luggage solutions, from day rides to multi-day tours, and from summer to winter. So I thought I’d set out the luggage solutions I’ve been using for the last couple of years.

For a lightweight, short summer tour my set up is a seat pack, handlebar bag and a top tube bag. My seat pack for touring is the Ortlieb seat pack. It’s really robust and completely waterproof with a maximum capacity of 17 litres, though with its roll-up closure, you can use it at much smaller volumes as well. Like all seat packs it uses the saddle rails and seat post for attaching to the bike. It’s got a stiffened bottom which means the whole pack doesn’t crumple when you tighten the straps which could lead to it rubbing against the rear tire. I chose this pack because it needed the smallest amount of clearance above the rear tire - I have a very small framed bike so the space for a seat pack is pretty limited. The triangle of my frame is also too small for a frame bag that makes use of the bike's central triangle, so I wanted to get plenty of capacity in my seat pack. I’ve added an extra strap to ensure it stays pulled up right against the saddle, reducing the risk of it rubbing on the rear tire. When loaded up and with straps fully tightened, I find there is still a small gap between the underside of the rear of the saddle and the top of the bag. I try to squeeze something into this space such as a lock or extra stuffsack because I find filling that gap seems to make the whole bag more stable.  There are bungee cords on top of the bag that help make use of this space, reflective patches and loops for a rear light. The cost when I bought it was £120.

My handlebar bag is an Alpkit Airlok Dual 13 litre stuff sack which is pretty robust and waterproof. I find it works really well by feeding it through the brake and suspension cables then tightening the integrated straps over the handlebar. I know that some people use a special handlebar frame for holding a front bag but I’ve found it works just fine for me without this. Finally, my little top tube bag is also from Alpkit and I have two different sizes, depending on the trip. These are both cheap purchases, under £20 I think.

The seat pack holds my sleeping bag, cooking kit, spare clothes and food. I’ll often strap waterproofs or a bike lock to the top. I’ll stick in here as well my spare inner tube and some bike tools plus small towel and toiletries. In the handlebar bag I put my tent plus my bicycle pump and tire levers. My tent is a Terra Nova Laser Competition 1 so it squashes down really small. The tent poles fit inside the Alpkit bag, making it a width that fits between the brakes but only just. The poles can also fit in the Ortlieb seat pack along the bottom. My sleeping mat I put in its own waterproof stuffsack and fit under the straps of the Alpkit bag. These straps are also a handy place to fit a map. The top tube bag holds stuff that I want quick access to, usually my camera and my wallet for those bike ride café stops.

For day rides, I don’t nearly need to carry so much so I use the top tube bag with a much smaller Altura seat bag. I think it’s the Vortex bag though it looks like it has evolved since I bought mine. It cost £45 when I bought it. I had a lot of trouble with this bag. If I pulled the straps tight enough to hold it flush with my saddle to avoid rubbing, it crumpled in the middle because it doesn’t have any stiffening. This resulted in the rear tire rubbing anyway which left me with a hole as the bag is made of lightweight material. I repaired the hole then stiffened the bag along the bottom by inserting a small plastic mudguard. Like the Ortlieb bag, I added an extra strap and it now works perfectly. The extra strap also makes it easier to access the bag because it holds it in place when I open it - you have to undo the saddle straps for access and without the extra strap the whole lot slides down the seatpost. The bag holds bike tools, a tube, an extra layer, waterproofs and lunch.

On a longer trip or in the winter months, I’m carrying more stuff with a warmer sleeping bag, bulkier clothes and lots of extras. Therefore, for winter cycle touring I go for a hybrid approach using the same handlebar arrangement but coupling it with panniers which give a much greater capacity. I use the Tubus Airy titanium rack so it’s really light and the Ortlieb smaller front panniers in their lighter weight waterproof material. This works really well and gives space to carry more food on longer trips. I do find as well that the panniers require much less faffing than the seat pack which takes a bit of time to get everything to fit well. However they are heavier and don't half rattle on bumps.

Of course, much of this stuff has been languishing in the cupboard in recent months due to the coronavirus lockdown. However it looks like in another week or so longer bikepacking trips will be back on the cards.