Burners 5 Ferries Ride
Last Sunday saw 11 Burners make their way to Ardrossan for the first leg of the much-anticipated (and slightly delayed) 5 Ferries Ride. Being a Sunday towards the end of ‘summer’ meant the boat was pretty quiet and everyone managed to get to the café without resorting to rough tactics.
As you may expect, as soon as we landed in Brodick the heavens opened, and the rain didn’t stop until we were almost in Lochranza, but the sun appeared and was never far away for the rest of the day.
Straight out of Claonaig, another hill was despatched and it wasn’t long until we found ourselves in Tarbert – with plenty of time to kill until the next boat to Portavadie. Needless to say, some mischief was to be found ….
Thankfully the rest of the troops were slightly better behaved (although is that a fish supper, Mr McArthur ?) ….
At the slipway, we said farewell to Leona who was off to see her grannie, so the rest hopped on the boat, with the longest stretch to Colintraive to follow (including a little incline out of Tighnabruaich). An exhilarating descent from the viewpoint was worth the trip on its own and soon another slipway beckoned, this time in Colintraive.
Unlike the rest of the ride, Bute is flat as can be and the average speeds got a boost – possibly the incentive of hot food in Rothesay played a part in that too. Even better, the ferry back to Wemyss Bay had a nice beer selection to help us rehydrate after a fun, but challenging day on the bikes.
Dave Stanbridge October 1, 2019 - 12:49 pm
Hi there. Having been a frequent visitor to the area since our son married a Troon lassie some 15 years ago we have relocated to Troon some 5 weeks ago from the flatland of the Fens.
I am a long standing member of the oldest active cycling club in the UK the Peterborough CC and am inquiring as to any social rides going (on road bikes). I am 72 years young and try to get out and about. I don’t do speed or distance now but just enjoy my riding. Any suggestions appreciated
Sincerely
Dave Stanbridge
Troon
Donald Laurie October 1, 2019 - 5:54 pm
Hi Dave.
Great to hear from you – and welcome to Ayrshire !!!
One of our main rides is our Saturday morning social ride, which meets at the Burns Museum at 9.30am every Saturday morning. That typically lasts for a couple of hours and covers 25 / 30 miles, followed by a return to the Burns Centre for a coffee and scone. I’m sure you’ve noticed that, away from the coast, the roads round here aren’t as flat as the Fens. The policy on the Saturday ride is that we always re-group at the top of any hills, so that no-one is left behind – it’s supposed to be a social ride so speed isn’t the main criteria.
Hopefully that timing and schedule would suit you. We’ve had a few new members come along recently, and they seem to have enjoyed it – they’ve come back again which I take as a positive !!! In addition we have a calendar of rides that are open to everyone, as well as using the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook to arrange ad-hoc rides with other members when it’s convenient.
I’m not sure what the weather will be like this weekend, but we’ll be out on Saturday irrespective of any rain – hope you can make it along.
Regards,
Donald