Got out of bed Thursday morning and looked out the window. No rain, no wind and fairly clear skies. Time to get the bike out and have a good ride out! It had been a while since I had been to Edinburgh on the good old A7 so I decided on this as a start for my route. I packed a few things in the tank bag and shoved my "best biking roads" A5 atlas in the map pocket, Checked tyre pressures and lubed the chain. With i-Pod fired up and suited and booted I set out on the first leg which was up to Carlisle and without stopping I got on the glorious A7. I enjoyed the ride on only marginally damp roads to Langholm where a stop for coffee and ciggies was in order. I stopped at the Whitsheil Cafe on the top side of the town where I ordered a mug of coffee and a bacon butty. I was amazed when I was asked for £2.90!Bargain! Bacon roll and coffee devoured and ciggies smoked I set off once more on dry roads and wound the wick up a bit. The ride was fantastic on to Hawick where it was time to fill up with fuel . Tanking up and having another ciggie took only a few minutes and I studied the map and added a little extra loop to my route. Leaving Hawick in lovely sunshine on the A698 I reached the A68 and turned north to Newton St.Boswell where there is a cracking road back across to Selkirk(A699).This was a good idea and well worth the extra miles.
Upon reaching Selkirk the route was pretty much back to original. The A707 is a lovely road with a good surface and nice scenery and I was enjoying it to the full as I motored along with some great tunes on the i-pod and the pipes on the bike playing a superb symphony. The next waypoint was Caddonfoot where the B710 takes you back onto the A7 above Galasheils and I carried on all the way up to the Edinburgh ring road. All my memories of this great road were dredged up and reinforced and I even considered just going back down it!
Instead I found a fuel station on the ring road that also sold a really nice Latte.The bike was nowhere near empty but after my near miss last time out it seemed a good idea to fill up whenever I'm not sure where the next fuel station is. As I indulged in coffee and cigarettes the beautiful weather started to take a turn. The sun disappeared and the sky turned grey. I didn't care, I was enjoying myself and had plenty of time to spare so the A701 beckoned me. The 701 didn't start too brilliantly as it is a bit straight with a few roundabouts but after that it turned into an open flowing road with a few dodgy areas of surfacing.Staying on this until Leadburn where the A703 was my choice to take me down to Peebles. This road wends its way over and through some stunning moorland scenery. It was still dry and I was riding it to the best of my ability(limited as that may be) and enjoying every mile and bend.Such a simple soul really!
Peebles appeared sooner than I expected and it was the A72 to take me back over to the A701. The A 72 is a pretty good road and very enjoyable. The weather was deteriorating steadily with mist coming down as I hit the 701 and a light drizzle soon followed. There is a famous landmark on this stretch of road called The Devil's Beeftub and I wanted to get a picture before the weather made it impossible so I bashed on and got to the viewpoint and took the photos. This is an impressive sight and I enjoyed the scene and a cigarette before motoring on to Moffat. The rain started coming down in earnest and the wind was picking up so I found a nice little cafe in the town called Rumbly Tums and indulged in ,Yes you've guessed it, a bowl of lovely hot soup! That,a double shot latte and a scone with clotted cream and jam put the stuffing back in me. I also had to visit the local public toilets which cost 20p but was really impressive being warm ,spotlessly clean and fragrant! I wish all public conveniences were this nice.
The run from Moffat to Dumfries is great in the dry but it was chucking it down by this stage and the visibility was bad with lots of spray and mist. This combined with lots of artic wagons made it entertaining to say the least!By this point I was wishing I had put on the cordura jacket instead of my leathers. Once I reached the A75 the conditions got even worse but I was determined to bash on to Carlisle where the wet and cold had got to me and I stopped for a coffee and fuel. As I was drinking my coffee and smoking my spirits revived and I saddled up and headed home.
As usual the bike performed flawlessly and the run was a roaring success with loads of different conditions and scenery. I was a bit wet when I got home but that did not matter after a nice cuppa at Mayhem's house and a hot shower. If you are ever in that area give the route a try, 300 miles with fuel available in most decent sized towns , cafes and pubs aplenty and of course , Great biking roads.
I also joined a website called http://www.bestbikingroads.com/index.php
If you are ever after a route for europe or Britain give it a try,they even have an app for i-Phone. You can join and add routes or coment on existing ones.
Well, that may have been the last ride of this year. If it was then it was worthy, if not then I hope the next one is half as good! Mayhem is working away at the moment and was not available so I was on my own again. God I must seem to be a right Billy No Mates! Hope it gets better next year.
Devil's Beeftub
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