Sun 28th August 2018 - Randonneur ride Kingussie - Drumochter Pass - Long Haul Trucker

This is why we love the Scottish Highlands. We used the day as a scouting mission for a few other rides that we had been talking of lately and for this ride we knew we weren't getting the early start we would need and we also had no idea what the weather would do as so far this long weekend the forecast had been less than accurate.
I had managed to wrangle the Monday off as I was supposed to be down in Yorkshire for the Jack Taylor ride but after being away in Germany and then away last week for work I just couldn't get all the way down for the weekend. Not to worry as I had some great rides out on the Dummy and thankfully Brian was back from Glasgow and we were able to plot a run down the national cycle route 7, the section from Kinguissie south to Drumochter Pass, from which we then deviated onto the dirt that ran 90 degree to the A9 and up into the hills.
The cycle route has some really nice cycle paths with the first section to Newtonmore only leaving the cycle path when into Newtonmore itself, then it was local quite road to Ralia, crossing over the Spey several times. We stopped at this piont and had some lunch at the Ralia cafe before rejoining the cycle path that while running close to the A9 was really quiet and peaceful as is sheilded by trees and bushes so you don't notice the traffic at all. Further on before Dalwhinnie we joined a very quiet road that runs on the oppsite side of the glen from the A9, it's a nice open road that seemed to be channeling a pretty steady headwind so not as easy as we thought it should be, but hey, no rush.
We stopped at Dalwhinnie village for a coffee as we knew there wasn't going to be much else south of here unless we kept going to Bruar which was also a bit further than we planned. Just out of the village where the road joins the A9 the cycle path starts again and from here on ran along side the A9, sometimes close, like footpath close and other times deviated away into woods or followed the old road, crossing over little narrow wooden bridges here and there with a surface that was very smooth tarmac in places but for the most part it was gravel, rough in a few spots but I thought it was pretty good considering the alternative was to ride the A9.
We took the usual photos at the Drumochter sign and then headed further south to explore a dirt track we had seen many times running up into the hills before Dalnaspidal. It was a nice peice of dirt road, rough due to the big rocks embedded but rideable. We stopped at a small creek crossing and took a few photos and Brian ventured slightly further up the hill to confirm that it just gets better. So a plan was hatched to head back here to investigate this track some more as we think it would go right over the hills and certainly looked rideable for as far as we could see it snaking it's way up the valley. We couldn't go too much further as time was getting well on by this stage and so we rode back to the cycle path and turned back north and hoped that headwind would now be a tailwind.
Safe to say we made good time back on the cycle path to Dalwhinnie, for quite a few kilometres I was  sitting on a steady 30 -35 klmh over the gravel and skimming through the narrow bridges, just one of those little bits of a ride that feel like a steady effort and a steady cadence for mile after mile, great fun and certainly quicker than the run down.
After quick afternoon tea at Ralia around 6pm we hit the road for the final few miles back through Newtonmore and onto the car. On this stretch we could see to the east that it was bucketing down with rain on the Cairngorms and thankfully we made it back dry and only got the rain when driving back past Aviemore. Certainly a late night for me by the time I dropped Brian off and then drove back north it was about 10.30 or so. Well worth it though as it was another great ride out. No rush, just riding our bikes in a nice part of the world, no real destination we had to get to, just out to enjoy the ride and the company.
We have found two good off road rides to head back for so it was successful on that front as well.
Cheers Brian for a great day.
Jamie

August25th 2018 - Big Dummy solo and Dunnet Head

As Caleb was away at a Beaver campout last night and I also didn't make it down to the Jack Taylor ride in Yorkshire (very sadly). Gutted to miss it as Ken Taylor was in attendance and was looking forward to meeting up with everyone, but after a long month with being in Germany and then a couple of nights home then down to Edinburgh for work and only home Thursday it was just a bit much, this plus Heather having car issues sealed it. Will hopefully get away with Brian for a ride tomorrow down south of Rothiemurcus following the cycle route #7 down to Ballinluig but over the Drumochter pass.
Anyway, I went out yesterday afternoon for a ride on the Big Dummy, minus my co pilot, minus the sidecar. It was late on and after being out already on it with Spot for a walk so he gets used to it for his sidecar, I thought I would roll round the coast and aim for Dunnet Head. Weather stayed nice for me which was good though the wind from the north was pretty strong. As can be seen there is not much in the way of trees or hills to stop the wind so there is no hiding from it. Forecast was not good so someone got it wrong, lucky for me. 
Left Heather studying and gave her some peace for a few hours.
Hope everyone else is having a decent weekend and hope the weathers good where ever you are.

Jamie

August 25 2018 - Special Delivery! Xtracycle Sidecar arrives for the Big Dummy

Postman delivered a package yesterday that starts a new chapter for the Dummy and for hauling the dog about, as well as cargo.
I had put a wanted ad up on a couple of cargo bike social media platforms looking for a sidecar frame, base, fittings  etc, virtually any parts I could get to either buy or get ideas from. While these are still available to buy new in the US they are not carried by any of the usual Xtracycle dealers/importers that I could find anywhere in Europe. Not saying they aren't out there but I certainly couldn't find any that would bring in a sidecar frame. After a few replies about building my own I had a message from William Gradwohl in the US saying that he had a frame and fittings, new still wrapped that had been sitting in his garage for a long time if I would like it. Now William is regarded as a friend as while we know of each other from various cargo bike groups, he had also generously given me my Xtracycle Freeradical bags for the Big Dummy when I switched from P racks back to normal V racks and got rid of my panniers from it. The shipping was expensive but well below what I actually thought it might be and the price for the sidecar was extremely generous so that allowed it all to happen very easy and seamlessly. The excitement on Calebs face made it worth it already :)  
 
Caleb and I couldn't wait and had to get it together and mount it. Am away today but hopefully by Monday will have a wooden base in and then build it up from there.
A huge thankyou again to William Gradwohl in the US who was so helpful in organising this and for going to all the trouble to ship it to Scotland, very much appreciated. Been such a help with the development of the Dummy. I will endeavour to pay it forward where I can. 
Such a great cargo bike community out there.
This should be fun.
Jamie

Sunday August 19 2018 - Big dummy to the beach ride

Weather was far better this afternoon than yesterdays wind and cloud. 
So it was back out for a leisurely cruise round on the Big Dummy, met the family at friends in Dunnet for a cuppa and then I headed for the beach before looping back home for about half seven.
Not too many miles but certainly a nice leisurely ride just enjoying a relaxing day. 
Really been getting into the Big Dummy again lately and it is getting something a bit 'xtra' in the next couple of weeks to make it more fun, so all's good on the cargo front. 
Have found myself wondering now and again what to do with it now that Caleb is getting bigger/older and spending less and less time on the back and more and more time riding his own bike. It is used for human cargo more than groceries etc so trying to figure out it's purpose or redefining what that now might be. Not a big deal I suppose but some of the thoughts going through my head lately as I ride along. I love riding it and I suppose for a while it will haul the cargo/camping gear for both of us even when Caleb is riding his bike. It does justify it's place in the stable by the amount of fun it brings to our riding together and on my own. It tends to be relaxing to ride as most other rides have this feeling of having to get somewhere and so you tend to go quickly where as this is long and heavy and likes a more relaxed approach, a bit like your not getting anywhere too quickly so you may as well sit back and relax. Don't get me wrong, it can hustle when needed but it responds best to a relaxed unhurried approach, If you start out like your on your racer from the start your legs will soon fade and you will pay the price. The smoothness of the slick Alfine 8 hub gear also makes it feel a bit slower than it actually is, I don't know whether it's the smoothness or the simplicity but it is definitely a nice hub to ride. 
I also still have to build my new front wheel with the PD8 Dynamo hub before the autumn. I have a pair of Rigida Sputnik rims to go with it so just need to order some spokes and we will be all set. 
I am back to work tomorrow after a couple of weeks off I know, it's sad but I will struggle on. I have had such a great holiday from being in Germany with the family to just enjoying my riding for the sake of riding.
Hope the weather and riding was good for everyone else. 
Happy Trails

Jamie

August 19 2018 - Big Dummy ride out

Had to get out for a ride today despite the forecast and the ever strengthening wind.
After being away and the finally getting settled back in with a few needed to do chores this morning I thought it was time to get the Big Dummy out and give myself a proper workout. I needed to ride it to check a couple of things as I have an 'accessory' coming for the Big Dummy, well that was my excuse anyway. More on that once it arrives. 
Heather and Caleb headed to town and said they would be at one of our friends after that so I said I will go riding, as I had a inland route in mind and hopefully meet up at the friends afterwards. I headed away from the coast and tried as hard as I could to avoid the strong 30mile an hour wind coming from the west, only problem was I needed to head due west for about 10 mile or so. I had loaded Calebs helmet into one of the bags along with a waterproof jacket and a long sleeve just in case the weather really turned, so that he could head home with me once I picked him up but it was a slow ride for a good section of it as the wind was relentless. I did stop and get a photo with some giant chickens that live locally (Rheas). I was thinking big bike, big chicken
Arrived to an enjoyable and much appreciated drink and coffee and after sitting around longer than planned thought I better head home, especially as Caleb wanted to go round the coast and explore a couple of pathways/trails behind the sand dunes at Dunnet Beach. Weather was looking a bit iffy but was changing all the time due to the wind but we had a good ride home and fun around the beach too. A bit easier heading back but while a tailwind in parts certainly helped I also had an extra 25 kg on the back now  
All good as we had a blast and he was chatting, laughing and singing most of the way home. 

Another of the pics from last weeks holiday was from Sunday where I spent the day mtbing in the Hartz Mountains.
My good friend Franzi who we were staying with mentioned before I left home that her boss's son was a bike mechanic and he had organized for me to go riding with himself when I was over and just needed my shorts, jersey and gloves, he would sort the rest. I went to a BBQ at his dads the night before and when I met Felix I wondered what I was in for, Specialized Epics and Enduros along with Canyon downhill machines everywhere, hanging from the walls of the basement. I thought I might be in over my head.
I worked out in the morning that the Canyon with a really impressive but understated spec was a young guy I had met the night before, Mark who is at Uni majoring in composites, mainly carbon fibre with thermal dynamics. It was a nice Canyon but the wheels were something else, being DT Swiss hubs and rims though he was running tubes not tubeless. He said that he runs light weight tubes and supple tyres and this way he knows in the mountains he can patch a tube and not get stuck .
It took us about an hour and a half, maybe more to get to the mountains and get to the top at a little village that even at this mid morning hour was heaving, carparks in the village were full, one had around 60 or so motorbikes coming and going and was solely for motorcycles. Really busy sort of place like a sort of tiny Aviemore or Rothiemurcus on a bank holiday. The main town was at the bottom of the mountain section we were on.  We parked in a carpark about half a kilometre away near one of the trail heads and got bikes off and sorted. I was given the loan of a friends Bergamont Contrail 29'er with full Fox suspension both ends as well as a dropper seatpost. Very nice indeed, though again made me wonder what I was about to ride, trail wise. It was already heading towards about 30 degree but cooler in the trees so the climb up the first summit was nice in the cool mountain air especially with 2 x 10 gearing to help, I was flying up the hill and I must admit it was nice. We got to one section and Mark said we have a short technical climb then a bit of a rocky technical descent for about a kilometre and I thought here we go, I'm either going to get hurt here or be blown out the back. To be fair it was fine, I climbed up the climb waiting for the technical stuff only to find it was done and then the downhill part was really big rocks and slab stuff so I was especially fine. I am fine with the techy stuff and years of trail riding and racing enduro on the motorbike means I can pick a line from way out but I can't do it a million miles an hour on a downhill bike, so we were all together and riding along like we had been doing it together for ever, a bit of a relief. This section I would have cleared easily on my 1X1 but I imagine slower as the suspension came into play here. Though not as much as you may expect as I worked out  at the bottom that this crazy Aussie had ridden it with his shock and fork locked out. How the fu** was I to know, I'm a rigid singlespeeder! If I thought this bike was good before it was absolutely sublime for the rest of the ride now I had freed it!  :) 
The riding was very similar to ours here in the highlands with hiking trails  and then due to some recent storms there were quite a few trees down on some of the lesser used singletrack trails so we had a bit of hike a bike stuff, so besides the heat and dust the terain was similar to here. We climbed a huge rock in the middle of the forest and had the most amazing veiws off the mountains. I also came round on bend on a well formed trail with a few hikers about so was taking it easy to pass three guys on randonneur bikes with panniers and handlebar bags etc. I slowed and said hello as I checked out their bikes and Mark said to me the part of the trail we were on is a trail that goes right over the Hartz mountains and covers about 160 kilometres from one end to the other and is well mapped and marker posts every 5 kilometres. All I could think was Brian and Jamie could take the randonneur rides off shore next year :)
We then did a few more climbs and descents before heading back to the village of Toffhouse for some lunch and a couple of cold drinks. I had a currywurst and frites (huge sausage with a sort of tomato sauce sprinkled with curry powder and chips and thought I better not have a beer so drank pepsi as I didn't know whether we were finished or about to ride back up the steep mountain again. Unfortunately we were just about done, it was well later than I thought and we rode the couple of kilometres back and loaded up.
A great day with some good guys who were really cool to take me along. My German is almost non exsistant and Felix and Wolfgangs was OK whereas Mark had excellent english but once riding non of this stuff mattered as it's pretty universal communication when your riding.
Just thought I would share as it was something different but great fun.
Jamie