Oh my, I'm getting lazy about my blog. Still - so a week past Saturday, according to the photos, I went out a run on my own. I don't know what happened to Peter. He was a bit disapproving of my picture of the dead moth on the windowsill, but I liked the colours. I went out and over Corstorphine Hill, which pleased me because my leg behaved quite well.
The next day we went a cycle together however. We had a plan; - the Lanterne Rouge first and then Saltoun Big Wood to see if there were any dragonflies doing. On the way we were brought to a sudden halt by a small piece of scrubby clearing at the side of the road near Winton, which someone had sown with flower seeds. It was hoaching with butterflies. Buchanan was beside himself.
I took my new mountain bike for versatility. I'm finding it really enjoyable. It feels so bomb-proof that I am actually coming right off the brakes on the down hill (!!).
Coffee and cake at the Lanterne Rouge was good as usual. It has a nice atmosphere and the old couple sitting at the table with us (not us, another old couple) were chatting with us about what we were up to.
At Saltoun Big Wood I gave myself a stiff neck trying to get decent pictures of the huge and ferocious looking dragonflies that were patrolling the pond. While I was there we were visited by some ghost children.
This week I'd done quite a hilly run on Wednesday, which had gone well, but then sadly afterwards my right knee started to hurt again. Peter was away during the week hunting dragonflies (drinking wine in a tent). On Saturday we went for a cautious run around Gullane. We haven't been there in a while. It wasn't the best ever day. I'd ordered some new Hokas from Pete Bland which we picked up at Telferton sorting office on the way to Gullane. I was hoping to give them a trial run but whoever had packed them had packed shoes that were 2 sizes smaller than the ones I ordered. Pete Bland are usually very good. It was disappointing. My right leg was kind of sore when I started running and both legs were hurting by the time I finished. I was wearing old trainers because I didn't expect to run in them. I think we were both tired. I got home and had an hour's sleep and felt better.
I had entered Philiphaugh Hill Race which was today, but it was not to be. The weather forecast was terrible and my right leg was sore again this morning, so Peter stayed home to catch up with his blog and I went out a cycle tout seul. This went a lot better than I thought it might.
Heading up Leith Walk was a pain in the ass, with too much traffic and cars trying to run me off the road in the rain. I had been half thinking about trying a new route out to the Pentlands. The A702 just feels too deadly - too narrow and too fast. Looking at a map though I thought I might head out the A701 towards Penicuik and then round about Bilton turn up towards the hills and it looked like there were smaller roads going through Bush which would bring me onto the A702 quite near Flotterstone.
Coming up to the top of Liberton Brae there was wind and rain in my teeth however and I thought I'd have a rethink. I headed down Captain's Road planning to hook up with the cycle path to Musselburgh and come back along the coast and that would be better than nothing. Just before getting to Danderhall though, I saw a signpost for route 61 which I'd never seen or heard of before. It promised to take me to Roslin. I wasn't convinced I wanted to go to Roslin but I thought there was no harm in exploring.
At one point there was a fork in the path and I followed a gravelly track through Bilston Glen. It was kind of pretty but I wouldn't have been all that surprised to find a dead body. I came across these hauntingly beautiful crashed and torched cars.
Bilston Viaduct. Impressively high!
As I was nearing Roslin I realised that I wasn't far from the road to Bush and so maybe the Pentlands was back on. The incentive of the thought of coffee and a bun at the Flotterstone cafe was enough to keep me going. I was soaked through but it wasn't all that cold and I was quite enjoying myself.
The Bush Road came out where I'd hoped to come out, so I just had about half a mile of A702 death-run before the turn off for Flotterstone and cafe heaven. The cafe owner looked gloomy. The other occupants of the cafe were rather young and were going on about how many "steps" they'd done in the hills. I hope I didn't roll my eyes.
I am not a brave mountain biker but I am much better on my new bike than my old bike. It has big 29 inch wheels which give a reassuring feeling that you can plough through most things. I pretty much had the hills to myself as well, apart from a few die hard fishermen.
The whizz down the Water of Leith on the other side was likewise a blast. Again, I mostly had it to myself and I got a fair speed up. I arrived home very dirty and wet.
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