Author: Gerry

Planning a Saturday ride in the Old Kilpatricks on 21st January. A few folk have already expressed an interest (Alison, Sam & John and Elizabeth). The plan is to meet at the Bowling Lock car park and be ready to ride at 10am (not at the big house as I suggested in a previous post). If you are travelling by train then there is a station at Old Kilpatrick which is handy. Also, Bowling Locks is connected to Glasgow, Balloch, Erskine Bridge via cycle tracks. It is not a hugely technical ride, but a few interesting optional offshoots at the top for anyone interested. There is a big climb, but perfectly do-able for anyone who is keen enough. Any faster climbers can repeat parts of the climb so we are never too far apart. The route is a loop which is always good and there is an optional post-ride refuel at the Crown Carvery/Pub. Please let me know if you are interested.

Check out the deal on their website. A few of us did this last year and it was fantastic value for money, especially if you don’t take a car over. We’re not sure if we will go this year but might be interested if there is some demand…

he GMBC yoga classes are due to start next week and run on the following four Wednesday nights at 8pm in the club hall: 5th Oct, 19th Oct, 16th Nov and 14th Dec. The classes will last for 90min so we should be able to get the kettle on for any nightriders. The instructor (Dianne McNicoll) will be paid a flat rate of £30 for the class irrespective of how many turn up, so a total of £120 (4 x £30). I have received confirmed interest from the following 11 people (Mark Forrest, Pete Morgan, Barry Mears, Grant Hill, Simon Haslam, Ross Black, Iain Clow, Euan Boyd, Phil Draper, Alison & Me). If I have missed anyone or if you are now keen then please get in touch asap. My plan is to collect £10.90 (£120/11 people) from each of the people listed above when I see you next. Ideally, next Wednesday night, over the cyclocross weekend or at the AGM. If you are listed above then you have already made a commitment to come along and pay.

If anyone else turns up for a class then I collect £3 from them and re-invest in GMBC biscuits.

Please note, I have had to reduce the number of nights originally planned due to the firework night and club AGM.

After loading our bikes and bags on to the Ride the Alps van at Geneva Airport, Al Yuille and myself quickly became acquainted with the rest of the bunch during the drive to Argentiere – Chamonix. After putting the bikes together, our guide Jamie Carr gave us the trip briefing and things were looking good. Jamie is ex-team GB, was one of the first to ride mountain bikes in the Himalayas and has a wealth of knowledge for routes in the Alps. This would be my fourth trip with him and something that I had been looking forward to for a few years. The almost perfect weather forecast seemed almost too good to be true. Continue reading

Folks, I am hoping to get things finalised soon regarding the GMBC yoga/pilates classes, i.e. every second Wed night during the winter. For those interested, can you let me know if you would prefer a 60 min class at £4, or a 90 min class at £6. My preference is for a 90 min class to make the travel time more worthwhile. I will go with what the majority want. If you could lt me know ASAP that would be good. Cheers Gerry

At the last committee meeting, we discussed the possibility of using the hall on Wednesday nights for Yoga/Pilates Classes and Fitness Circuit Classes on alternate weeks over the winter. The intention is for the class to be ~8-9:30pm leaving some time to have a cup of tea with anyone out night riding. The aim would be to get a proper yoga/pilates teacher and concentrate on core work and stretches more beneficial for cyclists. The fitness circuits classes would be run by ourselves. The yoga/pilates class would be a maximum of £4 per person per class. Depending on numbers and exact figures there might be a case that the club could subsidise this, however, this needs to be confirmed. At this stage, I would like to establish how many people would be interested in taking part in yoga/pilates and circuits classes. Please let me know ASAP so as I can try and get things sorted.

Just returned from a fantastic weekend riding in and around Fort William. Based on my post last week and after bumping into Chris Johnstone at Wheelcraft on Saturday the route was changed slightly to become a 70km classic loop of Ben Nevis. Alison, Superlight Euan and myself left the Braveheart car park in Glen Nevis on Sunday morning. We then rode the Westie to above Kinlochleven where we then kept the height gained and picked up the trail past Mamore Lodge to Luibeilt passing Loch Eilde Mor and Beag. When reaching Luibelt we decided to cross the river after Superlight Euan proudly informed us he made 58 glacier river crossings during a day ski mountaineering in NZ, so surely we would manage one in July. After plenty of hikey bikey and some fantastic scenery we reached the bothy at the start of the Lairig Leacach, a welcome stop after being in the wilderness for so long. After refuelling, we then descended the landrover track to Leanachan Forest where we traced some of the Witch’s Trails towards Torlundy, and then back along the cycle lane to Glen Nevis. A fantastic trip and one that should become a club classic.