Day out with a difference

No photos unfortunately ...too busy!

Up at 5am then out at 6, having mostly packed the day before....dreading the journey after yesterday's hail, snow and rain....

Starting off in the dark and wet, although not exactly raining...and going across country...the shortest route by over ten miles, by being direct.

Coming past Drongan and seeing the sunrise coming, uplighting the clouds with pink bars.  Through Cumnock as the street lights faded to a grey but dry morning with little traffic and a smooth run.
More and more snow on the fields from Muirkirk onwards, then after Douglas a quick hop up and over on the M74 to Abington and a coffee stop.

Back on A roads to Biggar, a lovely little town, but no stopping this morning. Turn off just after as we weren't heading for Penicuik, then straight through the rolling countryside until almost Bonnyrigg...a quick wiggle across and up the A70 to Newtongrange, where the Lady Victoria colliery is now the National Mining Museum.
There,on the museum's spare car park was Scotland's biggest (?) cyclejumble!

Some were trade stands, others just a car bootfull .  
We sold about a quarter of what we did at Manchester....but to think that was six hours in a warm velodrome centre...and this was two hours or so in a cold windy East of Scotland car park....we did well!
When the wind started to shake things about and get cold with fine rain I called enough!!

Lunch was in a fairly full Ikea...not something we'd normally go for with that many people there...but as we eat a reasonably priced good meal in comfort and warmth the crowds thinned out and we did a short whizz round the "marketplace" bit....picked up what we needed without the fancied extras
( sigh!!)...
and headed off backon the A roads to avoid the Saturday motorways.

Back to Abington and the Pirate had the bright idea of a quieter still route that I'd like......
It involved the Highest village in Scotland at over 1500 feet....Wanlockhead...and at the previous village I did give him the choice of retracing....

Lets just say I was glad of my snow driving teaching from The Mountain Man..
The snow wasn't that deep, but deep enough that you needed to keep calm and carry on in second gear.   The Pirate's bp must have been rising...but then he wasn't driving!!  We met the snow plough on his way back up as we came down the far side.  No, we shouldn't have gone that way...but we were capable...and had proper supplies and equipment in the car as well as a (reduced) load of bike bits!!

Home by 6pm as it fell dark again...a tiring twelve hours away, but successful!

A quick stirfry and rice supper and a decent night's sleep, and no alarm clock to wake us!!