Climb Every Mountain....well, Hill.

Once again the Dark Knight took the nosebag off his trusty steed and headed out onto the highway ready to do battle with dragons, trolls and the traffic.

I turned toward the back road out of Milngavie and was soon faced with the hill at the back of the reservoir, a good cardio workout which always gets my leg muscles twanging..... I passed through Strathblane and headed toward Lennoxtown with a challenge in mind....... at the village centre, I turned left, and began the climb up the side of the Campsie Fells. The road begins with a steep incline which settles down after a couple of bends, and climbs for 3 miles to the summit point, amusingly, halfway up the hill, a small sign invites cyclists to "Keep Going!" and had I had the energy to laugh, I may have sniggered a little. At the top, I wheeled my steed around opposite a small layby, below a soaring pair of buzzards and began my descent. Even with a strong headwind, the Garmin recorded a descent speed of 36.8mph which got me grinning!

The 274 mt/5km ascent took 24 minutes to achieve, the run back down to the village a mere 8 mins :-)

Once back in the village I continued along to Milton of Campsie, and when the road merged at the T Junction with the main A803 I turned and headed for "Kirky", "Bish'brigs" and Bearsden. At Dobbies I again took the hill that led me to Hillfoot, and from there climbed over to Bearsden Cross. At the cross I turned right, and after a short "First one to the lights" chase with another cyclist, who, I might add, outpaced me easily, and left me feeling a little foolish, (He could not have been a day over 14, was wearing a rucksack, riding a steelframed bike from a museum and wearing his school uniform) :-/ I attempted to regain some credence and blasted back into Milngavie as fast as my legs would carry me. My extended hill climb added another 7.3 miles to my route, bringing today's total to 32.4 miles or 52.1 Km, all completed in 2hrs, 18 mins.

The day was a little cooler than we've had of late, with strong winds and an overcast sky. Needless to say, my highly toxic sweat still rained on the road surface, but there was, one hopes, a little less than usual. I know, you did'nt need to know that last bit.....

Oh, and did I mention my award? Won on last Saturday's Total Wipeout Award Show?
"Best Trip and Fall of Series 3" If anyone wants a signed photo, please send your cheques to........ :-)

Speak soon Folks.

Dark Knight