Cycling – Page 8 – My Photo Blog

Sitting in the Sun and Begbie Returns – 29 May 2016

Posted on May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 by Zogman

Sunshine again! Today we went to Loch Lubnaig, just north of the ‘Geriatrics’ Sunday Favourite’ Callander. We were late leaving and I just knew we were going to run into queues along the route. First bottle neck would be Dobbies garden centre just outside Stirling – It wasn’t too bad for a change. Next on the list would be Blair Drummond Safari Park. It was just as bad as I expected. All these families eager to see the wild animals. The queue was quite long, but as I drove past I glanced right and that was where the queueing really started and went on as far as the eye could see. Maybe it’s the passengers in the cars that would be wilder than the animals by the time they got parked. I wished them luck. Strangely, the rest of the journey was uneventful, even Chronic Callander and we got parked at the new lochside parking at Lubnaig without any trouble. An hour later, things were a bit more frantic in the carpark with cars abandoned everywhere. People just seemed to park wherever there was a space long enough and wide enough for their car, with no thought of how other drivers were going to negotiate their exit. They were in their space and that’s all that mattered. Dobbers!

Lunch was a roll ‘n’ sausage for me and a roll ‘n’ egg for Scamp. That was the last of the rolls and the last of the eggs. We got ours and that’s all that mattered! Loads of people there. Must have been well over 100. That’s what happens when you build a carpark at a scenic spot, provide facilities and catering. If you build it right, people will come. Think on this NLC. After a couple of hours sitting in the sun, we decided to head home. Scamp to do some gardening, me to cycle. However, a pair of numpties were parked right behind us and didn’t look like moving. No problem. I put on my Begbie voice and they shifted sharpish. Maybe it’s because I’ve just finished ‘The Blade Artist’ which is the story of how Begbie, the psycho from Trainspotting’s life has panned out. Anyway, homeward through the legions of Grey Hairs out for ice cream and chips in Callander.

Got a few photos of a little red damselfly while out on my bike and Scamp got her pansies planted.

Swallows are flying lower today which means the weather may not be as good tomorrow.

Of Books and Bookshops – 11 May 2016

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Zogman

A few years ago I bought a Kindle. Scamp thought I was mad. Then I bought her a Kindle and she realised the potential of this little slab of plastic and ‘tronics. Since then we’ve both had an on/off relationship with e-readers. Mostly on. I like the instant result from downloading a book. I like being able to carry a dozen books around with me on my slate. I like being able to read late at night by my illuminated screen without disturbing anyone. I like the novelty of having an on-board dictionary where I can discover, not only the meaning of a word, but also its derivation. We don’t have a bookshop in the town and I have to travel in to Glasgow or Stirling to peruse bookshelves. I could go to the library, but somehow that’s not as satisfying as handling and owning a new book, maybe it’s the owning part that’s the most important. If I didn’t have the money, I’d have to rely on our local library and maybe I should use it more, because if I don’t use it I could lose it, but mostly I’m sold on digital downloads.

Sometimes I deliberately buy a book, a physical book, just because I like the weight of it in my hand, or the tactile feel of turning a paper page, rather than the pretence of stroking a screen. Or sometimes, especially with a newly published book it’s actually cheaper to buy a book than a digital download. I have on occasion bought a non-fiction download, but I’ve never been totally satisfied with them even if I can search through them much more easily than with the printed article. There’s a place for books and equally there’s a place for Kindles.

I was thinking about this today when we were in Waterstones in Glasgow. I saw their Book of the Month and thought it looked interesting, then said to myself “I’ll add that to my Book LIst”. However, although I added it to the list I’ve got on my phone, I mentally added it to a paper book list, not an e-book list or just a must read list. Maybe some books are better read in printed form rather than electronically. For my birthday, Hazy gave me two paperback books and Scamp gave me a book token. Maybe that’s what’s reawakened my interest in printed media. I know I’ll probably take my Kindle on holiday with me, but I might just take a book too.

After we came back from Glasgow Scamp got settled in her chair at the front door. I took the shot of the disintegrating tulip. Tulips have no shame. They quite blatantly display their naughty parts for public gaze. With at least one decent photo in the bag, I got the bike rack out and took the bike down to Auchinstarry then cycled along the canal to Kirkintilloch. The only real reason anyone would go to Kirky is for the exercise of cycling along the canal tow path. Other than that, it has little to recommend it. On the way I saw the little pink blossom with its translucent green leaves beside the canal. Also, saw my first damselfly of the year. Not the best photo, but it was down in an overflow channel from the canal and I wasn’t going to go down to get a better shot. Turned at Kirky and came back, knowing that I’d be heading into that same east wind from yesterday and the day before. It was heavy going for a while, but quite exhilarating too. Got back and joined Scamp for a relaxing hour in the sun before dinner.

Another beautiful day. More of the same tomorrow? Yes please!

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Zogman

A better start to the day than yesterday. Wall to wall sunshine and blue skies with not a cloud to be seen at 8am.

I was torn between going to the gym and cycling for exercise today. Cycling won. You can go to the gym any day, hail, rain or shine, it doesn’t matter. Cycling is best done on the Shine days. Today was definitely a shine day. Unfortunately it was also a windy day with a strong east wind. East winds are usually cold, but today’s was an exception, being nicely warm. I got togged up with my short sleeved cycling top, shorts and walking boots. You see, cycling for me is not just about the joy of the open road, it’s also about getting me to places where I can take photos and walking boots are so much more practical than trainers or cycling boots. Having said that, my cycling boots are actually rock climbing boots, not that I’ve ever climbed rocks wearing them. They are very comfortable, but not practical for walking through bogs searching for damselflies or dragonflies. There were no dragonflies today – far too early, they don’t hatch up here until about August. There were no damselflies either, although it’s almost time for them. They usually appear May – June time, depending on the light and the heat. What I did see was a wee rabbit which sat watching me, deciding on its next move. That move was an extremely fast about turn and away across the field. I liked the yellow blobs – moss fruiting bodies. Usually the blobs are green and there were some of the green variety, but the yellow ones looked that bit different.

Salsa at night for one – Scamp’s shoulder is not fit for salsa yet. We did attempt a bit of bachata, but danced as a couple and didn’t change partners to protect her arm from some of the less careful dancers, of which there are quite a few sometimes.

More sun forecast for tomorrow, but not as hot as today. Maybe a walk tomorrow if the wind is as strong as today. A head wind coming home is not, to quote John Torode “A lovely, lovely thing.”

A Super Sunday – 24 April 2016

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Zogman

Went for a walk around Broadwood Loch rather than its little cousin St Mo’s. Broadwood is a bit duller than St Mo’s in my opinion, but nowhere near as dull as Strathclyde Loch. Like SL it’s a manmade or manflooded loch that originally was a piece of bogland with loads of peat underneath. It was always being set on fire during the summer. Flooding the area produced a loch and reduced the possibility of it going on fire. Originally there were great plans to have it stocked with fish and there was to be a sailing club. Neither of these plans saw the light of day. What NLC did was categorise part of the loch as a nature reserve which has the advantage of costing nothing and preventing either of the leisure activities from taking place. Cost saving from NLC? Surely not.

After lunch I chose cycling rather than the gardening that Scamp opted for. Went out with the intention of finding some damselflies to photograph, but they were still swimming in the ponds dressed in their nymphal disguise. Maybe I was being a little optimistic, but I just thought with the increase in the temperature and light recently there was just a chance of some of them hatching early. Maybe next month.

What I did get were, from the right and going anticlockwise, Mr Grey’s cousin from the morning walk around Broadwood. Next it looks like a volcano, but it’s a pit bing near Kirkintilloch. On the left is a wee bit of interesting sky I saw on the way home. At the top a monochrome landscape shot with the Arran hills in the background. Centre stage is a recently ploughed and seeded field with tractor tracks heading over the hill.

Not a bad Sunday. Not bad at all.

A really lovely day – 20 April 2016

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Zogman

Today was a lovely day from start to finish – unless you were a Rangers supporter because they were beaten 3 – 2 by Hibernian for some cup or league or other. Personally, I couldn’t care less.

Stayed in in the morning waiting for the postman to bring my second camera strap. This one destined for my E-PL5 or ‘5 as it’s now known. While I was waiting, I put my boots on and went and cut the front grass. It seemed a shame to just sit there on the step soaking up the rays when I could be doing some useful work and since Scamp had a muscle pain in her arm, the grass cutting would probably make it worse. Postman arrived just as I was finishing and he did indeed have the strap. A bit wider and more colourful than the previous black one. I’m quite impressed with the quality of these straps.

After a quick bite to eat I rolled the bike out and went for a run. The weather couldn’t have been better. Almost no wind and a blue dome above me. It’s a while since I’ve had a chance to wander over one of the wilderness walks and a bike is the only way to get there. No parking places nearby, so a bit of exploration and some exercise too. Didn’t do very many miles today, only about 6 miles all in, but hopefully I’ll get more done during the summer. I meant to mention in yesterday’s blog that I saw my first swallows yesterday. Three definite sightings.

As I was leaving, Scamp started painting an old orange box that will hopefully hold her sweet peas. The orange box must be over 30 years old and came from my mum and dad’s house. It’s wooden, probably beech and originated from Cyprus. It might have been my brother Alex’s toy box at one time. Notice the carefully mown lawn in the background!

While I was out I managed to get the shot of the spider hanging from its web. I liked the translucency of the body with the light shining through it.

Before I went out I took the preparatory shots for the Weemen picture and finished it off tonight in Comic Life via Photoshop. One more to go in the series.

Salsa tonight was easy as far as moves were concerned, but hard on the legs and feet. Scamp says it’s because of the concrete floor. I don’t know if that’s true, but it was sore on my wee feet.

May go in to Glasgow tomorrow if the weather holds.

Sunshine – 14 March 2016

Posted on March 14, 2016March 15, 2016 by Zogman

Hey, maybe we brought some sunshine back. Deep in the folds of our bags there must have been a little seed of Canaries magic sunshine. When I woke this morning, just after 7.00am the sun was shining through the windows and the sky was blue. Got up and did a little more catching up on the blog then after breakfast I set to to clear my ToDo list for the day. By midday it was clear, apart from some more blog posts and Flickr post to upload. The heavy lifting was done. I must say that it would have been a much more onerous task without the magic of DayOne and Dropbox. DayOne on my phone means I can peck away at the keyboard and write about things as they happen during the day and that means it’s not such a chore (I hate that american sounding word) to remember and write up my day when I’m tired at night (like I am now). Dropbox allows me to sync the DayOne write-ups with the Mac. Anyway, as usual, I digress.

Got the bike out and went out wearing shorts! I took my longs as well as insurance, just in case the sun was lying and it was really cold. It wasn’t. It was windy though, an easterly wind, which means it’s a headwind when I’m on my way home. Not to worry though, that would be later. It was a tail wind on the way out.

Got some good macro photos of Coltsfoot Daisies. They always remind me of my dad. He used to say they were one of the first signs of spring. It was him who told me how it got its name. It’s to do with the shape of the leaf. Also got some green blobs – my name for the fruiting bodies of moss. Pretty little things if you take the time to look and quite colourful too. Got one shot of a duck doing its vertical takeoff. Ducks make me think of fighter planes the way they take off in a straight line, climbing away into the sky just like a Typhoon or a Tornado does, but a lot quieter. Beautiful flight patterns when landing too, with down pointing wings – technically anhedral as opposed to dihedral. Less stable, but better for controlling the airflow.

Salsa and bachata at night. Old moves, but well remembered in salsa and good combinations that we’ll need to work at in bachata.

Mixed forecasts for tomorrow. As Scamp says, we’ll need to see what the weather’s like.

Boats, Bridges, Bikes and Accents – 27 February 2016

Posted on February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 by Zogman

Beautiful morning. Seemed a shame to waste it, so I got my bike on the rack and drove over to Culross (sorry Hazy, take that look off your face). I parked and cycled along the footpath back to Kincardine. The going was fairly easy. A few slight slopes, but nothing very strenuous. However when I was freewheeling down one hill, I just thought it might be a bit of a challenge on the way back. Took some photos of the bridges, Kincardine and Clacks (short for Clackmannanshire Bridge). Why are people paid to decide the names for bridges, then come up with a mouthful like Clackmannanshire Bridge? They know fine well that the folk that stay there and the ones that use it will make up their own names for the crossings. Clacks Bridge sounds so much better. Nothing to do with Diskworld though.

While I was there an old guy wheeling a bike came along. I say ‘old’ but he was probably about the same age as me. He spoke to me, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I thought he might be Polish. He repeated it and still I couldn’t make him out. It was only when he turned and said very slowly, “It’s nice to see a bit of sun” it twigged that he’d said “It’s a grand day”. His Fife accent was so thick it was almost impenetrable to my Lanarkshire ears. I agreed with him and he went on his way to the boat yard where he laboured a bit hauling a rowing boat down the jetty and setting off in it.

I’d just finished taking shots of the bridges and the mountains beyond and was ready to come home when I turned and saw the three wee boats sitting on the water with the beautiful cloudscape behind. Camera back out and got another load of pictures. The Oly isn’t tamed yet. It kept overexposing (sounds naughty, but it just means the photos are very pale) so when I got home I changed the exposure setting to Auto. That’s something I never do.

The run back was uneventful except, remember that hill? I was right, it was a killer on the way back. Got my blood pressure up and my pulse racing. Does you good to get out somewhere on a real bike, not a computer simulation.

Sirloin steak for dinner. It was lovely and I felt I’d earned it today.

Cycling in the sun – 8 February 2016

Posted on February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by Zogman

Heavy rain when we woke, but then the rain cleared up, the sky lightened and blue sky appeared. It was too good an opportunity to miss, so I got the bike rack on the car and drove the bike to Auchinstarry.

When I got there, I noticed right away that there was a strong westerly wind. A head wind for me. Oh well, better to have a head wind going and a tail wind coming back rather than the other way round. It was a cold wind though! Made heavy weather of the outward run and got some interesting photos at Dumbreck, including the shots of the swans. I just missed getting shots of their take off, but it was a joy to see in the scattered afternoon sun. Cycled as far as Shirva Farm but the going was tough with the headwind and the fact that they were “upgrading” the canal tow path. Upgrading apparently means digging it up and leaving it like that. The path was a quagmire. I turned and came back along the canal, then crossed at the path through the plantation and back to the car. I was really pleased that I’d taken Scamp’s advice and brought a flask with coffee. It was a more pleasant run back, not fighting the headwind, but the coffee was welcome. I even washed my bike when I came home. The first wash it’s had in a long time. I hope it still works.

Salsa at night and then Bachata for the second hour. It’s getting better. I’m beginning to relax into it. Much less frantic than Salsa, but not as enjoyable. Too regimented for my random brain. Rain forecast for tomorrow.

Another sunny start – 4 February 2016

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Zogman

Ho, ho, two sunny mornings on the trot! This morning I got up and patently ignored the little pink case with the borked Nexus 7 in it. Had my breakfast and headed off to Glasgow to return a pair of shoes. I had that feeling when I left the shop two weeks ago that the purchase was a mistake. I was right. No amount of wearing them about the house would convince me to accept them into my shoe library. Nope, they were duffers as far as I was concerned. I’d hummed and hawed about them when I was in the shop, but as soon as I left it, I knew it was a mistake. Oh well, the return was made without a hitch and I left feeling so much better. On the way back home I made the decision to get the bike out, pump up the tyres and head off for a gentle run in the sun.

The run transpired, the sun didn’t. By the time I was leaving the house, the clouds had rolled in from the west and rain was threatening to dampen my high spirits. However, I was suited and booted (as the lady in the Apprentice said) and I was off. Not a long run, I’d decided, just a gentle breaking in expedition into darkest Tipland. It used to be an open cast mine I think but later it became a tip and even later, recently in fact there has been a lot of test boring on the site. I may be wrong, but I get the sense that it may eventually become a housing development. It will have a fancy name, the houses will be ‘chicken boxes’ and about ten years or so after they are occupied someone will start a petition to get samples taken from the ground. Those samples will confirm the people’s fears that there is methane gas exuding from the ground. If only they had listened to me, I could have told them. But for now, it is usually a good place to see deer in the winter and a great place for damselflies and dragonflies in the summer. No deer today and the damselflies are still in the nymph stage, busy catching water beetles and minnows, unaware of the changes that will come soon in their lives. So it was photos of trees today. That’s ok, some of the trees made interesting shapes and there was almost a bit of form to the sky, almost. Lightroom helped there. After that it was cycle home, have a cup of coffee and dream of warm summer cycling days to come. DV.

Piaggios, Peace and a Pint – 18 September 2015

Posted on September 18, 2015September 18, 2016 by Zogman

It was a cloudy, disappointing start to the day, but by 9.15 it had brightened up and I was dressed, the bike was on the rack and the rack was on the car and I was off. Drove to Auchinstarry and intended to cycle to Kirkintilloch. I got to Dumbreck and decided to have a rest and watch the world go by, because other people, not as lucky as me were starting their working day. Then I heard a strange engine note from a plane. I spotted it coming over Barr Hill and, yes, it had pusher propellors and the tiny winglet on the nose of a Piaggio. I’d never seen one flying before and only seen a static in Genoa airport this summer. I didn’t have time to grab my camera out of the bag and change the lens, so I settled for just watching it. I remember reading an interview in Photo Technique with (maybe) Annie Leibovitz away back in the 1970s. In the article she said that she looked forward to a time when she wouldn’t want to photograph a scene, but would be happy to simply see it. That’s what I did today. After that, time stood still for a while and I just took some photos. Some with the Panasonic 45-200 and some with the new toy 9mm. A really relaxing morning, as if I needed to relax. There was a time when I really needed chill time. A time when I was tightly wound up. Not so much now, but it’s still good to just sit. That’s a definition of meditation – Just Sitting. Cycled back along the canal, hoping to catch a glimpse of the kingfisher that lives along this stretch, at least used to live along here. I think it must be about three years ago since I’ve seen it. Home for lunch – Corned Beef Sandwich. Very salty and obviously bad for you, because it tastes so good covered with brown sauce. Healthy eating has its place, but so does a corned beef sandwich. Spent a happy hour or so reading on the front step with a cup of peppermint tea. The healthy option. We needed milk, so when Scamp came back from the gym, we walked down to the M&S shop at the garage and dropped in at the Broadwood on the way home. Me for a pint of Guinness and Scamp for a G&T. Weather not so good again, clouding over, but the Weather Fairies say it will be good tomorrow.

We’ll see.