Urhasdkh! really needed a MTB for that one...

No battery on the phone and travelling light so this is the best image to sum up my day...

After a morning sorting out stuff, I went on a bike ride to the pentlands, with the idea to catch a path that I'd seen on my last trip out there. Turns out that it really, really isn't suited to road bikes - and was hellish getting up to the pass my Allermuir hill.

However, not so bad once I was up, and worth the pain for the view alone. Cycled (pushed) to the top of Castlelaw hill, which doesn't have a path down to the south, so I ended up doing some seriously serious off-roading on a -25% gradient. I think the thin tires helped me not go too fast, as they got grooved into the heather, but it did feel pretty dodgy. Didn't fall off though, which was a result!

Explored up the glen past Glencorse Reservoir - on road! how fast it felt, but I was soon off-roading again, following the signs to Balerno.

Once over the watershed, I was on amazing forestry roads - smooth and flowing, downhill all the way pretty much to Edinburgh, as I got on the cycle path that goes along the water of Lieth back to the Union Canal. I couldn't help but let out a 'whoop' as I sped down - no more heavy pedalling, and relief that my worn and battered tires hadn't got a puncture, and that my poor bike that I treat so rough had survived to live another day.

Back in Edinburgh, I bought some cookies and slumped down on my bed to recover.

The image shows some stats, but if you can't read them - 38km, 735m total climbing, biggest slope up 23.2%, down -26.3%