Sunday Morning Bike Ride

I'm on my way at about 7am. N is good at getting us up early ready to seize the day, though we'd be grateful for the odd "lie in" past 6am. I don't really mind too much at this time of year, I just hope he'll sleep a bit longer once the dark mornings begin.

Anyway, this morning the weather is overcast and rain clouds are all around. I set off and join the cycle path for the first couple of miles.

This is the view from the cycle path bridge over the road I have just left. I like the patchwork of greens with a splash of pink.

More greens and pink line the verges.

I leave the cycle path at the steam engine sculpture, and head off along some unclassified roads which are completely new to me.

There are lots of dairy farms round here - all that lovely plentiful green grass (and rain!).

Nice gates.

Bird posing on fencepost and more of the ever present (at this time of year) rosebay willow herb.

A T junction in a little wooded glade, such beautiful green light. I go right.

This attractive wood carving is at a farm road end along the way. It was a little gloomy for a decent photo at this point, I'll need to come back another time. This whole route would be excellent in Autumn once the leaves start to change colour as much of the roadside is lined with woodland.

Downhill past a pretty farm sign.

Into more open countryside now. A cow and calf pose nicely on the left.

After a bit of a climb I'm over the other side of the hill and can see the Clyde. A bird on a wire sits high above the firth, a boat sails upstream.

A different take on the same view. I stop here for a little snack while admiring the scenery and taking a closer look at the hedgerows...

Bramble.

Foxglove.

Very pretty!

Back on my way again, past some interesting farm equipment, sheep dot the top of the field.

Now I'm in the middle of another big climb. The mountains which would normally visible behind the little houses peeping over the hill are shrouded in dark grey cloud.

Colourful horses in their field of grass and ragwort catch my eye.

Harebells dot the grass in front of the little stone dyke, rain falls in the distance. Fortunately no rain falls on me!

I liked the arching bramble branch with the misty greens in the background.

This dead tree creates quite a dramatic silhouette amongst all the leafiness.

A pleasant pastoral scene, nice little mound of trees.

Then back on the cycle path to head home...

...leaving the roman soldiers behind.

I now have a bike computer! I did 24.3 miles at an average speed of 8.5 miles per hour (lots of photo stops), and a maximum speed of 25.5 miles per hour, so there you go!

The air smelt gorgeous - all fresh and green and moist! There were so many little birds flitting about the hedges, all too fast for me to capture on camera or even identify. A most enjoyable cycle.

It was quite a hilly ride. On the very last climb of the day up from the cycle path to the village I did feel my legs were tired and I was hungry. I started to wonder what food there was left in the house that I could eat when I got in when at that exact moment I received a text from hubby saying he'd left me two muffins...

They were yummy!