Wrong Turn

After a very laid back Saturday morning lounging on the sofa I gathered myself together, got my cycling togs on and set out. My aim was to head for the Canonbie area with the bridge being shut in mind. I headed off down the Tarras road with the intentions of going past Solway Bank wind farm in the opposite direction to what I normally take. I crossed the 7 at the Hollows turn off and headed for Chapelknowe.

At one point I took a wrong turn just before I came to Milltown on Sark thinking that is where they led the turbines in for the wind farm after about 2 miles and coming to farm on a dead end I then realized I had made a mistake as did the farm collie who seen me of the premises with loud barking and baring teeth, I made a very hasty retreat. But on the plus side I did get a different view of the turbines and also notice that three were turning, I presume they were being tested.

I eventually got back on track and remembered the road I should have taken was approaching Chapelknowe. I was held up fairly briefly at this junction to let about a hundred cows and calves past that heading indoors to be fed for the winter. I had an interesting chat with the young farmer and we discussed the massive task of getting the turbines onto site which he said it was very impressive to watch. He told me the stone that was brought in for the footings for the turbines went down at least 8 feet, the task was enormous he said.

I casually pedaled on and came across this rather severe cut hedge dyke, I can only think it was to clear the telegraph wire from overhanging branches before winter sets in. It wasn't a pretty site but I'm sure nature will take care of the situation.

I came upon this lovely plane tree which was flaunting its coat of many autumnal shades. I just had to stop and take a picture.......

  ......I also had a curious audience at the same time.

I cycled on pleasantly towards home.

This was a pedal a little bit farther than I intended but very enjoyable all the same. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight.

A Nice Pedal

After a leisurely breakfast I got dressed in my cycling togs with the intention of taking advantage of the nice sunny morning we were afforded. I headed off up the Wauchope road to go round the Solwaybank route via Callister and Fulford bridge. This route gives an all round view off the current construction of the Solwaybank wind farm and I wanted to see how it was progressing

Working at dizzy heights

I don't know what was going on in this penfold on the road up Callister but it was interesting to watch the modern day technology and construction in the distance compared with something in the foreground that has been going on basically unchanged for generations.

I got several good views of the wind farm on the way round, this is a couple of them.

I stopped here for a while and studied the road ahead whilst I had a banana.

I never get fed up of this part of the trip through the beech avenue approaching Solwaybank

I thought this gate would look good with little tweak on Photoshop

There seems to be some kind of order in this disorder of of beech trees

Looking towards Cumbria. 

My wife who was a Cumbrian and brought up on sheep farm on the Calbeck Fells was bitterly disappointed when they changed the name from Cumberland to Cumbria, but thankfully the names still survives in the Cumberland Infirmary and the Cumberland News.

The journey home from Solwaybank was uneventful and pleasant, I arrived back in a respectable time of 1hr 42mins covering 21 miles with a few miles left in reserve on the battery. 

I've discovered for those that are interested that for some reason the the first bar on the battery goes down at around 8 miles so one would expect the next bar goes at around 16 miles but goes at 14. So I will experiment with the different settings and try to adapt my riding style to suit. I do know that weather conditions can make a big difference but today was good for cycling with just a slight breeze in parts.

In the evening I had a zoom meeting with my old friends Malcolm and Nigel, which was funnily strange as I was having trouble getting to grips with how zoom worked i.e. getting it to work in gallery mode and Nigel was having difficulty picking up what was being said due to poor internet connection, which makes me wonder if we had been sitting in a pub somewhere would the three of us old gits be still able to communicate? but anyhow we struggled through and had pleasant hours craic. I've discoverd since how to get onto gallery view now so hopefully next week all will be well. 

Under Construction

 There was some signs of frost when I got up this morning but it didn't last long as the sun was out and slowly the temperature started to rise. After a leisurely breakfast and a look at yesterdays paper I checked the thermometer, and as the temperature had risen to 10°c I decided to get into my cycling togs and take advantage of the good weather and get out on the ebike. 

My plan was to follow one of Tootlepedal's routes to see how the construction of the Solway Wind Farm is progressing and set off up Wauchope. As there was little or no breeze and the sun was in all it's glory this must've encouraged other cyclists to come out and enjoy the pleasant climate as I have never met or been passed by as many cyclists when I've been out pedaling before, this was good to see and I got lots of cheery waves as they passed by. 

Looking back towards home

Making my way steadily up Callister, even on my ebike I wasn't a match for some of the serious cyclists as I was overtaken a couple of times during the climb but I was undeterred and carried on at a pleasant leisurely pace for the rest of the journey.

Stopped breifly to look at this willow plantation that Tootlepedal mentioned in a recent post.

This ruined cottage caught my eye as I passed, it's hard to imagine that generations of families were raised here.

Looking towards the wind farm in the distance

Assembling the crane to construct the turbines must be as complicated as the turbines

Under construction

These I presume are the power lines leading from the wind farm....

....they resemble something out of a science fiction B Movie to me.

I continued on through this lovely beech avenue

For all the times I've cycled by this beech tree at Barngleishhead I have never stopped and took my time to look and see how magnificent it is

I arrived home to find that I had completed the pedal in a respectable time of 1hr 42mins for the 20 mile trip. This was another good pedal and had little trouble from my foot I'm pleased to say, my main problem is my pain from my coccyx which has taken the pleasure out of a few of my trips but I recently purchased a good pair of cycling shorts and taken good advice from fellow cyclists I am now finding I can am pedaling greater distances before I start to get uncomfortable.