We’re currently speechless about the likely loss of a safe route for kids in the Braid Estate When the affluent few can pay a lawyer to find the slightest discrepancy in the paperwork, to kill off a scheme put in place through community action, that is NOT DEMOCRACY!

Nice start to the ride yesterday, but it turned very wet and cold. Lots of hail and sleet. Then my chain snapped. Had a chain breaker and spare quick links so it was fine. I was pretty frozen by the time I got back home! 😆 #mountainbiking

Biting cold wind, but nice out today. Good to be still dry when I got back home!! #mountainbiking

On a cycle and again the gates are 'locked' by obfuscation on the Bavelaw estate. This happened a lot before. The bolt has been tightened so much the lock is immovable. On the second pedestrian gate they have added 2 hidden bolts to the hinge so it can't be opened! #landaccess #scotland #pentlands

A beautiful thing! #eurovelo

Rode down the coast and on the way took a look at the modernist Royan church. Made of concrete in 1958 after the heavy bombing of Royan in 1945. Apparently the concrete In the walls is only 10 cm thick. Surprisingly nice inside.

Bordeaux seems pretty cool. Loads of proper cycle paths and pedestrianised areas. Passing through on way to visit my folks here for first time in 8 years! Had lunch in a interesting old warehouse area full of cafes and art stuff.

Had an excellent ride in the Galloway forest. Cold foggy start, but it brightened up later on. Saw a quite big newt hanging out on a track road. Some really fun trails through the woods at the end! #mountainbiking

Had an excellent ride in the Galloway forest. Cold foggy start, but it brightened up later on. Saw a quite big newt hanging out on a track road. Some really fun trails through the woods at the end! #mountainbiking

Anyone know what these things are? See them all over the pavements around town for months. Reverse image search not coming back with anything useful.

No cycling today as I've got cold. But did climb the nearby hill with my daughter. Crazy windy up there! Interesting activity in the harbour where there's a big ship with towers and wind turbine towers ready for the wind farm being built nearby out at sea.

Beautiful up above the snow line in the forest today. #walking #Aberfeldy

Loads of hair ice around on a walk today. Never seen it before. Apparently temperature has to be just right and a specific type of fungus has to be in the wood. #winter #hairice

Another lovely foggy weekend ride. Saw almost no one else. Took lots of new paths. A fair bit of pushing over moorland. Stopped in a remote foggy woodland for lunch and listened to an owl hooting. #mountainbiking

Yay! Cycle lanes.

Some photos from a misty ride. Nice to to do a proper day long ride. Found an old bunker. Weird old BT phone box on top of the grassy bunker mound with some old mechanical equipment installed in it. Maybe a disguise? #mountainbiking

My home grown oyster mushrooms are ready. Ready for my lunch!! #mushrooms

Rode #strathpuffer 24. Snow and Ice made the trail tough at times but the forest was beautiful! Did 11 laps which I'm pretty happy with given the conditions. 2 punctures, one out on a lap so had to run the rest of the lap 😆. Great atmosphere!

Foggy Solstice ride. Was nice out, despite the lack of sunlight. No wind, not much rain. Climbed the big hill. #biking #scotland

Found some "Star Jelly". According to legend, dropped to earth during meteor showers. Some think it's a type of fungus. Others think it from predators who have eaten frogs regurgitating the same chemicals used to create frog spawn. Tales of it dropping from the sky! Thought it was ice at first.

Great walk up the hills behind Balqhidder. Aborted our original plan as the weather looked bad. Did some off-path exploring and climbed/slid long way down a steep stream side to return. #walking #scotland

Some mushroom photos from a bike ride last night and this morning. Sulphur Tuft I think. Yellow staghorn. #mushrooms

Cold ride over the Theives Road, an old drover road often used to move stolen livestock. Frozen mud made the trails fun and faster in places. Nice to see the low winter sun. #biking

Well this is a new one! Broken rear axle. Weirdly serrated break as well. The pedals were stuck and suspected a seized crank bearing but..nope. Weird as I last rode this bike a few weeks ago (down the West Highland way) and it felt fine. Anyone seen this before? #mountainbiking #biking #cycling

Despite it being cold and a bit damp, had a lovely ride yesterday. Low winter sun and lots of low/inverse cloud stuff going on. #biking #cycling

Centuries of overgrazing & muirburn for grouse moors mean Highland Scotland looks treeless & desolate. But it doesn't have to be this way. New film Scotland's Missing Forests went online y'day. Chuffed to see almost 10k views. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTV... @chrisgpackham.bsky.social

Continued down WHW (yes the terrible and sketchy bit through and over and along a rocky cliff), and then cut across east off-road via Aberfeldy & Strathblane before finishing in Falkirk. Much nicer weather and really enjoyable (apart from the infamous section). #WHW #biking #cycling #Scotland

Next day I rode down the West Highland way to Crianlarich in terrible weather. Heavy rain all day. Swollen and sketchy river crossings. Very windy on mountain tops. Bit uncomfortable but not cold. Beautiful scenery though! #biking #cycling #scotland

Few days off. First day; I headed up north to Fort William where I did some local pottering about on my bike for a few hours before it got dark. #cycling #biking #scotland

Some great mushrooms up north!

Family day out up near Pitlochry. Beautiful at this time of year. Did a couple of walks through the autumnal trees. Used to work up here a lot in holidays when I was a student, selling sausage rolls etc to tourists. #autumn #pitlochry

The forest was full of fungi. All sorts popping out of the ground and old tree stumps. Loads of coral-like Staghorn. Wish I knew more about which are good to eat. #mushroom #fungi

Rode one of my favourite routes on Sunday. Cold but beautiful weather. Past Minch moor, the three brethren (land border markers?), and over Bowhill. Route has a bit of every type of riding and a lot of climbing. #scotland #biking

Tough ride yesterday. Heavy rain and even some hail. The mud has returned. Time to dig out winter shoes and gloves again. Made for some beautiful scenes though in the weird light. #cycling #scotland

Took my new bike for an evening ride along the coast. Was rewarded with a pretty nice sunset! #biking #brompton

The mushrooms are beginning to return. And some pixie cup lichen. Weekend ride in the warm wind and exploring some woods. #cycling

I now, to my surprise, own a Brompton! Put in an offer on eBay. It was somehow accepted and as the guy lived nearby I just got it. Wow this thing is fun to ride!!! And surprisingly speedy.

Took train out to Tweedbank and rode back home. Figured out a new link though the hills from Glentress wind farm through to Glencorse. Took a bit of exploring to find a passable path! Legs tired today after all the pushing and hill climbing. #biking #scotland

An Austrian friend visiting who's now heading off to ride the Pictish trail across Scotland. Not jealous at all 😩. He carrying so much stuff though! Obviously warned him to watch out for the wild haggis as they get especially aggressive in breeding season! #bikepacking #scotland

There’s been three crashes involving a driver hitting a cycling this August. They happened in the same week. This is unacceptable. We’re riding in protest of Edinburgh’s indifference toward cyclists this Friday 22nd August at 7pm. Meet at Middle Meadow Walk. Tell and bring everyone you know

A day of hitting the big climbs. Dusty trails were really fun to ride down. Sunny but not too hot. Rode past a guy who started shouting my name so I stopped to find I didn't know him at all. He has a friend with the same name who looks similar 😆. Had a nice chat anyway. #biking #mountainbiking

Big fire on Arthur's Seat just now. Looks like a lot of the south side of the hill is burnt. Took a divert from normal route on bike ride home to avoid the smoke. #edinburgh

Bike ride before the storm. Pretty hot. Legs still tired from doing so much walking on holiday. The wee pond water level was much lower than normal, although the dragonflies didn't seem to mind. #biking #mountainbiking

Back from a family holiday in Paris. Train all the way from Edinburgh. It was fun and easy. Eurostar apologised for ONLY going 270km/h due to some works on the line! First time in Paris for daughter...she loved it! #traineurope #paris

Torrential rain storm and an ominous message. Probably time to abort and head home while I still can. #cycling

Morning ride before I need to do other stuff. Beautiful morning...going to be a hot day! Nice to be out while the city is quiet...especially on the road sections. #cycling #edinburgh.

A very wet ride out to the west. Long push through boggy lands. Soaking feet. Chatted to another biker pushing the opposite way. Think I've figured out the loud creaking noise is my seat post, not my BB as I thought. Weird how bike noises trick you! #biking #scotland

BTG day 9 - last proper day. Best breakfast of the trip. Misty beautiful but damp forest trails in early morning. A climb up a rock pillar ladder for an amazing view over the forest and down into the valleys below. Followed the Elba up to Dresden. #bikepacking #germany #cycling

BTG day 8 - High hills. Riding down and old bobsleigh track. A wild, and quite scary, lightning storm very close by. The first rain of the trip. Continuing to roughly follow the German/Czechia border. Stayed at house of an absolutely crazy man. Pear brandy. #bikepacking #germany #czechia #cycling

BTG day 7 - Czechia border. Maybe favourite day of riding. Crossed the border a few times. More open meadow like ground on the Czechia side. Some interesting buildings and towns. Lots of tough paths and trails. Creepy sculptures in the forest. Ran out of water. #Czechia #bikepacking #cycling