SUP!

July 2023, Peter, my son needed a wetsuit to go swimming at Willowgate Activity Centre in Perth. We visited Tiso, Perth, an outdoor shop in Perth where he got said wet-suit.  We noticed a cheap (£180) Stand up paddle board kit and decided to get it between us. It was then decided that it would be best to get one each to go out together.  It was a 9ft long and 30 inch wide Inflatable board. He is 70kg while I am 90kg 😞 however  we thought this would be alright. 

 Upon further investigation I decided to opt for a slightly longer and slightly wider Inflatable board for better  stability. Although it cost a bit more at £399, I thought it a good price.

 

 

 

So I watched a few YouTube videos  and online websites and set off for my first session down at Loch Clunie, a reasonable sized loch near me in Blairgowrie. 

 

I donned my wet-suit  and proceeded to inflate my board to the recommended 12 - 15psi. It did take a fair bit of pumping to get there, and when I disconnected my air hose, i immediately lost around 5psi before I closed the valve and had to continue pumping. The more air = the better stability.

 

 

 

Ready to launch.

I floated the board and , with trepidation, knelt on it astride the center carrying handle. I thought that I'd better try standing up while in shallow water. I am not sure why I thought that, perhaps it was the fear of falling off in deep water, even though I had a protective buoyancy aid on. However up I went.. My legs turned to jelly and I was sure that I was going to fall off. I remembered to fix my gaze towards the horizon and start paddling, and hey presto, it worked. I immediately felt more stable once the board was moving and I didn't look down. I was paddle-boarding! 3 strokes on one side, change over and 3 strokes on the other side, keep looking up, making good progress. I did feel a bit stressed having to concentrate so hard, and told myself to try to relax, it worked but as I relaxed I felt my balance starting to waiver and a bit off wobbling ensued :).

Before I set off, I asked a couple, who were setting up an inflatable kayak prior to entry, if they could zip me up into my wet-suit, as It wouldn't budge for me. This they did and they said for me to stop by up at the far end of the loch, where they were headed, and they would offer me a coffee. Sounded good to me.

I could see them at their destination, so I set off to meet them.

paddle-boarding is not a fast pursuit for a complete beginner such as I, so it did take some time for me to get there, skirting around the edges of the loch, past the large area of lilly leaves and between a small man-made island and the shore.

 

On arrival I 'egressed' the water succesfully and re-aquanted with the couple. It turns out that Edward was from Arbroath and June was from somewhere more south than Scotland. I let Edward take a spin on the board, which he did kneeling down.

 

They had a small gas cooking setup and soon had the water boiling and Lattes poured. What a treat!

They did offer me a bacon roll, but I did not want to overstay or take advantage of their kind hospitality, and I was also keen to get back onto the water. I bid them goodbye and set off once more.

 

This time I felt more confident and decided to go out nearer the middle of the loch and to head back to my starting point and to paddle past the island on the other side from when I headed up. It looked man-made, with large stones at the edge, trees and a stone building . I may explore this at a later date.

I could see the slight breeze blowing on the water and really enjoyed my paddle back. Now and then a fish would come up to take a fly.

On arrival, I then practiced my turning skills and lost my balance and in I went. Not to worry, now I could practice getting back onto the board, which I did do. 

Time to head back in and deflate the board and pack it away in its bag.

I did feel quite proud of myself and I look forward to many more such adventures, and will keep you posted.

 

I don't have any pictures because I was by myself and did not want to take my phone onto the water without a pouch. Hopefully next time when I'm with peter I will get some pictures.

Heart Trouble

Wednesday 20th October
After exercise on bike,  usually 20 -30 MLS,  chest feels tight like having a chest infection. Feel wheezy and arms feel heavy especially lower arms. Feel very lethargic and walking any distance feels laboured  takes anything from 4 to 8 hrs to recover.

Today, I wasn't recovering. I had dinner and was ok when sat down but I knew that something wasn't right. I went for a short 10 minute walk with Marina and her friend Anne, who was visiting. She jokingly said to me"I hope that your not having a heart attack cause I'm not on duty". I could hardly do that walk.

That niy I went to bed and couldn't sleep a wink.

Thursday 21st October
Phoned Ardblair medical practice and managed to get an appointment with GP for 9am. Discussed what had happened and he got me to have an ECG. He noticed that my pulse had weaked and consulted a colleague in a hospital and discussed my case. They decided that I should go to Ninewells hospital, Dundee for further tests. I got Marina to drive me there. During the 14 mile journey, I began to feel nauseous and declining in how I was feeling.
I reported to the Acute Medical Unit ACU, where I was directed to a chair in a small waiting area. I was still feeling fairly nauseous at this point.
I got called to sit in a chair in a bay, where they put me on an ecg and took bloods. I was then taken down for a chest x-ray. The bloods indicated that it was a coronary issue and that I was indeed having a heart attack.
Things began to move quicker now. Staff from the Coronary Unit came up and gave me a blood thinning injection into my stomach, they also gave me some medication. Then I was put into a bed and wheeled down/up to the Coronary Unit procedure room where a team of about 5 staff were waiting for me. The got to work immediately, transfering me into another bed and doing something to my wrist. I believe they were preparing me for an angiogram. This is where the direct a camera tube up through the arteriol vein from my wrist to my heart and the had a look around. They discovered that two of my main arteries on the right side of my heart were blocked and not working. They then proceeded to open them up using wire stents. It all must have been about maybe an hour. I was awake and aware of what was happening. I couldn't really feel anything happening to my heart but it was quite uncomfortable at my wrist.
Job done, they wheeled me into the cardio ward where I was given a room on my own.
Now they needed to settle down the heart rate and ensure that all is as it should be before letting me leave to go home.


Friday 22nd October
Still in hospital but feel much better. Yesterday was a bit too traumatic for my taste. However the staff in the Cardio Unit are fantastic and doing everything they can for my welfare. 

Consultant came around and asked me what had happened. I think he just wanted my version. I told him the story again. He then told me that I'd had a heart attack and went on to say what had they found and what they did to fix it.

He said that I should stay in hospital until the next day and possibly the following day. All was well.

Just need to recover now. Not sure how long that will take but they say 4 to 6 weeks may be required.

Saturday 23rd October

Great news, a different consultant came around and said he was happy for me to leave the hospital and go home.

This I duly did, armed with a big supply of medicine to take home. It was a great relief but I felt a bit apprehensive about leaving the round the clock care and going it alone.

Sunday 24th October

After a lovely relaxing nights sleep, I got up around 7.30, and sat in my chair and carefully doled out my new regime if medicine. 6 tablets in all ranging from Asperin to thin the blood, to beta blockers, stations, and other things I know not what but know that they all perform a function to keep my heart going as it should.

As I was feeling so relaxed and it was a bright calm day, I thought I'd try a walk. For a man who can cycle 30 miles, play tennis and badminton only 4 days previously, how hard could it be?

I got 30 yards down the path and was overcome with a feeling of anxiety. I could feel my heart rate increase, and I stopped dead in my tracks. What if something went wrong? I turned around and went home. I didn't go in, instead, I thoughti would walk around the houses next to mine fairly sedately.

This I did with no mishaps and returned home to think about what had just happened.

I now realised that this was going to be a slow process and I should not rush it 

Back to my chair.

2nd E-bike Ride. 36ml 4hr ride.

So, day 2 of having my E-bike. The day was to be sunny and dry, so I decided, as I was on holiday, to go for a longer than normal ride. I dug out my panniers and filled a small flask with coffee and packed a couple of choccy biscuits. Filled a water bottle and away I went.

I cycled to Dunkeld via the upper 5 lochs road and then through the town. It looked fairly busy with tourists.

Over Dunkeld bridge and left through Birnam. At the A9 southbound, I waited for a break in traffic and joined the A9 and immediately turned right onto the Bankfoot road. This was a beautiful road through wooded areas and open countryside with the A9 below on my left. I headed to Bankfoot and crossed under the A9 and headed for Murthy.this was where I was greatfull for my E-bike assistance as it was a fairly steep hill at this point.

Arriving at Murthy I turned right onto the Kinclaven road, and on to Meikleur and home via the back roads. 

I enjoyed two stops for a coffee and a biscuit. 

All in all, a fantastic route, one which I would definitely do again.

It's been a while!

September 2016, I started  a new job, new position,  new school, at Pitlochry High School, Pitlochry.  

This would  entail both me and my family moving back to the Scottish mainland. That was 5 years ago and we have all settled into our new lives in beautiful rural Perthshire. 

I still maintain  a love of cycling,  and have spent much time exploring the Strathmore valley around where we live. From Blairgowrie,  to Dunkeld, from  Murthly to Meigle, you get the idea. 

We live in Blairgowrie,  a town once renown for ' the berries'. The berries are still there however the picker now tend to come from Eastern Europe as opposed to Easterhouse as  they once did. Blairgowrie and it's River Ericht is about 15 miles from Perth in one direction and 15 miles to Dundee in another. To get to the sea, we tend to head to Arbroath,  around  30 miles to the east.

Verity, my oldest,  who was three when I started this blog, is now 21 and a 4th Yr  Herriot Watt Textile student living in Edinburgh and who travels to Galashiels for her studies. Twins Orla and Peter are both 16 and beginning S5 at Blairgowrie high school after 4 years with me in Pitlochry High. It will be very strange travelling to Pitlochry on my own without them in the car.

My wife Marina works in a primary school in Scone, about 12 miles from home.

That's about you upto date with what is happening  now. I will talk to you again. 

Project E-bike

During the recent Covid pandemic, punctuated by periods of national lockdown, cycling has gained a resurgence of popularity. With roads being empty of traffic,  more and more people dusted down their bikes or bought  a new one. Exercise was about the only thing we were allowed to do. 

Bike shops were one of the key shops allowed to remain open. They were inundated throughout. 

After 18 months of lockdowns, in one form or another, this rise in popularity and demand for bikes has led to a worldwide shortage of bikes, bike parts and components. There are none to be had anywhere.

I had noticed  more and more e-bikers out and about when I was out cycling. Very often you would hear them behind you as you were making your way up an incline, and they would whish past you without as much as a bye your leave.

I had always thought I was fairly bike fit, and would wait till I retired (5 yrs to go).  However, a couple of friends/colleagues began to make plans for either buying a new ebike, or convert their current bike to electric.

This was becoming tempting,  I was behind the ebike curve, time to investigate. 

I had, in the past, purchased  two bikes on the cycle to work scheme. This was/is effectively a way of purchasing a new bike, up to the cost of £1000, with installments coming out of your pay before tax. This reduces the tax that you pay each month and creates a discount to the cost of the bike. 

However the cost of ebikes are far higher than the £1000 on offer so the amount  available  has been increased to  £5000 and payable over two years as opposed to the one year previously. 

So with that in mind, I decided that it was time to make use of the cycle to work scheme one last time. 

E-bike Research 

As I didn't have the spare cash to splash on a conversion kit, I figured I would  be looking at a new production model using the scheme.

I started on the Halfords site. I already knew the name of Boardman bikes, as I was familiar with  Chris Boardman, ex pro rider, famous for wearing yellow in the tour de france and a big GB track cyclist who held the record for 'the mile'. His bikes were of the premium variety with good specs and fairly good components. They were road bikes, with drop handlebars and fairly lightweight. I discovered that Halfords did an electric Boardman roadbike ADV 8.9E

Using a small mid mount 250W motor called a Fazua, it comes with a 250wh battery with a 60 mile range. I was hooked. This was a bike that looked like a road bike, you could,  if you wished, remove the battery  and motor unit easily and use it as a normal bike.

I applied for the cyclescheme voucher and ordered the bike, which was in stock. I found out later that Halfords was not in the cyclescheme that Perth and Kinross  Council uses, they used a different scheme, one that I couldn't use hmm!.....back to the drawing board.

LBS

If you experience any warranty issues or require an ebike  service, then it makes sense to look at the bikes that your Local Bike Shop sells. This will save having to far about dropping off/picking up your bike from far away, I.e. Perth, Dundee. 

Although there is a lbs in Blairgowrie,  Crichton Cycles, I have never used them as they were closed often. My closest other lbs is the Coupar Angus Cycle Hub, about 2 miles away, based in a former bowling club. Thy are dealers for a brand of bikes called Cube, a German,  fairly new brand.

Cube have a broad selection of ebikes on their website, mainly falling into the category of full suspension/hard tail mountain bikes, and also touring/commuting bikes. I was interested in the latter category as I have never been interested in throwing myself down mountains. 

Ebikes in the UK are known as hybrids as they are pedal assisted. This means that the motor only comes on if you are pedaling,  and the motor cuts out once you reach 15.5 mph. They usually have a range of assist modes from 100% assist to zero assist. Usually the rule of thumb is the more assist you use, the less range you get. Size of battery and power of the motor usually  determine your maximum range. There are other variables that will affect this, such as your weight,  type of terrain etc. That is a topic for another day and I will stick to motor and battery for now.

Cube ebikes

Around May 2021, I paid a visit to the cycle hub to see what was available.  The answer was absolutely nothing available until September at the earliest. I had a chat with the young lad behind the counter and we looked at a few Cube bikes online and he described what I was looking at.

There is a range of Cube touring and commuting bikes ranging from around £1500- 4500 and above. Generally the bikes  older generation motors and lower capacity battles tended to be at the lower end of the scale, with newer generation motors and higher capacity batteries being at the upper range. Lower end bikes also had lower cost components  and equipment  levels that the higher end spec bikes.

Cube ebikes all use Bosch mid drive motors, which are reputed to be fairly reliable. As far as I could  determine,  the choice was either an older gen 3 active line motor, with either a 500wh battery,  a gen 3 with a 625wh battery,  or a newer gen 4 CX motor with 625wh battery. This was based on 2021 models. 2022 models now offer a higher capacity 700wh battery on higher end bikes.

I decided that the Cube Kathmandu hybrid range offered the best bang for buck. The Kathmandu models were as follows:

Entry level - Kathmandu  hybrid One

                      Kathmandu hybrid Pro 

                      Kathmandu hybrid EXC

                      Kathmandu hybrid SL

Top of range-  Kathmandu SLT

After lots of research and discussions, I determined that the bike mist suitable to what I wanted was the Cube Kathmandu Hybrid Pro. Gen 4 625 with a range of approx 70 miles.

This was one of the most popular  ebikes being sold in the UK and there were none available anywhere and any suppliers getting some soon sold out as soon as they hit the sales floor. 

The bike has mudguards, fitted front and rear lights,  Integrated rear rack, battery is internal to the downtube, and the motor is in the hub. Front suspension  and also seat suspension are included to ensure  a smooth ride, along with adjustable  handlebar mount. The bike comes with 11 speed shimano deor gears and front and rear Shimano disc brakes. 

All ebikes are controlled through  a switch connected to  a controller mounted on the handlebars. This also displays data such as mileage  stats, mode details etc. The higher end the model of bike, the higher model of display is available  as standard. The Purion display is the entry level, followed by Intuvia, Knox and top of the range Nyon.  Each give more information than the previous model.

The new Nyon is a 3.2 touchscreen display with Integrated navigation,  as well as being a full bike computer  similar to a Garmin.

Cube announced their 2022 models in August  2021 and all models had a slightly higher  spec than 2021 models, however this came with an increase in price. 

I then decided to go for the entry level Kathmandu hybrid one,  with upgraded display to a Nyon, along with an upgraded front light, more suitable for unlit country roads.

The 2022 hybrid one is very similar to the 2021 hybrid pro, and with the upgrades will make it a much better outfitted bike.

The bike is due in hopefully September 2021.

Update: October 21.

So September has come and gone with no news, mainly because the Coupler Angus Bike Hub has been shut for more or less than 4 weeks. Both lads that run the shop have been off at the same time for different reasons. One was a cycling injury and the other was due to illness. With nobody else available to run the shop in their absence the shop remained closed.

Good news at last! The shop has opened on a part time basis and they have got some bikes delivered. I spoke to Jamie on the phone and he informed me that the bike I ordered had not yet arrived however there was another Kathmandu in a small sized frame in the box. This bike was available. I arranged to go over the following week to try it on.

The following Tuesday, I arrived at the bike shop, with young Peter in tow. The bike was built and waiting.Jamie informed me that the shop has suffered from a break in the previous Saturday and that two bikes were taken. He wasn't specific however I think that the thieves were targeting the delivery of ebikes. Thankfully, not the one I was there to try on.

Cube small sized bikes are fairly big. I am 5'8" and with the saddle fully lowered, my feet could only touch the floor on tiptoes. I am informed that this is correct. I asked to go out into the street for a test ride. This was to be my very first time in an electric bike. 

The bike felt heavy as I pushed it out the door. I think I would struggle to try and lift the bike on my own.

As I sat on the bike and pushed of, I immediately noticed that the bike was in the lowest gear, as my legs were going round as fast as a hamster on a wheel. I soon sorted it out and was very impressed with the smoothness of the ride. I felt that the saddle was a touch low and that the saddle felt a bit soft for my comfort. 

The motor sounded quieter than I expected and all in all, I was delighted with the bike.

NBD

Finally, at 3pm on Thursday 14th of October, it became a reality. As soon as the bike shop said it's yours, take it away, I set off for my first ride.

After a bit of saddle hight adjustment, I set off on one of my usual circuits. I quickly found out that it was a heavier bike than I was used to. I initially cycled as I normally would, but after a mile or two, I figured I was trying too hard. Settle down and let the bike assist. This meant not cycling too hard and bingo! the ride was fantastic.

Down at the shore.

Last evening was a lovely warm one, so the kids and I went down for a scramble over the rocks down on the shore. There is a triangular rock that we call shark fin for obvious reasons. The tide was fairly far out and gave a good view of the unused St Nicholas kirk. Lovely night, nice to see that spring has sprung with lots of birdlife around again.

An atmospheric morning.

I was on my morning cycle commute this morning around 7 am, I had to stop to record the moment. The picture just cannot do the scene justice. There was a low lying morning mist in the fields with the sun just coming up, just fantastic. Thought I would share this with you.