Saturday Night

After lunch we headed out on the bikes to see what cycle tracks there are. In all I'm a bit disappointed with the cycling. The map and publicity suggest great cycling but apart from using bikes to get from a to b there's no real place to cycle.
We did ask at the bike hire centre for suggestions but apart from the local roads, which there was no maps available of, only the paths on site were available, but these would all be suitable for road bikes.
The reality was a little different. The designated paths were all in good condition, but there just wasn't enough to have a decent cycle, and too busy to really do laps on. The other paths were not really suitable for road bikes with tree stumps and deep ruts, though that was also due to the amount of recent rain.

Fiona not impressed with the off road prospect

We did have one particularly 'exciting' stretch where Ciaran, not appreciating what the sign saying 'No through Route' meant, passed it on what turned into a very muddy path.

Spent the end of the evening with Christine and her lot in the pool. This was great fun as there are slides, flumes, a canyon ride and wave machine.


Ciaran cooked tonight. He made jambalaya which was really good. He has a habit of cooking while away and has promised to cook at least 3 meals. If they are as good as tonight we will be well fed.

Triple kayak

Just back in from event number one. We spent 45 minute in a kayak on the lake.
In our enthusiasm when booking we booked a triple kayak for 11:00 this morning. It was Fiona's idea that by booking things we would actually get up and do things other than just sitting about.
After a rushed breakfast we headed down to the lake making sure we were there the required 30 minutes early. It had been raining during the night but was dry when we left.
After a bit of confusion about the booking (the booking only had 2 names and the second one wasn't anyone we knew) we were told we would get wet so anything we wanted to keep dry got put into the locker, including the camera, so no action shots.
As the powerhouse of the group I had to get into the back. This meant stepping into the water and the sitting it the stern (already picking up those nautical terms). I had bought us all some water shoes - simple neoprene slip on shoes with rubber soles. For some reason I thought they would keep my feet warm. I was wrong. The water was freezing and about an inch deep in the kayak. Ciaran sat in front of me and Fiona at the front (the bow for those keeping score). After a push off we spent the next 45 minutes paddling on the lake. Really great fun but hard on the thighs and lower back. It rained a bit just short showers but didn't really affect anything.
We only realised just how wet we were once we finished and headed back to the cabin, by this time though it was raining quite heavy so who cares.

Fiona sporting the driest bottom of the three of us!

First day at Center Parcs

Arrived down at Center Parcs for about 17:00 after a fairly nasty drive. The weather was terrible with wind and rain. Visibility was appalling but it did dry up once we arrived.
Once we checked in and finally drove around to the cabin, avoiding red squirrels and ducks we quickly dumped the stuff in the cabin and started to get settled.

The cabin is quite nice. An entrance hallway with toilet means we can keep our wet gear and shoes out of the main living bit. An open plan kitchen dining room and sitting area has the 2 bedrooms and bathroom of it.

Fiona's pal Christine is also down this weekend with her family. They had the bright idea to order takeaway so Alan was sent off to Penrith to get Chinese while we dropped the car back in the car park for the week - its foot or pedal power all week inside the park limits.
Once we dropped the car off we descended on them for dinner and card games 'til late.
Great fun was had by all but Fiona who fared the worst at the cards...

End of Year 1

Tonight saw us have an end of session AGM for the Scout Group.
How do you get people to attend an AGM - offer food and hope for good weather.
We did both and actually had a reasonable turnout. Of course our AGM is not that big a deal - we got through it in about 20 minutes, but it was quite informal:



We got lucky with the weather though considering how bad its been lately.
Everyone seemed to enjoy it anyway.
Now for the summer. I have to go through the training I have already done and see about getting as many modules validated in as few exercises as possible. Hopefully I can arrange something for next session where I can get multiple aspects validated during the same exercise.
Hopefully "Akela", the Cub leader, will be able to validate, or at least witness them. Otherwise having to get the District Commissioner to attend will be a pain and a delay.
Otherwise I fear the Cubs will be getting a lot of boring activities.

New profile and a hydrodynamic fact

Been out on the bikes today.
Since yesterday was a write off with the wet and wild weather (we thought of doing a triathlon - swim, bike, run but found out pushing the bikes in driving rain didn't actually count as all three) we headed off to Millport (actually Cumbrae but no one uses the islands name, just the town)  late this morning.
It actually stayed dry apart from a few spits of rain as we arrived in Largs for the boat.
Once on the island we started what was planned to be 3 laps of the island.
Normally this is a fairly easy cycle with the following profile:

The profile looks impressive until you clock the Y axis and see that there is very little climb at all. In fact the only noticeable 'hill' is as you come into Millport itself where it gets a little bit steep. On the profile that's the incline at just about 9.0 on the drawing above. The other 'climbs' aren't even noticeable. This has a lot to do with the geography of the island. The road lies on the edge of the beach. On the western shore, the road lies on a raised beach, with cliffs just inland.
Since we were late starting out it was already lunch time by the time we got started. Naturally that meant stopping for lunch.
Suitable refreshed, we decided to change our normal route and go through the middle of the island, over the hill.
This meant instead of turning right after the 'climb' mentioned above, we would go left up into the island in a big loop, coming back onto our regular route just after the 9.67 mark above, adding about 5km to our lap.
The profile for this was:

As you can see, now our profile goes from 0 to 120m instead of 0 to 20m. A lot tougher. Also, on this new route, the 16km marker corresponds with the 11km marker on the original lap
But the view was worth it.

From our vantage point you could see (once the black dots faded) Little Cumbrae and Bute, with Arran and the Mull of Kintyre behind. Furthest out is Ailsa Craig.
The descent was quite exciting. Millport is great for cycling and walking as the low population means there are few cars on the road. Of course you need to be careful of walkers and animals. Luckily we met none but did miss the standing stones as we passed at around 30mph.
Tired but pleased but only having done 21km we did another lap, but the easy flat one this time. Sadly we couldn't manage the third.
Back on the 17.30 ferry. As we sailed back into Largs the weather which was alright all day started to get better and better. By the time the bikes were back on the car and the fish and chips eaten the evening turned into a beautiful one.

One of the things Fiona gets annoyed about when we cycle is the fact that I can roll as fast as she can cycle at times. When we get a descent I can keep rolling long after she has to pedal to catch and keep up with me.
I think I have finally understood why. My 'bulbous bow' modifies the way the air flows around me, reducing the drag I experience, similar to a large ship. In a ship in water there is a significant performance improvement on ships with the bulbous bow over those with out. Of course, I have to haul this up hills so it should all balance out.

Loans Gala Day

Absolutely Exhausted!
Just back in from the Loans Gala Day where the Scout group had stalls. The Beavers were selling popcorn, the Cubs Ice cream while the Scouts were smashing plates and others similar games.
It was great fun and we had a good day but since we were there at 0830 this morning to set up the tents (for us and for the beer tent)  and then had to wait until the beer was all gone before we could dismantle the tents again.
At least it was dry for the event though it was a bit wet earlier.
Now for an 0700 start tomorrow as our tents are being hired out...

Olympic Fever

Took the morning off to see the Torch relay go past the end of Fiona's street.
A few of her pals and some assorted children made the trip also.
It was a lot of build up for what was literally a fleeting visit...

Smugglers Trail Preview

Fiona escaping the elements

We are taking the Cubs out on the Smugglers Trail next Tuesday evening so we decided to have a shot tonight to see what condition the route was in.
This trail leads from Troon beach up through Loans, and over the hill into Dundonald. Its the route the smugglers used when their ships full of duty free tea, brandy, wine , rum and tobacco were quietly unloaded in Troon. Its amazing the things we preserve.
Anyway the walk itself is a fairly easy 4km and the path is in good condition. I don't think any of our current batch of Cubs will have any problems.
Of course, despite it being dry and bright all day it did start raining as we headed out but that's life. Since we plan on making the Cubs walk in the rain we felt duty bound to continue.
Apart from some cows and nearly getting 'tagged' by a buzzard we encountered no one else.
Once we got to Dundonald castle we simply turned around and headed back. Its funny, its almost always faster going home than going out.