Ironman holds his mettle as fan seeks to mount his bike..............whilst he is moving!

It was a crackerjack day. Peter Glaze would have been proud to be out cycling.

The Fit One, Ironman, and Bigman were scheduled to rendezvous at 13:45 to head on a 40km loop taking in the Forth Bridge, up to Winchburgh, back through Kirkliston, Dalmeny, and back across the bridge.

As soon as they left chez Fit One, he was setting a gruelling pace on his road bike. Not sure what he had for lunch but it must have resembled rocket fuel. Clearly his back spasms were fixed and he was on fire.

Such a bright day was always going to bring out the walkers on the bridge to take in one of the finest views in the world. It was one of those fine crisp days when you could see all the way to Ben Lomond on the west coast distinctive with its 'icing coated' top against the bright blue sky.

It would appear there was something in the air today that encouraged many to feel the need to jump out in front of speeding bikes. There is a simple unwritten rule when crossing the bridge - no erratic movements and respect other users. The first incident happened when an elderly lady decided to jump 90 degrees to the left in front of the speeding Fit One. His pace was moderate however no-one would expect such a random movement. A shout of 'Bikes' caused her to look quickly to the left to be confronted by the face of The Fit One - she screamed - understandable - Bigman has done the same when waking up in bus shelter next to him on a previous adventure - a story for another day.

A few hundred yards on and a student - one of four - decides she wants to photograph her friends against the backdrop of the Forth. It clearly was not in her plans to mount the front of the bike of The Ironman however that is exactly where she nearly ended up!

It was good to be off the bridge. It is a dangerous place.

They pursued the meandering back road behind Newton and turned left to Winchburgh. At the juntion, it was another left turn towards Kirkliston with the wind on their backs. It was biting cold and good to have it pushing you along. The Fit One pressed the booster and in a moment, he accelerated faster than a speeding train. Was it a bird? Was it a train? No it was the Fit One on fire. Tucked low on the droop handle bars, with his 'signature' Jan Ulricht cadence he rocked and rolled along the road.

Bigman enjoyed the draft, a respite before the push into Kirliston. The Ironman had been spat off the back and was fighting to regain the peleton.

The Posse went through the speed gun in Kirlkliston doing 27mph, faster than last week. The Ironman had done a brilliant job of fighting his way back to join the pack as they went through the gun.

The return across the bridge was relatively uneventful, except for the family of scooters and skaters. There was one lady that had such widely split legs there was limited space on eitherside to safely pass. Going through the legs with a 'limbo dancing' cyling position looked the safest option.An interesting sight indeed and no doubt she is leveraging the benefits of Radox this evening!

The return route was up through Inverkeithing and then over the Masterton Monster. You just have to show respect and not try to turn the pedals faster than your lungs can turn oxygen into energy, otherwise, the result is disastrous and leaves a long and painful endurance climb!

A good 40 km workout. The Ironman went off to his Rock Group Practice, whilst Bigman shared a few moments with the Boss, then headed to the gym for a 90 minute workout on the bike and step machine followed by some weights and a total of 160 sit ups. The abs certainly screamed to stop. It must have done some good.

Next it was Sunday fives with Scotland No 1 in goals. The Fit One is usually in sparkling form. However, tonight someone took the fizz out of his bottle and he had to retire early. He remains Scotland's no 1 indoors. The team battled on manfully to achieve a draw. But the Fit One was missed. No-one does the cat like leaps as purrfect as The Fit One.

Tomorrow, Bigman is signed up for a spin session in Cowdenbeath. Nine hours training achieved this weekend. A good start to the week.