The good, the bad, and the ugly ride out ..........

Saturday was forecast to be brilliant blue skies with a light breeze emanating from the south west. So it was with disappointment, that The Fit One, The Ironman, and Bigman, climbed Mont VeKnockhill in a mist ridden barren landscape. The only thing missing from a spaghetti western scene was the lack of tumbleweed bouncing across the landscape.

The Ironman, once more regaled his pardners with stories of glorious victory in the previous week's marathon. His legs had recovered magnificently after a fine sub 4 hour time. The Fit One was in fighting form pushing ahead at every opportunity.

At Yetts of Muckart, the team turned into one of Scotland's finest glens towards Dunning. It is a steady climb that passed in no time as the guys chatted away the miles. Bigman tried to encourage Ironman to tell them once again about his sub 4 hour marathon epic however The Ironman felt enough excitement had been shared for one day.

As the team dropped into Dunning and headed along the valley floor, the sun started to burst through and the forecast promised for the day became a reality. The entrance to Perth through Cheerybank goes past a building that used to be a regional office for a bank that once employed Bigman. All that is left is a pile of rubble. His mind mused how ironic that a pile of rubble can tell the story of something that had once been a pillar of stability and now does not exist! The cycle lane into Perth is good however it is full of debris and could do with being cleaned. The Fit One who hails from Social Services was impressed and surprised to find the Perth Cleansing Department emptying bins at the weekend what with the tough economic climate and the resultant impact on budgets.

The Mustard Seed Restaurant next to Lidl was the choice of carbing stop. The fayre is excellent and at a reasonable cost. Just what you need for the next 30 miles back to Dunfie. The team raced up the hill out of Perth and glided down to Bridge of Earn before blasting along to the climb up through Glanfarg in team formation with The Fit One taking the brunt of the wind. A good pace was established up through Glenfarg with The Fit One, once again, doing the work of the domestique as the 'holidaymakers' in the peleton enjoyed the view from behind

It is surprising the confidence individual riders take from being paced up a climb. The Ironman had mentioned the pacer in his marathon story ( double meaning intended!) and it is the same in cycling. The Ironman did the same for Bigman when he set the Aberdour Ascent record at less than 4 minutes earlier this year.

Flying through Milnathort, the North Face of the iconic Col du Cleish was upon hte guys. With almost 800 bloggers now following this site, it was no surprise to meet 4 foreigners from Newcastle who had travelled up overnight to climb the famous Col du Cleish route and experience the views over Loch Leven and beyond for them themselves. They were rewarded with a meeting with the posse who provided signed autographs and photographs before thy continued on their way to Freuchie. Home of the Singing Kettle.

On the return over Cleish, hommage was paid to the monument to the Gruesome Twosome for their contribution to yandem cycling, before entering into the race zone. The Fit One was declaring ' no race' as he had suffered a bout of 'bonking' on the North Face. Aye Right! thought Bigman. The mind games had begun. The Ironman was dismissive of his own performance before it had begun. One more Aye Right thought Bigman.

And then the Fit One began to ease forward, increasing the pace with each turn of the pedals. The Bigman had enough time to react and pushed ovver the virtual line with a wheel to spare.

A great day and a superb 100km closer to the Cape Eic.