Sunday 26 March 2017

Riding with the girls

So today is Mothering Sunday, the clocks have gone forward, and it's a glorious spring day. What better way to spend it than out cycling with Belles on Bikes Tayside? Five of us met at Grassy Beach at 9.15am at which point it was still definitely on the chilly side - ear warmers would have been handy, but the sun was shining and there wasn't much wind (unlike last Sunday's ride!) so we knew we had some pleasant cycling ahead.  Just look at the smily faces!
Ready for adventure
We picked up another rider in Monifieth - even numbers are nice as you can buddy up on the wider stretches and get a bit of a chat.  Too much chat as it turns out as I hadn't noticed my Garmin wasn't actually recording the ride until we got to Arbroath.  Not sure how that happened as it definitely was when I set off - don't you just love technology? I'm ignoring the 'if it's not on Strava it didn't happen' rule though...





Belles on Bikes is a lovely sociable way to ride - lady cyclists are a pretty friendly bunch! That's not the only selling point though - there's always a decent coffee and cake stop on a Belles ride, and today's was no exception! I've cycled to Arbroath a few times now but this was my first visit to the Old Boatyard restaurant, as much as anything because I didn't realise they had a daytime cafe menu.  The location next to the harbour is great, and we were all impressed with our choice of cakes.  Sadly I couldn't have a Chai latte as they were out, but the cinammon latte I had instead was very nice - my second coffee of the day which may well have helped with the pace on the way back!
Taking advantage of the comfy sofas
This was a faster paced ride than usual for the Belles as two of the girls are training for night ride London, but was still manageable!

Three beers to review this week. Friday night was porter night - Dave found me a can of Viking DNA by Brew York in Asda of all places. Smoked beers can be a bit overpowering but the smoke in this was a gentle background note with the main flavour being chocolate malts - never a bad thing.  My second beer of the night was the last of the beers I got from my amazing colleagues for my 40th last year.  I'd been vaguely saving it for a special occasion, but what's beer for if not for drinking, so drink it I did.  At 14% it's no surprise it didn't really taste like beer and was definitely one to take my time over.  The only way I could describe it would be like a very boozy Christmas cake - sweet and raisiny with a big alcohol hit. Not for everyone, but right up my street for a treat beer!  It's a To Ol collab with an Estonian brewery called Pohjala - I've never yet been disappointed by To Ol, especially when I'm looking for something a bit different. Sadly out of stock, but this
is it!









Got this one in Aldi, purely for the label to be honest, but it was a refreshing change after Friday night's heavy beers!

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