Route planning has picked up again,  with the help of the friendly folks on the Adventure Cycling Association forum now got my route planned through Yellowstone National Park, then east to Granite Pass (51/100 on the top US cycle climbs) and onto to Mount Rushmore. Got lots of tips on where to camp and what to see when in Yellowstone and also advised not to eat in my tent EVER!! – grizzly bears have an incredibly good sense of smell and I’m now trying to remember what and when I last ate in my tent – should I be hanging my tent out to air for the next few months?? – should I be hanging lavender in to detract from the food smell and what is more appealing to a grizzly bear a sweaty cyclist or a freshly scrubbed up one??   According to the National Park Service I need not worry – chances are 1 in 2.7 million that I will be injured by a bear,  far less eaten by one – fingers crossed and all that.

“Bear Inflicted Human Injuries and Fatalities in Yellowstone – From 1980-2015, over 104 million people visited Yellowstone National Park. During the same 36-year period, 38 people were injured by grizzly bears in the park. For all park visitors combined, the chances of being injured by a grizzly bear are approximately 1 in 2.7 million. The risk is significantly lower for those visitors that don’t leave park developments or roadsides, but much higher for those hiking in backcountry areas. When backcountry hiking, you can reduce the odds of being injured by a bear by: 1) hiking in groups of 3 or more people, 2) staying alert, 3) making noise in areas with poor visibility,4) carrying bear spray, and 5) not running during encounters with bears.”

I now have my new mini Trangia Stove – had a full sized one for years but decided to downsize to minimise on size and weight – reckon its just perfect for what I need it for – big thank you to my wee sis Emma for my Christmas vouchers.

The snow has all nearly vanished so no skiing yet this year but good bike ride yesterday.   Went to a talk on Friday night in Glasgow – Ishbel – aka World Bike Girl – really inspirational the places she has cycled to but also her promotion for animal welfare and cycling for women,  amongst other stuff – check out her blog.   I stayed in Glasgow and cycled home yesterday – took the cycle route 7 to Drymen and then joined the main road to Stirling – cold but sunny when I left Glasgow but misty and chilly most of the way as I was low down and near the Forth and Clyde Canal and the River Leven – good bike ride though and lots of interesting stuff to see.

Finished the weekend with a good 16 mile run today – cheers to Tal for the company.

Yesterday it was a slightly longer bike ride to Alva (approx 8 miles) and good walk up Ben Cleuch – descended via The Law into Tillicoultry and returned to Alva on the Diamond Jubilee Way.   Great wee loop and discovered that there is an old Silver Mine just above Alva. 

It finally started snowing in Stirling yesterday – nice big fluffy snowflakes and it was settling – most of my colleagues were checking the skies and wondering what the roads would be like for driving home later that day – my more elderly patients were concerned about slips and trips,  which is understandable if your hips and / or knees are passed their best and reliant on walking sticks and zimmer frames – I on the other hand was not doing a very good job at trying to contain my excitement and was hopping about like a bunny rabbit on heat – I hope I never lose that buzz of excitement when the first snowflakes fall.   So a slightly more slippery bike ride home than usual,  followed by a great wee 3 mile run in the fresh snow – later on it was a wee 2 mile walk to the pub to meet up with friends from the climbing club where the chat,  amongst other things,  was on skis,  crampons and ice axes.

Bertie B has a good covering of snow on his seat

Today was meant to be long run day but the call of snowy hills was too much to resist so a wee bike ride to Logie Kirk where Bertie was abandoned,  then a run / walk (mostly walk) up and down Dumyat – only saw one other runner today and about 1/2 a dozen mountain bikers pushing their bikes to the top.   Great views all round and I was chuffed to see a wee Bullfinch when I was nearly back down at the bike – haven’t seen one of these for quite some time.

Still not enough snow for skiing but hopefully in a week or so.   Enjoy folks and get out and play!

Wow it’s the 8th of January already – how did that happen – well here’s a big Happy New Year to everyone and hope it is a fun filled and exciting year for you all.

I only had to work 2 days so I was able to get out and play most of the week.   Unfortunately NO snow so no skiing but fingers and toes crossed and a wee snow dance and hopefully we will have some soon.   No skiing but gone hill walking 3 times; running 3 times and a good bike ride today so no complaints.

The 1st and 2nd of January respectively saw me up Ben A’an and Ben Venue.  Ben A’an was wild,  windy and bitterly cold – Ben Venue wasn’t quite so wild and cold but we did have a few icy patches to avoid – we got super views from both hills.   

Loch Katrine from Ben A’an – guess the wind direction by my “moustache” and the bobble on my hat.

Lochs Achray and Venachar from Ben Venue

Views from Ben Venue

Great run on the 3rd of January – 11.5 miles – cheers to Katie B for the great chat and encouraging me up those hills.   A wee 3 miler the following morning and then another good 14 miles on the 6th – being incredibly mild I’d forgotten it had been so cold the previous day until I found myself slithering backwards on an unexpected stretch of ice.   

Ben Vane was positively mild for the time of year – misty at times and we saw fog bows and Brocken Spectres – unfortunately my photo of this didn’t turn out very well – thank you to Ian for helping (aka hoisting) me up the tiny but slippery scramble near the top.

Ben Vane

After Ben Vane it was back to the Climbing Club Cottage for an early Burn’s Supper and get together with friends old and new.   Tummies filled with lots of haggis,  neeps and tatties.   Ian did the honours and recited the Address To A Haggis while ceremoniously cutting said haggis with his ice axe. 

Photos nicked from Colin E

After all that food and drink Sunday morning saw me cycling back home from Crianlarich – a good 47 miles – no chaffing this time – not because I have got round to stitching the hole in my leggings (don’t be silly) but an appropriately placed large plaster seemed to do the trick – must fix those leggings though.

Fogbows – sometimes called white rainbows, cloudbows or ghost rainbows – are made much as rainbows are, from the same configuration of sunlight and moisture. Rainbows happen when the air is filled with raindrops, and you always see a rainbow in the direction opposite the sun. Fogbows are much the same, always opposite the sun, but fogbows are caused by the small droplets inside a fog or cloud rather than larger raindrops.

The Brocken Spectre is your own shadow, cast on mists below you, when you are mountain climbing. The shadow may appear enormous and has a ring around it.