Thursday 16 February 2012

Mid Week Coast Night Ride...



 The nights are drawing out now it is mid February, home from work at 3pm there is a couple of hours until dark. I rode up Gullane Hill just before sunset...
Good to get out on the pugsley again, it feels quite sprinty! after riding the Moonlander, being able to stand up and power up small climbs is nice, the moonie has too much `squish` in the big floaty tyres to do so.
Sunset was going to take longer than i expected so i had a play about before dropping onto the coast.
The round concrete circle was a base for an Anti Aircraft battery during WW2...


Nice lichen on the rocks here...


Down to `Maggies Loup`, scene of recent Lunar Activity -:) ...


Pictures are now a bit grainy as was using the low light setting, it was actually darker than it looks...



The WW2 Coastal Defence Anti Tank blocks stop at the edge of the 12th Fairway of Gullane No1 Golf course...

But they are still there... under the ground, you can just make out the darker squares in front of the left bunker ahead. After WW2 holes were dug and the blocks toppled in. before fairway pop up irrigation sprinklers were fitted white squares would appear along the fairway during dry spells...

Here on the Google Earth image you can see the marks along the fairway, follow the line where the cliff top blocks stop along to the two bunkers where they cross the fairway to pass at the south side of the 12th Green...

Another row of blocks appear behind the 13th Tee...


Then join the row from the cliffs.
Here where they join is 4 rows of blocks wide, i noticed this is done where there is a narrow looking vally - or possible weak spot in the defence. Along with mines they were desgined to force Enemy landing vehicles into cross fire areas to increase fire power...

They have become a scenery feature ...oh i did not cycle over the Golf Course before you ask -:)...

Here a shelter made using the blocks...

Street lights on across the bay but still not dark...

Recent buck thorn clearing, worth a look here with the metal detector, your not aloud to dig here but with the ground turned over you can rummage  in the loose sand...

An old Dunlop Golf Ball lying in the disturbed sand, 1960/70s...

I spun out across the bay to the submarine wrecks, Edinburgh all lit up......

Last light of the day across the Forth in Fife...



Back to the coastline and dark by the time i got to Gullane Point...

Now 6pm, i rode for about an hour through the many paths through the dunes here, tried to take some pics using the gorilla pod...







These Magicshine lights are ace! that is two 872 lamps on full power 3200 lumen...



Still love the pugsley despite getting the new Moonlander, one is as good as the other in different ways..
Be a mistake to sell a pugsley for a Moonlander if you want to ride twisty quick trails and get out the saddle doing so,  but the Moonie is king on the real soft stuff -:)...

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