Weather

        Before traveling to the UK, we obsessed over the weather forecasts, figuring that there is no way we wouldn’t experience plenty of rain and/or wind. We came equipped with wet riding gear and the forecasts made it seem like our rain gear would be put to frequent use. But by some miracle, we experienced zero rain from the time we arrived, all through our Backroads tour, and through our Eurobike tour . . . until today. 

From our hotel this morning, we checked the rain forecast a zillion times (it’s different each time) and were pretty confident that we had a rain-free window from around 11am to 6pm to ride from Kelso to Innerleithen.  We set out around 10:45 and within 20 minutes, we were in light mist that morphed into real rain that came and went for most of our 30 mile ride.  We stopped at this church and stood under a protective tree for a while but soon realized we just needed to suck it up and go.

        Here's a pretty scene taken during a sunny moment that didn't last long.

We got plenty wet, but at least it wasn’t cold and windy. Not ideal conditions to be sure, but do-able

Yesterday’s ride from Berwick Upon Tweed to Kelso wasn’t rainy but the wind was monstrous and continuous. We could hear it whipping and roaring from our B&B in the morning; we procrastinated for a few hours before venturing out. 

The weather app said we had 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 35mph; a few of those gusts threatened to blow me off my bike (!) It felt like the entire 32 mile route was uphill as we rode mostly into a headwind, and often with actual uphill rollers in addition to the wind. We were glad to be done with that one and after today, we agreed that if you have to choose, rain is preferable to wind. 

But overall, we’ve been extremely lucky with mild temperatures and clear skies. 

 While on the Backroads tour, some of our routes took us through the Cairngorms Mountains & National Park which are/is quite beautiful.  Sadly, a fire ignited in the park a day or so after we were there and it is burning still and is a big deal.

 

Tomorrow is our last ride day and we again think we have a rain-free window to ride the 38 miles back to Edinburgh.  Wish us luck!