Gregor Steele

Knitted post box toppers seen on today's ride. Nutcracker - Cleghorn, other - West End.

Huge celebrations as I reach my annual mileage target.

Finally got the chance to ride the last stretch of the route from NCN 74 to Douglas. This runs to the village from the biomass plant at Poneil. Except that I didn't quite do that: walkridecarluke.wordpress.com/.../poneil-t...

Today my bike computer showed me travelling at 40 mph. I've never previously attained that speed even on a steep downhill. The wee spoke magnet that creates a pulse in a coil was squint. Was it sending a double pulse? When I straightened it up, the computer behaved. Thoughts?

"In the high places of the field" as it says on the Darmead monument. Brilliant, cold, crunchy ride around Black Law wind farm this morning.

Lovely, bright, frosty day. I went to Trackside Cycles in Shotts for a couple of inner tubes and had a good blether with the guy there. Unfortunately, the back road from Allanton wasn't gritted. I dropped my guard at one point and ended up on the deck.
(It was actually quite funny)

Tak Ma Doon One of my Sprocket List rides was to do a climb called the Tak Ma Doon Road which runs from Kilsyth towards Carron Bridge. I put it off for a long time because I was pretty sure it would defeat me,…

Cyclists - here's a tale of a well-known Scottish climb. walkridecarluke.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/t... Do you think a climb has defeated you if you take a rest on the way up or push for a while, or is geting to the top with your bike all that matters?

A literary tour along the Clyde Valley Let’s go on a virtual ride along the Clyde Valley from Garrion Bridge to Kirkfieldbank. I say ‘virtual’ because, although I have ridden all the sections I am about to describe, I …

Here's a description of a literary tour along the Clyde Valley, mentioning books by Walter Scott, Robert Maclellan and Ethyl Smith: walkridecarluke.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/a...

Fishfinger had the best Bond movie song: He's the man with the Findus touch...

When I was wee, I thought the rhyme went:
Remember, remember the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, trees and a plop.

Couthally Castle Hassle In August 2020, I decided to visit Couthally Castle near Carnwath. To be honest, alliteration was about the best thing it had going for it. Not that the place doesn’t have an interesting history. I…

Visiting Couthally Castle near Carnwath - not my finest hour on a bike: walkridecarluke.wordpress.com/2022/03/20/c...

Muirkirk Heritage Layby. Hae a read at the poem by Thomas Floyd. #Scotstober #glabber

The Rubbish Patter bins stert a rammie wherever they're pit. Read mair Eejit Street comics here: www.scotshooseyaldi.com/primary/comi... #Scotstober

Not very warm, a little breezy but dry and sunny. A loop around Forth, Climpy and back through the wind farm, with a detour to Winnyknowe Woods and Aitken's Pond. The woods always look lovely at this time of year.

Broxburn, West Lothian

Aye passin through Brocketsbrae on the ither side o the Clyde Valley. And if Ah tak the back road tae New Lanark, Ah see a muckle picter o a brock. #Scotstober

Puir gran wis puggled climbin doon the stairs. This is whit she did... Poem frae Itchycoo's Blethertoun Braes. Braw drawin by Bob Dewar. #Scotstober

A wee me up on ma grandfaither's shooders. Fowk say a look like him noo. #Scotstober

Rode to the Edinburgh Bike Cooperative to spend a voucher that I won in a @spokes.org.uk 'favourite bike ride' competition. Used part of the route I described for the comp. Got some gear for the winter months. Home by train.

Ah ken the day's #Scotstober word (warp) has naethin tae dae wi faster-than-licht space travel. In ony case, We hae wheech drive instead. See www.scotshooseyaldi.com/primary/comi... fur mair o the Major Tam story.

A wee nyaff cried Sandy gets a skelf... read mair in the Eejit Street comic: www.scotshooseyaldi.com/primary/comi... #Scotstober

They used to hook up extra horses to haul carriages and wagons up the hill. I wonder if the same happened here? It's certainly at the top of a hill, and the Forrest map shows some sort of road or track nearby. 2/2

Unambiguously autumnal at the pond near Craigenhill, Kilncadzow. Old maps show a building called Cleekimin near the pond. There's a similarly-named place in the Motherwell area. It's at the top of a steep hill. A 'cleek', in Scots, is a hook. 1/2

The bad news- Loanhead Farm Tearoom is closing, though it's hopefully a temporary shutdown.
The good news- there's a community cafe in Coalburn. I tried it today and it's great. Ideal if you're trying out the new paths.

Frae The Pizzenous Pet Shop:
The Slevverin Slug is sleekit,
It plans oot its attack,
It slides up yir shirt tae the collar,
And dribbles doon yir back.
Read the hale poem here, or hear it frae actor Katya Searle:
www.scotshooseyaldi.com/primary/poem... #Scotstober

A misty day, so I headed off road. Waste of time putting the washing out...

Loved what you did with my Major Tam script! Tunnix aliens exactly as I hoped they'd look.

Whit's the difference atween a plooter and a skiddle?

Starlink and Hutch: A California detective solves crimes with the aid of a satellite that gives him WiFi access even in remote locations with no phone signal.

Absolutely loving these Moby Dick translations!