Category: Run Reports & Events

We gathered at a warm and sunny Crieff Visitor Centre at 10am for a 10.15 start. Run leader Ian McIntosh on his shiny new Royal Enfield Shotgun, Ian Ness on his shiny new BMW F900X, Ed Mackey on his Yamaha XJ6 and myself on my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. But wait! “Only two Ians?” I hear you cry. Luckily we were joined by prospective new member Iain Beedie on his Honda CBR650. So with a healthy compliment of Ian/Iains we set off for Hell’s Glen. We set off towards Crianlarich on dry roads, perfect for those with new bikes getting a feel for how they ride, then south alongside Loch Lomond, Arrochar before turning off at Rest and be thankful on to the B828 ‘rollercoaster’ road then turning NW on…

John Nicol posted this run less than a week ahead and the first thing I did was check the weather forecast – oooo yes – sunny, dry, OK temperature for the time of year – I’m in! Duncan Calder had already said he was up for a run together on Tuesdays so I got him to sign up too. Will the four then registered be the total, given the competition from Ian McI’s westbound run the same day? I decided to give the wee Cagiva 2-stroke a run to check its longer-than-local-runs ability and gave it a check-over. These Italians need a lot of TLC y’know! Come the morning and beautiful sunny weather, Duncan phoned to say Google was expecting a longer time from Linlithgow to Dreghorn than we had…

14 bikes, with 12 members joined by two special guest appearances from David and Paul Weather: Cool, dry, and perfectly autumnal, hovering around 11°C—ideal for a last big ride before winter rolls in! Our season finale took us south toward Aberdour, catching the coastal road and soaking up stunning views across to Edinburgh and the Forth. The scenic route led us through Fife’s charming coastal villages, showcasing Scotland’s autumn beauty at its finest. The road conditions were pretty good considering the time of year, making for a smooth and enjoyable ride along the coast. After winding along the coast, we stopped in Elie for a proper break at The Pavilion Café. There was coffee, cake, and no shortage of laughs! Some riders opted for a full lunch, while others stuck…

3 - 6 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 3 - 2 - 1 So before I’d even left home I had a WhatsApp from Grant saying he was stuck on a closed in both directions M9. With it likely that this would affect at least a couple of others coming up to Crieff, apart from the warm and sunny morning, things were not looking great for the start of the run. Sure enough, with only our leader and run organiser Kona, myself and run videographer, Ian Ness at the Visitor Centre start point we decided we would make a start after waiting a little while past start time. I left a further WhatsApp for Grant and Facebook message on the club page suggesting a meet up at Ballachulish…

Nice chilled start to a damp, cool but sunny Sunday morning with a quick bacon roll and a cuppa providing my fuel before hitting the road to fuel my Kawasaki Vulcan S and meet up with Peter Johnson on his BMW R1200 RT, Ali Lazizi on his BMW 750 GS and Ian McIntosh on his BWM R1250 RT at Dobbies in Stirling. We were joined at Dobbies by a prospective new member Niall Findlay on his Black Yamaha MT-10. Niall is based in Duns so hats off as this would turn out to be a long day in the saddle. With Peter leading the way and Ian playing TEC at the back, we left Dobbies and set off on the A9 north, leaving the motorway at Greenloaning heading towards Crief.…

It was rather cold at 5 degrees when I left Cumbernauld on my Tiger 900 at 8.15 to head up to Crieff Visitor Centre (with heated jacket and gloves on as well as heated grips, all of which were to remain switched on all day!) for what I anticipated would be an interesting run. Unusually for me I was first to arrive, closely followed by Ian Ness on his Tiger, Charlie Robertson on his RT 1200, Frank Dolan on his NT1100 and Kona on her newly serviced Yamaha Tracer. Finally, the person that lives closest to the start point rolled in on his Africa Twin. It just shows that if an unusual run is put on then it does draw people out, even although the forecast was cold with rain…

Up at the crack of a Saturday dawn to make my way to Ian Ness’ run start at Kinross services. Fortunately made the right decision in wearing another layer as the temperature had only just made it into the low teens on leaving Crieff. First stop was a fill up at Muthill to see me and the bike through today’s ride and the first highlight of the day. After paying and coming back out to my bike, a car had pulled in behind and, not being the biggest of forecourts and me being ever so courteous (!) I wheeled my bike to the side of the forecourt, about 30ft away. The guy was ever so grateful and, as well as the obvious thanks, he proceeded while getting out of his…

Only 3 hungry bikers attended probably the last chippy run of the season. From Dobbies Stirling to Balloch via Balafark, Killearn and Croftamie. Quite a few interesting road surfaces along this route, if we decide on this destination again, we might not take the same route. Thanks to Tom Sutherland & Ian Ness for joining me on the run, we then proceeded to consume our fish suppers next to the River Leven. Oh, and I think we all agreed, the food was quite good.

Eight of us met up early on a not so bright, wet morning at Dreghorn Services for our weekend trip taking in seven of the legendary passes in the North Pennines and Lake District. Marc was leading the run with Ian taking on the TEC duties with Norman, David, Euan, Ed, Janet and I in between. We headed off down the A68 through Jedburgh, then taking the B6357 to Bonchester Bridge, then taking a left at Saughtree to take the nice winding road through Kielder. From Kielder we headed to The Rocky Road Cafe in Bellingham for our morning coffee/scone/bacon roll stop. Janet and I have often ridden through Kielder, but never managed to get to this cafe, so it was a very pleasant surprise and one we will not…

Ian McIntosh organised this run and some good weather to go with it. This run attracted possibly the largest attendance so far this year, and little wonder given the route, promised good weather and Ian’s reputation for putting on a good run. I only signed up late on Friday, and the crew in order of registering were:- Ian McIntosh Honda Africa Twin DCT, Ian Ness Triumph 900 Tiger, Ewan Ritchie Kawasaki Vulcan, Grant Powrie Triumph 900 Tiger, Gordon Robertson BMW F800GT, Mark Watson BMW GSA1250, Kona Andrews Macphee Yamaha Tracer 900, Marcus Sharp Honda Blackbird, Alex Muir Triumph 900 Tiger, Steve Middleton Yamaha TDM900, David McWilliam Triumph 850 Tiger. So, Triumph wins the “most of one make” competition, again. We rounded up Mark from the wrong side of the carpark…