(087) Cyclists Dismount....Again!

The plan for today's ride was a trip from Dundee, over the Tay, through Tentsmuir forest and then round by St.Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife. Things went according to plan until Tentsmuir forest where I realised that there was a huge number of fallen trees on the north part of the route, obviously as a result of the very high winds from recent storms. If I had realised just how much of the trail was blocked I'd have diverted but having got so far in I decided to plough on by riding where possible and lifting the bike over trees and branches where necessary. At one point I ventured onto the beach but decided that wasn't a great idea when not on the mountain bike. I did eventually get through on to a clear track but what should have been a 10 minute ride took me over 40 minutes of hard slog. I think it will take many months before the trails are cleared so I reckon I'll be taking a different route next time. The rest of the ride went well though the East Neuk section was ditched in favour of an inland route due to a freezing cold haar blanketing the coast. The main picture is a view from the beach at Tentsmuir before reverting to the jungle! The first extra shows just a small part of the devastation in the forest. The second extra is a shot of the former Boarhills church which, presumably, is now a private home.