The ABC cycling club has been busy over the last while. Just after the last Crier came out, around 10 folk from the village took part in the Etape Caledonia (so called because the stages in the Tour de France are known as ‘etapes’ in French) in Pitlochry. Everyone who started made it safely home, and there were no tacks on the road to slow us down this time. Five of us entered as a team and we came seventh in the Team competition. From what we saw of the teams who beat us they were all a bit too skinny looking and in need of a fish supper, so we looked on it as a win for the ‘normal’ cyclist!

Another event that was dreamt up in the pub one night was a race from Abernethy to the appropriately named Cycle Tavern in Auchtermuchty. There were two teams, one on mountain bikes who took the direct route straight up the Rough Glen then through Pitmedden Forest, while the

other team took road bikes via Glenfoot, Glentarkie and over to the main road at Strathmiglo.The winner was the first person to order a pint in the Cycle. The mountain bikers won, taking just over 22 minutes to get there with the roadies a couple of minutes behind. Thanks to Ally and Athole for bringing the cars to save us having to cycle home!

I’m told that many years ago there used to be a time trial event while riders climbed up to the house at the top of Glentarkie from the bottom of Glenfoot road. I wonder if anyone knows what the record time was? It might be nice to try to reinstate the event!

In September of this year I’ll be taking part in an event to try to raise £100,000 for Children’s Hospices UK with a group of work colleagues from all over the UK. We’ll be cycling from SSE’s office Inverness to other offices in Perth, Cumbernauld, Belfast, Dublin, Cheshire and Berkshire before finally ending up in Portsmouth 10 days later. We’ll also pay visits to Hospices along the way The total distance is pretty much identical to Land’s End to John o’Groats, so if you’d like to sponsor us and support this very worthwhile charity you can do so on line at

www.justgiving.com/power2pedal. Alternatively I’ll have a sponsor sheet in the house if you’d rather do that, we live at Clunie Cottage opposite the bottom of School Wynd. Thanks for your support!

Murdo McGhee

SUMMER NEWS