All's well that ends well......Kilwinning

As I was setting the bike up the clouds darkened so I looked at the weather apps on my phone. BBC app said 52% chance of rain over the next hour and Met Office said 5%! I was ready so set off heading to Kilwinning, the trip I had to abort last week due to my puncture. It was MTB time as I needed to ride some rougher tracks to get my distance and these tyres more resistant to punctures, famous last words.

Was it alive or dead?

Anyone who uses the cycle track at Shewalton woods will be familiar with the Shire horses. I was concerned that three of the horses were standing guard over a fourth which was lying on the ground. From here I could see no sign of breathing and feared the worst, sadly I moved on.
Down to Irvine Bay where the tide was coming in fast pushed in by the strong winds. These same winds made it difficult cycling at times but thankfully my cycling legs and stamina are getting back to where they should be.

Tide rushing in at Irvine harbour

Headed to Kilwinning, thankfully not puncturing this time and headed to the War Memorial to get some snaps. 

Kilwinning War Memorial and 'Tommy'

Firstly I was very taken by the hedge formed into a soldier, not seen anything like that on my travels.
Secondly, for a relatively small town the number of dead carved into the memorial for both wars is staggeringly high. I daresay reflective of the mining communities and the relative poverty in the area.

River Garnock running dry

On the way back I passed this marker at the Garnock wetlands. I recently mentioned this to a friend who knows a lot about the area's history but was unaware that a shaft had collapsed and the River Garnock ran dry, need to send it to him.
Finally I went back to the horses and was so pleased that the one lying on the ground was now on it's feet, a happy ending.
First sighting of Gannets for the year.

Ride route: Cycle path Barassie-Shewalton-Irvine harbour-Kilwinning.
Ride distance: 24.49ml
Ascent: 351ft
Bike:Cube Mountain Bike
Total Covid19 ride distance:212.19