It was 11:20 am on Thursday September 5th 2013 on the A91 road between Gateside and Strathmiglo when we lost Alistair Speed.
He was just 49 years-old, out on his bike and doing what he loved when he was snatched away.
Ali rode his first race at just 12 years-old and was racing just days before he died.
VeloVeritas ran an obituary for Ali at the time of his death and it goes without saying that we had to attend the 50 mile time trial his sister Mhairi organised in his honour on behalf of Fife Cycling Association.
We thought that rather than straight race reportage – albeit not ignoring Iain Grant’s (Dooleys) dazzling 1:47 to win – we’d drive most of the course and look at the roads and places Ali trained and raced on.
The Fife ‘50’ starts these days at what used to be the filling station approaching New Inn roundabout from Glenrothes; ‘back in the day’ it started on the Falkland road toward the foot of Purrin Den hill.
But there’s still the super-fast plunge down Station Brae through Freuchie and out along what’s known as the ‘Windy Mile’ to the ‘fish tail’ junction.
In my day the parcours stayed on the main road to New Inn but now it goes left up through Ladybank Woods to Collesie where it turns left towards Auchtermuchty.
We paused just before the junction to take some snaps – with Kennoway’s Dave Kirton the first man on the road having caught Fife Century’s Tom Cummings for one minute.
Tom had just finished his first racing career when I started mine in 1971 . . .
We were down at the Scottish ‘25’ Champs a fortnight ago and whilst it’s all about speed in time trialling, the Irvine dual carriageway course was hard on the soul – so it was nice to see that sign warning of ducks and deer at Collesie.
Auchtermuchty was our next port of call – and no trip to ‘Muchty is complete without a pic of the Cycle Tavern and of course, accordion king, Jimmy Shand’s statue both ‘well-kent’ landmarks on Ali’s training runs.
The course covers the stretch of road where Ali died and there was silence in the car as we made our way out to Burnside for our next photo op.
We’d no sooner parked up than the sun came out in earnest – I was right to wear shorts, then.
The ‘50’ used to turn just west of Burnside but in these days of no ‘dead turns’ it now runs all the way out to Milnathort to turn at the mini roundabout in the town centre.
Alan Solway (Kennoway) is another man still going strong who quit his first race career just as I started mine in 1971.
Number 25, Andrew Scott (Musselburgh) was the first rider to look like he was getting the job done.
Meanwhile, Martin took to ‘the bush’ to get the best shots.
We moved again up to the straight approaching Milnathort with Steve Beech (Sandy Wallace Cycles) in only his second race back after a training crash out in Girona earlier in the year.
A 2:9 isn’t too shabby for a second race back after injury and unlike many in this race his position is pretty well ‘dialled’ as the Americans say.
Another SWC man looking the part was big Stevie Nutley the motorway traffic roaring behind him as we enjoyed the quiet of the old main Perth road.
The view of the Lomond Hills, which dominate the Central Fife skyline from just about every direction, is beautiful from here.
The Cleft between the East Lomond – Falkland Hill as we call it in Fife – and The Bishop Hill contains a natural rock formation known as ‘John Knox’s Pulpit’ where the reformist firebrand is said to have preached open air sermons.
Although some say that Knox himself never visited the site and it was his minsters who preached there.
No matter, it makes for a cracking mountain bike run to visit it.
I bought us an ice cream in Milnathort; ‘there’s a man taking pictures of cyclists out there’ said an old lady in the shop, just as Martin hollered; ‘Gawn Davie!’ at Davie Millar.
The old girl looked at the shop assistant and raised her eyebrows as I looked the other way and pretended he was nowt to do with me.
Paul McLafferty (Ivy) and ex-Royal Marine Nick Tryon (Dooleys) were both looking on top of the job out of the turn.
After the Milnathort turn the race headed, tailwind assisted, all the way back to Melville Lodges roundabout