Well, this story does actually have another chapter and continues onto my new blog for a new challenge. I have been challenged to do the ride again! Except that this time I'm doing it on a new bike and hence the title for my next blog 'The new bike in the shed'. The blog will follow us on our adventure as it happens from 12th - 25th July 2015.
Follow us along here: New Bike in the Shed
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Monday, 22 July 2013
Final Thoughts and common questions
Would I do it again?
Hmm, not at the moment thanks. It's not until you do it that you realize how far it actually is, and I still don't know if I really understand how far it actually is. Thinking back to the trip is feels like it was a lifetime ago or even just a dream. My bum does not hurt but my thighs still ache. I think that now I would look for a new challenge.Did you ever feel like you would give up?
No, I didn't let that enter my mind. Although I did often question what the heck I was doing riding a stupid bike up and down a mountain in a full head wind meaning I had to pedal hard just to get down the other side. Also, when my rear tyre had finally given up and failed I did think then if I would finish the day. Not because of giving up, but because without a tyre I could not ride. For Holly, I know it did cross her mind, but again she was determined to see it through. We both felt that once you had done the first three days there would be no point in giving up. As you would have done perhaps the hardest three days for nothing. Nope, there was only one option for us, to keep turning the pedals.
Did you lose any weight?
I've no idea. Probably not. It would appear that most people stay the same or they sometimes put on weight. This was because of the amount of calories we were burning each day, over 3000. It's very important to provide fuel for the body to enable you to keep going. There were days where we had a light breakfast but this would quickly catch up with us and having to stop to re-fuel. My body has changed. Calf and thigh muscles are amazing! I've lost loads of fat around my legs and waist, I find it kind of funny. Just got to keep the fitness up now. I need to check my BMI to get a better idea.
How was the bike?
Ah, my bike. The poor thing. It's in a real need of a service once again. I was worried that it would not make it in the last two days. Lots of odd noises coming from the gears in the final miles. My bike was carrying all of our luggage and fluid, apart from a couple of bottles and the tool kit on Holly's bike. But a service will sort out all of those problems. It proved itself to be a great touring bike and I'm really pleased to have been able to fulfill one of my dreams on a bike I had bought all those years ago. Holly's bike did great. She had one failure of her brake lever, while it didn't stop her brakes working altogether it was inconvenient until Peter came up with a temporary fix which got us to the end. Holly had one puncture and I had one tyre failure, both in the same day!
Where did you stop to eat?
We carried snacks with us but found lots of small tea rooms to re-fuel. I've never really taken advantage of tea rooms and I must say we grew to be quite fond of these places. A refreshing pot of tea and a slice of cake would be just the boost you need. Most places would also do you jacket potato or sandwiches to keep you topped up. Most of them were quick too. In the evening we would go and look for the nearest restaurant to have a hearty meal. These ranged from Pizza Hut, Toby Restaurant, Little Chef, or even a simple fish and chips or Dominos Pizza with Strawberry and cream from the local supermarket. We kept up a good variety.
Why did you do it?
There are many reasons for doing something, this happens to have been a long time ambition of mine. I've wanted to do this since I bought the bike in 1984. That was a good long time ago and I though I would never have the chance. And I certainly never thought I would be doing the trip with my 15 year old daughter! The desire to do the trip has always been there but I perhaps did not have the reason to do it. That of course is until young Leo came our way. He has changed us and many other people in ways we thought not possible. We did not choose for Leo to have a disability, he just arrived with it. And this is what happens for many many families every day of every year.
- There are about 770,000 children aged under 16 in the UK with a disability, out of a population of 11.8 million children. This is equivalent to 6% of the child population.
- Nearly 3 in every 100 people have a learning disability. And just 1 in 3 people with a learning disability take part in some form of education or training
- About 200 babies are born every week with a learning disability
- 98% of disabled children live at home and are supported by their families
- Only 4% of disabled children are supported by social services
Leo has both a physical disability and learning disability. And this is something we have come to learn and understand the best we can over the last 13 years. Leo is my inspiration and my reason to do it. Holly wanted to do something to support her brother and to say thank you to a charity, Kangaroos, who have supported her brother in his growing years.
Who are Kangaroos?
Kangaroos was established by a group of parents in 1993 to run out of school activities in Mid Sussex for children with severe learning disabilities. There were no activities in the area suitable for special needs children to attend and they believed that their children needed and deserved activities that would be designed to cater for their very special requirements.
Kangaroos ran their first Saturday Club in January 1994 and have organised them virtually every Saturday since. The Holiday Playschemes followed in February and have continued to run each half term and school holiday.
Since then Kangaroos have initiated a range of additional projects and have adapted the original activities to meet the needs of the changing and increasingly complex profile of the children and young people provided for. However, the ethos of Kangaroos remains unchanged, we have always had the young people at the centre of everything we do, meeting their needs, providing them with the care and support needed so that they can have a fun, worthwhile experience with their peers.
Final Word
Well folks, that was one epic trip for the old bike at the back of the shed. It brought back a lot of fond memories, it created many new ones, it helped to fulfill a lifelong dream, but more importantly it has helped to generate a lot of money for a worthwhile cause who provide a much needed service to families of children with disabilities.
Do you have a bike at the back of your shed? So, what are you going to do with yours? Go on, I challenge you, go and make a difference. I did.
When the dream was born (1984)
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Day 14 - Helmsdale to John O'Groats
The final day....
It's all change for the final day, my usual evening routine would include the washing of the days clothing providing it time to dry over a couple of nights before it's needed again. As there would be no riding on Sunday I got the night off! Only to fall asleep in anticipation of what would be our final day.
Breakfast was not served until 8am at the earliest, so this morning would be the latest start we have done all trip. After a hearty breakfast (including haggis) we packed and set off near to 9.30am. Very late for us. And there would be no rest as no sooner had we left the hotel we started our 3 miles of climb to 700ft. I think that when mother nature was lending a hand to carve out this part of Lands End to John O'Groats she thought "I know, lets have a laugh and throw in some big hills on the last day". They may have been big but in my opinion they are some of the best.
The weather in this part of the world was also having it's fun. The heat was rising quickly and the sun blazing just before the sea mist came in. The wind today worked in our favour with it either blowing from the south or east as it changed through the day. This gave a good tail wind helping us through the day.
We got a message from Tracey to say she had landed at Inverness and collected the van. She was going to grab some supplies and head our way and hopefully meet us near Wick.
We found another great tea room for a short stop and refreshment before pushing off once more knowing that Tracey would be getting ever closer. The hills started to reduce and our speed and distance was increasing quickly and soon we were at Wick. And yes, Tracey found us on the far side of the town. It really was great to see her. For the remaining 16 miles she took my bags in the can and acted as support crew for the last leg.
We were flying. The incentive of both a van to collect us and the finish. There was one last hill towards the end and one last blast of windy weather from the east before we would meet the finish. Some texts started to arrive on my phone (which is mounted to my handlebars), it was from Peter! It said just a few miles to go, to enjoy it, and an encouragement for Holly. I read it out loud. Cheers Mate, nice touch.
The final bend and we were on the home stretch. Absolutely fantastic, we had actually done it. Many of you had been tracking us live through the internet. And so the messages of congratulations came flooding in. A little while after, the group of riders who had been following us all arrived in a big rush. I did smile to think we beat them. We had finished the day in our fasted time.
Thank you everyone. For your support, for your encouragement, and for your donations. Thank You.
http://www.justgiving.com/steve-farrage
It's all change for the final day, my usual evening routine would include the washing of the days clothing providing it time to dry over a couple of nights before it's needed again. As there would be no riding on Sunday I got the night off! Only to fall asleep in anticipation of what would be our final day.
Breakfast was not served until 8am at the earliest, so this morning would be the latest start we have done all trip. After a hearty breakfast (including haggis) we packed and set off near to 9.30am. Very late for us. And there would be no rest as no sooner had we left the hotel we started our 3 miles of climb to 700ft. I think that when mother nature was lending a hand to carve out this part of Lands End to John O'Groats she thought "I know, lets have a laugh and throw in some big hills on the last day". They may have been big but in my opinion they are some of the best.
The weather in this part of the world was also having it's fun. The heat was rising quickly and the sun blazing just before the sea mist came in. The wind today worked in our favour with it either blowing from the south or east as it changed through the day. This gave a good tail wind helping us through the day.
We got a message from Tracey to say she had landed at Inverness and collected the van. She was going to grab some supplies and head our way and hopefully meet us near Wick.
We found another great tea room for a short stop and refreshment before pushing off once more knowing that Tracey would be getting ever closer. The hills started to reduce and our speed and distance was increasing quickly and soon we were at Wick. And yes, Tracey found us on the far side of the town. It really was great to see her. For the remaining 16 miles she took my bags in the can and acted as support crew for the last leg.
We were flying. The incentive of both a van to collect us and the finish. There was one last hill towards the end and one last blast of windy weather from the east before we would meet the finish. Some texts started to arrive on my phone (which is mounted to my handlebars), it was from Peter! It said just a few miles to go, to enjoy it, and an encouragement for Holly. I read it out loud. Cheers Mate, nice touch.
The final bend and we were on the home stretch. Absolutely fantastic, we had actually done it. Many of you had been tracking us live through the internet. And so the messages of congratulations came flooding in. A little while after, the group of riders who had been following us all arrived in a big rush. I did smile to think we beat them. We had finished the day in our fasted time.
Thank you everyone. For your support, for your encouragement, and for your donations. Thank You.
http://www.justgiving.com/steve-farrage
Day 13 - Inverness to Helmsdale
The never ending road...
That was a memorable day for all the wrong reasons. I guess we should have known the day was going to be troublesome when we got to the start of the bridge leading north out of Inverness that carries the A9. On arriving we found the footpath and cycleway to be closed. I knew that further up the road was another entrance to the bridge so decided to go for that one. It too was closed but this time with diversion signs. Off we went following the signs which took us to the opposite side of the road from the original path closed sign! I was not a happy chap by this stage with a 2 mile detour for what was 4 lanes of traffic at a roundabout. They didn't want you to cross it I suppose.
Onwards and upwards over the bridge and after following some back roads we met up with the same group who have been following us for 2 weeks. We exchanged some funny comments as appears to now be the norm and plodded on picking up the A9 once again. We were approaching 15 miles into the journey when I noticed the road had a regular bump in it. Odd I thought. Then while hurtling down a long hill I noticed the regular bump in the road getting worse. Ah, it's not the road, it's my bike! My rear tyre had given up and now had a twist and bulge in it. That was almost the end of our trip right there. We tried an internet search, but no signal. So, we phoned Tracey to see if she could do a search for us for the nearest bike shop. Except she was out. We decided to continue with my new bump until we got internet again. And we did, a quick internet search directed us 4 miles in the wrong direction to Dingwall where we found Dryburgh Cycles. A small aladins cave of all things bikes and some very knowledgeable staff who quickly got us up and running again. Thanks guys!
Still, it put us nearly 2 hours out with a now running total of 10 miles on top of our day. Our hearts sank at this point. Heading back to the A9 we were greeted with a steady headwind making it feel like you are constantly riding up hill, this slowed us down too. The remainder of our day was just plain hard going with the last 10 miles dragging it's feet. Until in the last 3 miles Holly got a puncture. Just what we didn't need. We decided to just keep putting air in the tyre just to get us to our rest stop.
Our rest for the night was in the Bellgrave Arms Hotel, which is a hotel come pub. The room was comfortable even if it was ageing a little. But very clean. A quick shower then down for dinner. Except it would appear the kitchen was closed, strangely it closed at the same time as we arrived. So off out we went, to a nearby restaurant, but it too closed as we arrived. I'm sure I took a shower. We finally had fish and chips at the sort of place Mr Large off Dr Martin would have been proud of.
With the day behind us we look forward to getting the trip done in our last leg to John O'Groats.
That was a memorable day for all the wrong reasons. I guess we should have known the day was going to be troublesome when we got to the start of the bridge leading north out of Inverness that carries the A9. On arriving we found the footpath and cycleway to be closed. I knew that further up the road was another entrance to the bridge so decided to go for that one. It too was closed but this time with diversion signs. Off we went following the signs which took us to the opposite side of the road from the original path closed sign! I was not a happy chap by this stage with a 2 mile detour for what was 4 lanes of traffic at a roundabout. They didn't want you to cross it I suppose.
Onwards and upwards over the bridge and after following some back roads we met up with the same group who have been following us for 2 weeks. We exchanged some funny comments as appears to now be the norm and plodded on picking up the A9 once again. We were approaching 15 miles into the journey when I noticed the road had a regular bump in it. Odd I thought. Then while hurtling down a long hill I noticed the regular bump in the road getting worse. Ah, it's not the road, it's my bike! My rear tyre had given up and now had a twist and bulge in it. That was almost the end of our trip right there. We tried an internet search, but no signal. So, we phoned Tracey to see if she could do a search for us for the nearest bike shop. Except she was out. We decided to continue with my new bump until we got internet again. And we did, a quick internet search directed us 4 miles in the wrong direction to Dingwall where we found Dryburgh Cycles. A small aladins cave of all things bikes and some very knowledgeable staff who quickly got us up and running again. Thanks guys!
Still, it put us nearly 2 hours out with a now running total of 10 miles on top of our day. Our hearts sank at this point. Heading back to the A9 we were greeted with a steady headwind making it feel like you are constantly riding up hill, this slowed us down too. The remainder of our day was just plain hard going with the last 10 miles dragging it's feet. Until in the last 3 miles Holly got a puncture. Just what we didn't need. We decided to just keep putting air in the tyre just to get us to our rest stop.
Our rest for the night was in the Bellgrave Arms Hotel, which is a hotel come pub. The room was comfortable even if it was ageing a little. But very clean. A quick shower then down for dinner. Except it would appear the kitchen was closed, strangely it closed at the same time as we arrived. So off out we went, to a nearby restaurant, but it too closed as we arrived. I'm sure I took a shower. We finally had fish and chips at the sort of place Mr Large off Dr Martin would have been proud of.
With the day behind us we look forward to getting the trip done in our last leg to John O'Groats.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Day 12 - Fort William to Inverness
We awoke today for the first time to rain! Almost forgot what it was like after the last two weeks of wall to wall sun. And let me tell you, it was wet. Like I was going to tell you different :-) The thing with the wet stuff is it gets everywhere when you cycle in it. A friend of mine advised not to bother with mudguards. If it's going to rain you will get wet as mudguards wont stop the wet stuff falling from the sky. Obvious really. So, why do they sell em?
A work colleague said I should have some Eggs Benedict for breakfast when I got the chance. So I did, but it was terrible. It didn't take long for the waitress to ask how the food was. So, I told her, in a polite customer feedback kind of way. We were eager to get away so I was going to eat it anyway. "How about some coffee to go?" she asked. "Not easy on a bike, but thanks anyway, I just wanted to give you some feedback". I was more than happy to leave it at that but they would not leave it alone. We did a negotiation dance till they insisted on a refund to treat ourselves on our journey. Very kind, but really they didn't need to. Thanks Wetherspoon!
We prepared for our ride for the day with our rain gear, it's not much but protects your top and feet. And off we went calling at a Tesco Express for a few trip essentials. On a damp morning in Fort William we could not help notice the incredible stench of fish. Like really strong. A quick exit from the town put us on the right road to Inverness which would take us past Loch Ness.
It was hard going today but mainly because we are tired and perhaps the dodgy breakfast didn't help. As the miles rolled by we began to ride out of the wet weather into more warm and humid conditions. The wet weather gear had to come off before we got wetter on the inside than we were on the outside. Can this weather ever make it easy?
We dropped in at a small cafe along the route for quite bite to eat and to discuss which route we would take past Loch Ness. There are two ways to go being the north or south side. The north side is the low road with lots of little hills and traffic. The south side is the high road with an early steep climb of over 1000ft and with far less traffic. Following a cup of tea and with a chat to the cafe owners we selected the low road to the north. Partly due to the low cloud cover.
The remainder of the journey was uneventful. The sun caught us up soon after lunch making the journey more difficult once again and we also saw many of the cyclists we originally saw in Cornwall as the choice of roads become limited at this point. Holly has found her rhythm in cycling. She loves the small hilly routes, not too steep in the hills rather than the long flat or constantly climbing. Her speed for the afternoon was excellent in place she was leaving me behind.
In a Travelodge once again, our last one for this trip. It's very near a 24 hour Tesco so a perfect opportunity to top up with snacks for the next couple of days. On returning to the Travelodge after our shopping trip the receptionist handed us some cash from her to add to our donations for Kangaroos. It was very touching of her. Thank you, that was very kind.
Finally, my lovely wife Tracey has managed to book a flight to Inverness on Saturday morning and will now collect our van from the airport and bring it up to John O'Groats! How fantastic is that. Really looking forward to our last day for more than one reason. Can't wait now.
A work colleague said I should have some Eggs Benedict for breakfast when I got the chance. So I did, but it was terrible. It didn't take long for the waitress to ask how the food was. So, I told her, in a polite customer feedback kind of way. We were eager to get away so I was going to eat it anyway. "How about some coffee to go?" she asked. "Not easy on a bike, but thanks anyway, I just wanted to give you some feedback". I was more than happy to leave it at that but they would not leave it alone. We did a negotiation dance till they insisted on a refund to treat ourselves on our journey. Very kind, but really they didn't need to. Thanks Wetherspoon!
We prepared for our ride for the day with our rain gear, it's not much but protects your top and feet. And off we went calling at a Tesco Express for a few trip essentials. On a damp morning in Fort William we could not help notice the incredible stench of fish. Like really strong. A quick exit from the town put us on the right road to Inverness which would take us past Loch Ness.
It was hard going today but mainly because we are tired and perhaps the dodgy breakfast didn't help. As the miles rolled by we began to ride out of the wet weather into more warm and humid conditions. The wet weather gear had to come off before we got wetter on the inside than we were on the outside. Can this weather ever make it easy?
We dropped in at a small cafe along the route for quite bite to eat and to discuss which route we would take past Loch Ness. There are two ways to go being the north or south side. The north side is the low road with lots of little hills and traffic. The south side is the high road with an early steep climb of over 1000ft and with far less traffic. Following a cup of tea and with a chat to the cafe owners we selected the low road to the north. Partly due to the low cloud cover.
The remainder of the journey was uneventful. The sun caught us up soon after lunch making the journey more difficult once again and we also saw many of the cyclists we originally saw in Cornwall as the choice of roads become limited at this point. Holly has found her rhythm in cycling. She loves the small hilly routes, not too steep in the hills rather than the long flat or constantly climbing. Her speed for the afternoon was excellent in place she was leaving me behind.
In a Travelodge once again, our last one for this trip. It's very near a 24 hour Tesco so a perfect opportunity to top up with snacks for the next couple of days. On returning to the Travelodge after our shopping trip the receptionist handed us some cash from her to add to our donations for Kangaroos. It was very touching of her. Thank you, that was very kind.
Finally, my lovely wife Tracey has managed to book a flight to Inverness on Saturday morning and will now collect our van from the airport and bring it up to John O'Groats! How fantastic is that. Really looking forward to our last day for more than one reason. Can't wait now.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Day 11 - Loch Lomond to Fort William
Today we went mountain climbing. And dare I say it, but boy is it cold up there...
It's been another eventful day in our quest to reach the top. After a very pleasant evening at the Drovers Inn we stuck around for a bit longer than usual to allow us to have breakfast. Which I should point out was in amongst their collection of stuffed animals. So if it's not your thing then probably not wise to visit. After a hearty breakfast we set off at 9am. That's the latest start time yet.
A whole mile after starting we started to climb. We needed to reach 1000ft before any respite with a down hill section. Slowly we climbed to save as much energy as we could for later in the day. The views were fantastic as we watched the scenery change the higher we climbed. It's now very noticeable the strength we have built up in our legs. Our ability to ride all day with an immediate recovery is astonishing, certainly not gasping for breath. And in any case, cycling around Scotland with your mouth open results in too much protein intake!
At the top of the mountain climbs we found roadworks if all things. A big one too with a convoy controlled by an escort vehicle. As the traffic had been stopped for some time we decided to jump the queue and ask how one should negotiate such a convoy on a bike. We were greeted by the usual Scotish workman pleasantry of "You wait!". What is it about wanting to ask a question when an assumption is made before you utter a word. Fortunately, this time around my small talk worked a treat. Having explained I had no intention of riding the 300m of roadwork but wanted to know how we do it safely. i.e. do I let all the other cars go first? The answer? I should go right behind the convoy vehicle... followed by a mile of cars all wanting to get up the road. Very cool.
The ride down the other side became dark and very windy. I can only put it down to the havoc the mountains play with the weather. At one point we were pedalling just to be able to move downhill. We had to take it slowly as the wind would change direction and gust, this mixed with trucks driving past made stable control a bit of an art.
Finally making it down the mountain we stopped at the visitor centre for a cup of tea and to warm up. It was very nippy at the top. We got talking to a lady who was touring for 10 weeks with her bike, puts our 2 weeks to shame.
Getting back to a more flat route we raced the last 15 miles to Fort William. Holly can maintain a fast pace now achieving around 16-17 miles per hour when she wants to. That's pretty quick when you have already covered over 40 miles.
Tomorrow we head for Inverness.
And Finally: A big shout out for everyone at Northlands Wood Primary School! I know many of you have been following us on our big adventure. Thank you to everyone who have made donations.
It's been another eventful day in our quest to reach the top. After a very pleasant evening at the Drovers Inn we stuck around for a bit longer than usual to allow us to have breakfast. Which I should point out was in amongst their collection of stuffed animals. So if it's not your thing then probably not wise to visit. After a hearty breakfast we set off at 9am. That's the latest start time yet.
A whole mile after starting we started to climb. We needed to reach 1000ft before any respite with a down hill section. Slowly we climbed to save as much energy as we could for later in the day. The views were fantastic as we watched the scenery change the higher we climbed. It's now very noticeable the strength we have built up in our legs. Our ability to ride all day with an immediate recovery is astonishing, certainly not gasping for breath. And in any case, cycling around Scotland with your mouth open results in too much protein intake!
At the top of the mountain climbs we found roadworks if all things. A big one too with a convoy controlled by an escort vehicle. As the traffic had been stopped for some time we decided to jump the queue and ask how one should negotiate such a convoy on a bike. We were greeted by the usual Scotish workman pleasantry of "You wait!". What is it about wanting to ask a question when an assumption is made before you utter a word. Fortunately, this time around my small talk worked a treat. Having explained I had no intention of riding the 300m of roadwork but wanted to know how we do it safely. i.e. do I let all the other cars go first? The answer? I should go right behind the convoy vehicle... followed by a mile of cars all wanting to get up the road. Very cool.
The ride down the other side became dark and very windy. I can only put it down to the havoc the mountains play with the weather. At one point we were pedalling just to be able to move downhill. We had to take it slowly as the wind would change direction and gust, this mixed with trucks driving past made stable control a bit of an art.
Finally making it down the mountain we stopped at the visitor centre for a cup of tea and to warm up. It was very nippy at the top. We got talking to a lady who was touring for 10 weeks with her bike, puts our 2 weeks to shame.
Getting back to a more flat route we raced the last 15 miles to Fort William. Holly can maintain a fast pace now achieving around 16-17 miles per hour when she wants to. That's pretty quick when you have already covered over 40 miles.
Tomorrow we head for Inverness.
And Finally: A big shout out for everyone at Northlands Wood Primary School! I know many of you have been following us on our big adventure. Thank you to everyone who have made donations.
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Day 10 - Abington to Loch Lomond
Now when I say Loch Lomond I mean the very top of it, which took todays mileage to 85 miles. Our longest ride of the trip. Our day started with a traditional cooked breakfast at the service station to get filled on some much needed fuel.
It was a colder morning today and we needed an extra top on to keep the chill off. There was a distant mist and clouds were slowly swallowing the mountain peaks. After yesterday we were both finding it hard to get going. But soon the countryside started to unfold in front of us. A small flock of little birds flew about us and just in front of our bikes as we cycled along. A lovely start to the day.
Our first downhill section was soon with us. But would you believe it, the same rubbish road surface slowed us down to around 5 miles per hour. We were banking on the downhill to help us get miles in quickly. These roads kept appearing. It does make me wonder whar would happen if Scotland went independent, who would pay for their roads then? On the flip side we have seen lots of new schools including some huge primary schools that would put our secondary schools to shame. Looks like their money is in education.
The first big place of the day was Glasgow riding some on road and some on cycle paths. And so far Glasgow wins for good cycle paths allowing us to maintain good progress. We decided to stop at the library only to have their security 'more than my jobs worth' guard come rushing out and tell us to remove our bikes which I could only take as his traditional welcome. I tried to make small talk but he was having none of it he stormed off flailing his arms about make huge gestures and remarks with big words. Impressive. I only stopped to ask if there was a toilet we could use.
Relief was provided with a stop at a Hilton hotel. Very welcoming and only too happy to let us use their facilities. Thank you Hilton.
Onwards to Loch Lomond where once again the cycle path was excellent. We also found a track running most of the length of the lock keeping us off that very busy road. Part way along the path we stopped for a snack while watching someone lock up his boat for the day. What a perfect setting it was. After this chap had tied his boat up we watched him walk back to his car, jump in, and drive off down the driveway of the next house. That's odd we thought, that's not the way to the road. We watched as he turned his car at the end of the drive a park up. How lazy was that?!? Holly burst into fits of giggles and laughed most of the remainder of the journey.
Our bed for the night is at the Drovers Inn. It's been a pub for the last 300 years but the building has stood for 150 years before that. Very much a recommended stop.
It was a colder morning today and we needed an extra top on to keep the chill off. There was a distant mist and clouds were slowly swallowing the mountain peaks. After yesterday we were both finding it hard to get going. But soon the countryside started to unfold in front of us. A small flock of little birds flew about us and just in front of our bikes as we cycled along. A lovely start to the day.
Our first downhill section was soon with us. But would you believe it, the same rubbish road surface slowed us down to around 5 miles per hour. We were banking on the downhill to help us get miles in quickly. These roads kept appearing. It does make me wonder whar would happen if Scotland went independent, who would pay for their roads then? On the flip side we have seen lots of new schools including some huge primary schools that would put our secondary schools to shame. Looks like their money is in education.
The first big place of the day was Glasgow riding some on road and some on cycle paths. And so far Glasgow wins for good cycle paths allowing us to maintain good progress. We decided to stop at the library only to have their security 'more than my jobs worth' guard come rushing out and tell us to remove our bikes which I could only take as his traditional welcome. I tried to make small talk but he was having none of it he stormed off flailing his arms about make huge gestures and remarks with big words. Impressive. I only stopped to ask if there was a toilet we could use.
Relief was provided with a stop at a Hilton hotel. Very welcoming and only too happy to let us use their facilities. Thank you Hilton.
Onwards to Loch Lomond where once again the cycle path was excellent. We also found a track running most of the length of the lock keeping us off that very busy road. Part way along the path we stopped for a snack while watching someone lock up his boat for the day. What a perfect setting it was. After this chap had tied his boat up we watched him walk back to his car, jump in, and drive off down the driveway of the next house. That's odd we thought, that's not the way to the road. We watched as he turned his car at the end of the drive a park up. How lazy was that?!? Holly burst into fits of giggles and laughed most of the remainder of the journey.
Our bed for the night is at the Drovers Inn. It's been a pub for the last 300 years but the building has stood for 150 years before that. Very much a recommended stop.
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