Mamma mia! I made
it!
After much googling, writing down directions, telling myself not to be a chicken, I finally set out today and reached my destination: not without a few mishaps
Bye bye BigCat, hope I'll find my way back to you!
BTW, cyclestreet is good, when it says "quiet route" it's a REALLY quiet route: I saw a horse peeing in a field, that was a first time!
So off I go, with a few detours (can't resist riding through a park when I see a new one) till I find myself on the opposite side of this:
he, he: dismount? Maybe it's for the best
Leaving horses and idyllic water streams behind, I stop a gent walking his dog to make sure I'm on the right road, cannae get away from him but he actually shows me a way to avoid a round about. Ok, I have to dismount, cross on foot - on the way back I then find out that I could have crossed on the bike, without leaving the cycle path. Oh well!
I know I have to pass an Asda, hurray, there is a guy walking by wearing his Asda uniform, what a clever navigator I am.
Of course, I miss my next turn! Where the heck is the cycling route now? I completely lost my way, but a quick inquiry with a local very nice lady soon puts me right: just cycle on the pavement ahead, she says, it's a large one, and you get to the train station. Being a good cyclist
I took the road, then I realized the "large pavement" was actually a shared path.
A beep from a passing WV soon put me on the straight and narrow.
Now that I knew the area (took the train many times to that station) but still having lost my cycling route to my destination, had to push the bike through a shopping centre, till I could rejoin the road again.
Never mind: got there at last, had my snack in a local park, then it started raining on me .... but in the meantime I found this:
Hurray, hurray .... show me the way to go home ....it did, it did, not Sustrain's fault if this happens:
A funfair decided to block the cycling path. Had a wee chat with one of the ride operators, who thought it was good for my fitness to ride all the way round, walk up a grassy bit to go round his barriers. Ach well!
Back on the country lane, a typical Scottish summer shower starts to soak me.
See a farmer kind of gent with his bike under a tree, so I ask him if he's broken down. He says "No, hen (affectionate way to address a female in Scotland, that means) I'm just waiting for the rain to stop, forgot my waterproofs, I see the wet is not bothering you..." I laugh, wish him a good day, strangely during this conversation the (one) car behind me waited patiently without beeping
must be the fresh air in the country.
Near home, but still not in the build up area, riding towards me a chap on a mb wearing tinted cycling glasses (dunno, maybe all cycling specs are tinted), give him half a smile, he purses his lips like I'm about to steal his chickens. Ach well ... maybe he's envious of my Boris's City Jets.
All in all, 19.7 miles. Including various chat stops, a visit to Asda's clothing isles (well, it was to stay out of the heavy rain a bit), my lunch break - the trip took 3.5 hours.
Planning tomorrow's exploring: speed is certainly not a priority
great for the road, but scary on loose terrain.
