June 19, 2024
Normal service resumes
LEJOG Day ten: Larkhall to Perth
Those who practice mindfulness train themselves to focus acutely on the present. Feeling every vivid sensation, listening to every passing thought, and avoiding the distractions of elsewhere.
If you practice mindfulness, you're probably going to hate tonight's blog.
Today's ride was partly about yesterday, and mostly about tomorrow. I was definitely in the present for a bit of the ride: notably, a particular moment of extraordinarily good home made sausage roll. But other than that, I let a lot of today wash over me. Let me explain.
Yesterday's ride was properly rotten. Dull, uncomfortable, and hard. Had it happened on day one, I think there would have been a real risk that I'd cancelled the tour and found an alternative retirement challenge, like building the Taj Mahal from matchsticks. My first aim for today was therefore to ensure that it rebelled forcefully against everything that yesterday stood for. And today was very much up for the fight.
Our roads were smooth, like crushed velvet. Our turns were many and varied, leading us to villages, vistas and voting booths. (Forgive the poetic licence: I can't think of a third alliterative 'v'. Do feel free to make suggestions). And our motorways were, for the most part, conspicuously absent. Even the wind, which had battered us 24 hours ago, had been forced to change direction. The gusts which had mocked us previously were now shamefacedly back, heading instead for John O'Groats, and billowing grumpily as they helped Sassenach cyclists up the hills. Take that, yesterday.
The second, and even bigger consideration, was tomorrow. If you're paying close attention, you'll know that the shadow of the Cairngorms has been looming large over this tour. As we've got closer to them, the spectre of those hills has grown correspondingly. And tomorrow, we're going to have to get over things, quite literally. So it was important to end today feeling fairly fresh, with all kit and mechanicals working.
Tick.
So, for the foolhardy amongst you who have made it this far and are still reading, let's take a canter through some of today. And yes, there'll be pictures, so feel free to scan-read.
The route from Larkhall took us parallel to the river Clyde before banking right and heading towards the city of Edinburgh, which we would pass to the west. We rolled through one town to the next, always with green countryside around us. And still no motorway.
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A brief and unremarkable stop for diet coke followed in the village of Uphall, and we headed for Queensferry to get ourselves onto the Forth Bridge. It's a famous crossing, partly because it's a UNESCO world heritage site which is frequently voted as being one of Scotland's most recognisable landmarks, and partly because its scale has made it a famous touchstone for any sisyphean endeavour. "Like painting the forth bridge."
Well, imagine my surprise when I learned that there were actually three of them. I hadn't realised, but - in increasing order of architectural sexiness- you can pick from the Forth Bridge (rail), the Forth Road Bridge (pedestrians, cyclists and bus/taxi), or the Queensferry Bridge, which luckily was open for people in cars, who would otherwise have felt pretty annoyed.
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We got a bit lost trying to pick up the right cycle paths, but eventually arrived at the bridge to find it not only closed to taxi and bus traffic, but also closed and barred to cycles. There are, I think, no two words more likely to strike doom into the heart of a cyclist than 'bridge closure'. Oh wait: they just wanted us to use an underpass to get from the left to the right hand cycle path.
I hoped fervently that this closure wasn't symptomatic of any structural issues. We might not be an HGV, but this morning's breakfast had involved potato scone and haggis, and it was the tenth cooked breakfast in a row. We weren't as light as we could be.
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And from here, in a warm blur of not-being-yesterday and being-careful-for-tomorrow, we resumed our road northwards, pausing only for sausage roll and salad at a very boutique joint outside Kinross. No pictures because I was focusing on the food, not the evening's blog. Mindfulness does have its downsides, seemingly.
As we rolled into Perth, I made a scheduled stop at a local bike shop. New sunglasses to replace those lost yesterday, and new cycle shoes so that they don't fall apart on the hills. Raven had a helpful encounter with a track pump, and I replaced a bent valve inner. And happy with what we'd achieved, we headed a mile up the road to our B&B, where we're again sharing a room.
A brief note on our destination, Perth. It's a big city, and was apparently Scotland's capital in medieval times. It nestles in a valley on the river Tay, with all the attendant greens and blues which such a setting suggests. I was lucky enough to find time for a brief wander before heading back to my accommodation relatively early.
Scotland are playing football tonight, and the fans are out in force. It's the wrong shaped ball for me, and the wrong country, to boot. I do wish them well, but it's going to be a very big day tomorrow. 80 miles, four peaks, and the intimidating slopes of Glenshee and the Lecht. Keep your fingers crossed.
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Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 674 miles (1,085 km)
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