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Things That Are Right, One of N: Cycling
Oct. 13th, 2013 05:52 pmHola! I am cold, my legs ache, but boy am I happy.
Woke up at 8 this morning, went back to sleep and woke up at 11.
I happen to know that there's a train for Oban and Mallaig which leaves Glasgow at 12.20, so I had a quick breakfast and cycled down to Queen Street Station. My plan was to get off at Arrochar and Tarbert, and use the A82 to get me back into Glasgow, with a possibly bale out at Balloch Central if the weather turned bad or I got bike trouble. Or lazy.
But the weather was looking cold and clear on the way up, so I stayed on the train for an extra ten miles and cycled the 25-30 miles to Balloch, then got the train back from there (light would have been an issue, otherwise, and I don't have lights on my road bike).
I took the Bianchi because I wanted to log up some road miles on it. My plan was to keep on the fast modern A82 from Tarbert, and the quick 9 miles from Ardlui to my bacon buttie stop at Tarbert didn't put me off that idea. A mile on the road past there did - the A83 joins up with the A82 at that point, and instead of being on a narrow road where cars were overtaking me doing 40-50, I was on a slightly wider one where they were overtaking me at 70-80. Taking the cycle path slowed me down, though not as much as I expected, maybe only a couple of MPH.
I also had the advantage of cycling right along the loch shore. The path was covered in some places in fallen leaves - if it had been a wet day then it would have been very dicey on skinny tyres, but as it was they were crisp, and I enjoyed the shhhhhh-ing sound they made under my wheels.
Loch Lomond was gorgeous - I scared a couple of grouse (grice?) and trespassed on a couple of fancy golf courses. Top speed was just under 30, average around half that.
I made it to Balloch Central just as the train pulled in, and had a relaxing journey back to the Exhibition Centre station, and then a mile or so back to the flat. Where I'm enjoying the feeling of heat coming back into my body, and thinking of going to the gym for a hot tub and sauna.
You know what? I think I'll do just that.
Woke up at 8 this morning, went back to sleep and woke up at 11.
I happen to know that there's a train for Oban and Mallaig which leaves Glasgow at 12.20, so I had a quick breakfast and cycled down to Queen Street Station. My plan was to get off at Arrochar and Tarbert, and use the A82 to get me back into Glasgow, with a possibly bale out at Balloch Central if the weather turned bad or I got bike trouble. Or lazy.
But the weather was looking cold and clear on the way up, so I stayed on the train for an extra ten miles and cycled the 25-30 miles to Balloch, then got the train back from there (light would have been an issue, otherwise, and I don't have lights on my road bike).
I took the Bianchi because I wanted to log up some road miles on it. My plan was to keep on the fast modern A82 from Tarbert, and the quick 9 miles from Ardlui to my bacon buttie stop at Tarbert didn't put me off that idea. A mile on the road past there did - the A83 joins up with the A82 at that point, and instead of being on a narrow road where cars were overtaking me doing 40-50, I was on a slightly wider one where they were overtaking me at 70-80. Taking the cycle path slowed me down, though not as much as I expected, maybe only a couple of MPH.
I also had the advantage of cycling right along the loch shore. The path was covered in some places in fallen leaves - if it had been a wet day then it would have been very dicey on skinny tyres, but as it was they were crisp, and I enjoyed the shhhhhh-ing sound they made under my wheels.
Loch Lomond was gorgeous - I scared a couple of grouse (grice?) and trespassed on a couple of fancy golf courses. Top speed was just under 30, average around half that.
I made it to Balloch Central just as the train pulled in, and had a relaxing journey back to the Exhibition Centre station, and then a mile or so back to the flat. Where I'm enjoying the feeling of heat coming back into my body, and thinking of going to the gym for a hot tub and sauna.
You know what? I think I'll do just that.
