The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond

By -




It has been 2 days since my last confession and we are back in Balloch, having cycled 850 miles and climbed 50,000 feet.  Yesterday we continued to follow cycle routes 7 and 77,vaguely following the A9 to Perth. It was a longish day but the sun was shining and Type 1 fun was in plentiful supply. For a long stretch we were on a freshly resurfaced cycle path....so fresh that at the end of it we found the road crew just finishing off a section.

In Perth, and perhaps all of Scotland, the legal drinking age is 12.  We know this because we had dinner in 'spoons last night, where the local kids were getting pissed before heading home to do their homework. At no point was anyone asked for ID provided they filled out the Track and Trace form.  Maybe Track and Trace trumps the licencing laws?

Today, our last, was another filled with sunshine and great scenery, including a cruise past Gleneagles golf course where I saw a man in spectacular trousers fluff an easy chip onto the green.  Our route included some tiny goat tracks before we burst out onto the main drag for the last mile into Balloch.  

Our end of trip celebrations are going less well than we hoped because:

1/  Our celebratory beers are in Plum's van.  The keys to the van are in the B&B....... but the owner isn't.  Bugger.

2/ We have executed the fall back plan (we have trained for this) and gone to the pub but they have NO REAL ALE. Bugger

No matter, we are resourceful chaps and are making do with fermented apples.

Who knows when COVID will permit another adventure but we have plenty of ideas......

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Mr Tamborine Man/I Write The Songs

By -
Image
  After an 18 month separation Plum and I are reforming the band for another tour.  The two of us, plus 6 others, are heading up to Scotlandshire for another crack at the North Cost 500.  I should probably introduce the full line-up:   Lead Singer - David.  David is the young(er) pretty one.....brother of John.  David also happens to be my Financial Adviser and is funding this trip (plus a yacht and a cocaine habit) out of what he makes from my account.   Lead Guitar - Nick.  Friend for 50 years.  At school Nick was a keen cyclist and consequently, quite rightly, bullied.  Nick has forgotten more about cycling than I will ever know.   Bass Guitar - Stuart.  Stuart and I worked together for many years; he has powerful legs and can push out big watts while looking like he is coasting.  I hate Stuart.   Keyboards - Michael.  Michael is also younger but not pretty.  Michael believes that upgrading cycle compone
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time

By -
Image
If ever you are in the Inverness area on a Friday and looking for a lively night you could do a lot worse than avoid Muir of Ord.  Our hotel, the only pub, wasn't serving food so we walked into town where it appeared that Steven Spielberg had just finished filming some sort of post-apocalypse movie: nothing open, nobody on the streets and the odd bit of tumbleweed blowing along the pavement.  Even the fish and chip shop couldn't be arsed to open...on a FRIDAY NIGHT!  We managed to find a take-away offering a rather odd choice of kebabs and curries (served in pizza boxes for added novelty) and purchased some food which made up for in calories what it lacked in food-hygiene standards.   I recall a meeting where a few of my co-riders and I met to kick around ideas for a group ride.  We considered all sort of destinations....mostly in those parts of Europe where the weather isn't consistently shite.  I'm ashamed to say that I think it was I that th
Read more

Julia's Song

By -
Image
As some readers will know, Plum is no longer Chard's most eligible bachelor.  The lovely Julia has taken on the job that Social Services would otherwise have to do....making sure he changes his pants once a week whether they need it or not and loading routes onto his Garmin.  We are all very grateful to Julia, especially Chards most eligible bachelorettes who can get back on the dating scene now Plum is safely off the market. As we were starting our trip Julia fell, dislocated her foot and broke her Tibia so she is probably missing Plum more than usual. She has insisted that the show should go on so thanks for being such a trooper. Today was another with a shortcut that promised to turn a very hard day into something more manageable.  Some of our group took the high road and others took the low but I had a more cunning idea.....get in the van.  Whatever is ailing me, long covid or acute spinelessness, reached the point where pushing the pedals just w
Read more