Wednesday 19 September 2007

DAY 8 ABINGTON to ARDLUI ( Loch lomond)





" And here is the shipping forecast for............. wet and windy!! And didn't I know it.. ....it had rained and blown all night( rain outside wind inside the camper van ( Hugh Charles was suffering from a little flatuence I believe!!)








It was a miserable morning and again I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Following my usuall cereal and bannana off I went with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp.It was the usuall morning struggle for the first 10 miles untill the cream, poultrice,tablets, potions, pills and ointments started working. The road was again the brilliant B7078 traffic free and fairly flat.The "back up crew of 1 had a lie in this morning and gave me a 2 hour start hoping to meet up in Larkhall just south of Hamilton to plot how we were going to tackle Glasgow !!!




The morning weather improved dramatically and the world seemed a brighter place and the cycling was really getting into a mean rythm.



Rolled into Larkhall and aftera cuppa and some cake and a lenghthy route planning trip we decided to go our seperate ways and meet up 25 miles later north of Glasgow.



I thought this was a good idea.... Stupid boy Pike.



A word of warning to budding navigators... It is not easy to navigate through the streets of Hamilton and Glasgow with two pages ripped out of a £1.99 AA 2001 Road Atlas.I got lost on numerous occassions and the "stop go pull out the map put on the glasses" routine was getting as stale as Dilwyn Pierce's jokes. The people of Hamilton probably think its a lovely place.....

But
I followed the A 724 as best I could but it was a real nightmare, names like Cambuslang, Rutherglen will haunt me forever. In fact I went through Rutherglen three times. Once from the West once from the South and once from 2 points abaft the beam. ( This is a nautical term as is shiver me timbers, pieces of eight, splice the mainbrace and is all that your ownBosun!!)


A lot of navigation was now by instinct and I followed a bus for a while with City Centre written on the back of it. It took me straight to Glasgow Bus depot where I noticed it had " Out of Commission written on the front!!!!!!!!!!!! Och
Following heavy traffic I suddenly found myself at traffic lights with no traffic at all.!!!! Nothing. It was like a Burnley National Milk Bar during Ramadam..... and then as if in a Benny Hill show I was engulfed by thousands of women wearing pink brassiers and trainers.. all taking part in the Glasgow Charity half marathon. Entering into the spirit of things and not wishing to seem a party pooper I cycled on regardless much to the amusement and bewilderment of the course marshalls. I crossed the finishing line 5th in the Double D Cup.





Finally exhausted after my encounter with the brassiered women I found the Glasgow to Loch Lomond cycle path . This was abeautiful well planned cycleway running along the banks of the Clyde with exellent views of the city. All was going well and I even had time to ponder as to the whereabouts of Hugh Charles and the Camper van. I prayed that he had not come across the ladies in their pink bras otherwise I might never see him again.



I then hit Clydebank.. Ouch. The old Glasgow dock area was being re built and the cycleway dissapeared amongst the rubble. This area brought back memories of when I was last here in 1973 loading Whisky aboard a cargo ship bound for the Persian Gulf. I was 17 at the time and was the dedicated Security Officer for the loading. I still have a vauge memory of the Glaswegian terms I picked up... " Can yor mama sow? well get ere to stitch that!!! " Do yer knw the way to the nearest infirmary?? and "You can't catch a Kangaroo with a wooden leg! ( or was that Sydney?).


I followed the Clyde as best I could and finally made contact with the support. When I mentioned the racing ladies Hugh Charles told me that he was on his way back to find them!! We made arrangements to meet up in Dumbarton for a spot of tiffin!! It was very nice to pass under the Erskin Bridge and I felt at last I was in Scotland .I even felt I had a tilt in my kilt.

The little Chef at Dumbarton was very emotional. ( his dog was ill!!)
No I mean it was very emotional for Hugh Charles and me at the Little Chef Car park. It was changeover time amongst the backup squad. It was a change of shift at Nasa Mission control. Hugh headed off into the dusk in a black Bmw which Aled and Gareth Alun had driven up in ( Thanks to Hugh at Moduron Llanuwchllyn ). His garage motto is "ceir da rhad a ceir da rhad" Translated roughly as "Æþùð ÐÇœŒŽ‡ƒ &œ‡¥¥3 rhad"
I let Hugh to pass on the legacy of Nia and do a bit of staff training with Aled and Gareth Alun. The back up was increasing now as we had a camper and Alun had his own car for scouting purposes.
The rest of the afternnon I cycled up the A82 along the banks of Loch Lomond, through some beautiful countryside. The road surface was poor and the road narrow and traffic heavy but what the hell!!! WE stayed the night at a tiny village called Ardlui ( we actually found it was only a pub and a campsite nothing else) I had a good nights sleep right on the banks of Loch Lomond ( Gareth Alun and Aled slept in a tent amongst the midges)
It had been a good day and I was in Scotland
MILAGE 85
RIDE TIME 7 hrs 15 mins ( stop go stop go all day)
PUNCTURES 0
PROBLEMS ..., sore body, getting lost, navigation, women in bras, weak bladder syndrome( a worry in built up areas)


POINT OF INTEREST HERE ACCORDING TO THE TOM TOM THE CENTRE OF GLASGOW IS CLOSER' TO BALA THAN TO JOHN O GROATS. (This was very good for moral Aaaaaagh)

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