Short Sleeves.

    Well, well, what a beautiful day, how could you not want to get on your bike? It was warm enough for me to do a wee cycle in my favourite dress mode, cycling shirt with short sleeves. It has been quite a while since I was able to do that, felt great.

    It was just the usual wee spin round my home patch circling and figure eight, trying to remind the legs what they used to do. Happily the answered not too badly at all. Though if you saw the last couple of wee videos you will have noticed the increase in traffic on the road. Sadly it looks like it is all coming back.

    Tomorrow is forecast to be another fine day, might manage out two days in a row. Wow.

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Sun And Bike.

     Managed out on the bike yesterday, just the same wee circuit that I abandoned last week because of roadworks temporary traffic lights in two sections, and single lane driving always a bit of a nuisance to an old guy like me. However all that had gone so it was just a half a dozen wee runs round the circuit from Cadder cemetery out past Lowmoss and towards Lenzie, turn and join the main Kirkintilloch Bishopbriggs road round the Cadder cemetery and repeat about half a dozen times or so. Just enough to remind the legs what they are supposed to do.

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Out Again.

         Well, well, I thought it might never happen again. However, today I got out on the bike for a wee run, just a wee run. Which is fantastic as I was beginning to think that I would never get back on the bike again. A crap spell of chemo and hospital appointments and various other procedures, arthritis in my lower spine and hips and slipped disc, among other problems and a lousy spring, too cold for my chest, made it look doubtful. However, today, 17 degrees and no wind, how could I resist. Though I did cheat, to ease the pain in my back I took a couple of paracetamol before heading out. Something I refrain from doing, hate those things, I have enough pills on my list to keep a pharmacy in business all by myself.

    It was just a short spin around Springburn Park, but boy, did it feel good, as usual Stasia had to get some photos, she can't resist, I hope you can see the delight in my face.

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And Now For Something Completely Different.

 

        Been a mixed bag of weather over the last few months, in spite of the good spells I haven't got out on the bike very often, because of one thing and another. I have been out but sadly all rather short runs, hence can't be bothered to stop and take photos. Today was forecast to be the last dry day for a while, so just to remind myself that I used to be a cyclist I took the opportunity to head out for a short spin. My partner Stasia comes along for a spell then settles down and takes some photos. So thanks to her for this one, this afternoon. Don't like swans, they hiss as you cycle past, I have had the odd on go for my ankles. But I suppose they don't like us humans as some of us can be rather nasty to them.

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Travelling And Improving Your Health.

       It is heartening to see that more and more people are beginning to see the detrimental effects of that once much desired metal box with an internal combustion engine. They are becoming more aware of its gross inefficiency and the massive pollution it pours out, poisoning our lungs and destroying the planet's eco-system. We know there are answers, we just have to grasp them. As usual some simple words of wisdom from Not Buying Anything.

Biking For Food - - -And Energy Efficient.

          Gas engine cars were never a very good idea. I can see them pulling a dinosaur act soon, dieing in our driveways and being fossilized over the coming eons. Why? Because they are notoriously energy inefficient and nature does not reward inefficiency.
       An internal combustion gas engine offers a pathetic 20 - 30% efficiency. The remaining 70 to 80% of the gas in the tank is wasted as exhaust heat, mechanical sound energy, and friction loss, rather than moving the car from point A to point B. An electric car does better, operating at between 50 and 85% efficiency, but that still does not make it anywhere as efficient as a bicycle. A bike is the most efficient method of travel in the known Universe. It can be up to 5 times more efficient than walking, and is impressively more efficient than a car. 100 calories of energy will power a bicycle 5 km, while those same calories will only take a car 85 meters. A car is a more efficient mechanism for wasting energy than it is as a method of transportation.
      A 2015 survey of 44 countries found that only 1/3 of total respondents reported owning a car. That's about the same fraction of Americans over the age of 3 that rode a bike at least once over the last year. As part of my experiment in joining that 65% segment of car-free respondents, I have been doing bike-supported grocery shopping trips since our van broke down.
      The distance to the store is 7.5 km. Along the way the route descends from 500 ft to sea level.
       On my first trip, I used my travel backpack that has about a 55 L capacity. I carried home 7 kg of food, which got us nicely stocked up. The entire trip took me 1.5 hours, and it was much more enjoyable than driving. I was freed from the metal cage of the car.
      On a bike you are out there, in there, immersed in the scene and part of it all. I saw things I have never seen before while driving, even though I have blasted up and down this road a few times over the past 5 years. As I pumped uphill I revelled in the essence of trees and flowers and grass and soil and a million other things organic. I listened to several species of birds singing their songs.
     People greeted me as I pedalled by.

 Getting ready for the trip home with my groceries.

      Home is up in the hills in the background. I was the only bike in the lot on this day. After shopping it felt good to go outside to a waiting bike instead of our van. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy driving cars and vans, trucks and tractors. I have also driven limousines, the most insane, idiotic and inefficient vehicles on the planet. Yes, for a short while I did personal research on the rich of Edmonton, Alberta while working as a chauffeur. Brushing shoulders with the upper crust was interesting and strange. I have always enjoyed motor vehicles. Thing is, I love bicycles, too. And when I ride, it is amazing. Just not as fast. Which is good.
       On my first grocery ride I was so excited about my hill climb back home with all my food that I rode off like a kid returning home after a visit to the candy store. So excited that I forgot my bike helmet outside where my bike was locked up. It's gone. Other than that, biking for food has been a success. So far it is a viable method that is efficient, effective, and a whole lot of fun.
       I am going to have to buy a new helmet. Safety first.

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Cycling Shoe To Moon-boot.

         Last week Stasia and I decided we would head for the Isle of Bute with the bikes and enjoy a few days cycling on the island. We booked into a wee cottage in Rothesay. Unfortunately the day or so before we left for the Isle, while doing some DIY in the garden, I dropped a rather heavy piece of teak on my left foot. I didn't think much of it at the time, but when we arrived in Rothesay, my foot was "loupin", (throbbing with pain). So it was a visit the the local Accident and Emergency unit, efficient examination, Xray, and told I had three small fractures on my foot, fitted with a "moon-boot" and handed a walking stick. Back at the cottage I thought, the "moon-boot" is to hold the foot firm and support the bones, well, a cycling shoe with its solid sole and tight Velcro straps would do just the same. Undaunted, off we went for a short cycle along the coast, stopping at a quiet spot, I sat and admired the view, while Stasia wandered along the beach. After a while it was a pleasant cycle back to the cottage. However by this time my foot was complaining something terrible, so it was back on with the moon-boot and that was the end of our cycling around the Isle of Bute. Now home and the foot is still "loupin". 

Enjoying Isle of Bute sunshine.

Stasia doing her walk-about.

Not the ideal cycling shoe. 

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Back On The Road Again.

         I have been out on the bike quite a few times recently, but have never bothered to post anything about the journeys. The main reason being that they have all been of the soft option, easy and short, along the Forth and Clyde Canal. 

          Today, for a wee change, I thought I would have a go at my favourite patch, the Campsie area and post a few photos, just to let my friends know that I am still out pushing the pedals. Though nowadays I don't refer to myself as a cyclist, more an old guy who goes out on his bike.  Part was on the road to Strathblane, where my old legs complained a little at the hills, and my pace was pathetic. The other part was on the Strathblane Railway Path. I suppose it used to be a railway that served the rural area, until Beeching put paid to that. I never feel happy on these cycle paths and canal paths. They seem too narrow, and with joggers, dog walkers, families with prams and kids, and cyclist, all moving in both directions, I get a little frustrated and apprehensive. I'm happier on the road I just have the vehicles to contend with and they are all moving in the same direction as myself.  Well that's my wee moan over for the meantime.

The road at Strathblane just before you enter the cycle path.

A view from the cycle path.

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A Second Start.

 

       After a very late and false start to my cycling season about a month ago, I was hit with some more problems. So feeling good and Friday being a beautiful day, start number two was scheduled. So Stasia and I set off for the same very easy, and very short, relatively flat run along part of the Forth and Clyde canal. I can't believe it is halfway through May and I am just starting (again) my cycling season, what a crap year. However, once again that wonderful feeling of pumping the pedals, looking around at the countryside and enjoying the brilliant weather. Being a weekday, the canal path was not that busy, at the weekends it can be a bit of a nightmare as it very popular with walkers, runners, families, dog walkers, couples with prams and of course cyclists, it is not a wide path. It was also good to see that the canal was relatively busy with various pleasure craft. A stop off at the Stables, a favourite watering hole on the canal bank a little before Kirkintilloch. A great afternoon, and the legs didn't complain too much, but seem to have forgotten the word "pace".

Some "canalfarers" at rest.

The bridge at Kirkintilloch.

The Stables, a pleasant watering hole on the canal near Kirkintilloch. 

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A Welcome Sign On A Short Run.

      After six months of medical problems and a prolonged winter and forced inactivity, my thoughts were sadly turning to, would I ever get out on the bike again. Saturday was a beautiful day so after a few trials of trying to get my leg over and onto the bike and back off again, I set off. I picked an easy run, very easy, and a short run, very short, I decided to follow the Forth and Clyde canal for a bit and then return by the same route. I was hoping that the legs wouldn't complain too much, to my delight they didn't. The pace was down as was the gears I was using, but what the hell, here I was pedaling in beautiful sunshine, ah, the exhilaration. Not far along my journey I had to stop and take a photo of a very welcoming sight, an unknown friend had been busy with their paint can.

      So the first run of the late start season over, and looking forward to building it up, weather permitting, after all, this is Scotland, land of the mist and the heather. 

A welcoming sign.

A wee seat at Kirkintilloch to sit and enjoy the canal.

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It Doesn't Always Go To Plan.

        Thursday was a pleasant day, a wee break from the usual wind and rain we have been getting. So good opportunity to get out on the bike, over the last month or so, I have been out once and on occasions twice a week as weather permits for a fair weather cyclist. Usually it was round the Campsie area, on a recent visit to Bishopbriggs I noticed a cycle path that went through a kids play area and on through some trees. With my twisted logic I assumed that it would continue meandering down towards the Forth and Clyde canal. So that was my plan, set off from Bishopbriggs along the cycle path on to the canal to Kirkintilloch, and then decide which road to take from there. Nice and easy through the kids park, into the tree area, then faced with a rather steep incline of a footpath/cycle-track. That's where I bumped into these three guys, they looked quite surprised to see me.

       At the top of the incline, disappointment, the cycle path didn't continue, it was onto a road, I was now in a housing estate. making my way through an area I didn't know, finally arrived at the main Bishopbriggs, Kirkintiloch road, a road I always try to avoid. The traffic was horrendous and every couple of hundred yards or so, a set of traffic lights. Before Kirkintilloch, I decided that I had had enough, and headed back to a café in Bishopbriggs and home. A rather short and not my most enjoyable outing, that will teach me not to assume anything, but check things out first.

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People Hidden From Society.

       Yesterday, Wednesday, another lovely day, though the wind could have been a wee bit kinder,13/14 mph. These nasty thoughts about the wind never used to enter my head, but now that I'm an old wrinkly, fair weather cyclist, they do creep in from time to time.

       As I said, another lovely day, so out on the usual route, the Campsie area. Not a good run for a Westerly wind, which it was, as the start of the run is mainly down hill, from the Lowmoss/Torrance round-about, all the way through Kirkintilloch, you have it easy and the Westerly wind behind you. Like I said, those nasty thoughts creep in as I flee downhill towards Auchenreoch, "I'll have to face this bloody wind all the up this drag on the way home", an easterly wind would be nice for this run.

       On the way home I thought I would go and have a look at that wee lochan I saw through the trees, last time out. So I wandered down a twisty path to its edge, there were a couple of locals out with their dogs, and I asked if this small lochan had a name. Their answer was a wee bit of a disappointment to me, they said "No". They explained that it was a man made settlement pool for domestic waste water from the nearby, well-to-do housing estate that was built on what was once the beautiful location of Lennox Castle. Hidden away from public view, surrounded by trees, Lennox Castle, has gone from a home for those with learning difficulties, to a swanky housing estate. It seems that it has followed the normal course in this society, from a publicly owned hospital, albeit, with a dubious past, to a home for the wealthy. Ah well, I suppose that is par for the course in this society. 

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A Wee Hidden Gem.

         Haven't been able to get out on the bike much recently. A combination of lousy weather, (I'm now a fair weather cyclist) and difficult circumstances. However, today was forecast to be dry, with light winds, so dusted it down, checked the tyres and set off for a spin round my old familiar patch, the Campsie Hills area. Wrong shirt, it was a bit cooler than I thought, but still a very enjoyable run, not as many cyclist out on the road as usual. Although I have covered that area on the bike countless times, it never fails to surprise me, a view I hadn't taken in before, something through the trees I hadn't noticed before, some trees that have been removed, a burn in spate, and so on. Today, as I took to the cycle path just before you enter Lennoxtown, second time ever, I was obliged to stop because of a group of people with about six dogs spread out all over the pathway. While stopped I noticed through the trees a small lochan I never knew existed. It is pleasantly tucked behind shrubs and trees. So I stood looking at it for a while, watching the mallard peacefully swimming about. I had to take a wee photo. 

 On the cycle path just before you enter Lennoxtown. 

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Two Punctures And A Few Showers.

 Stathis preparing to cook the gourmet meal.

        On Sunday we had arranged with my daughter's family to have a barbecue at Firkin Point, it lies on the west shore of Loch Lomond between Invebeg and Tarbet. The plan was they would make their way there by car and I would cycle up the loch to Tarbet, turn and head back to Firkin Point to join them. Their part of the arrangement went to plan, my part of the plan however, was a little different. The day proved to be one of wind and some heavy showers, not my ideal cycling weather, so my wee yellow cape was on and off a few times. A short distance from Luss I got a puncture, normally not much of a problem, as I carry two spare tubes. However with my back and hip problems, I can no longer just sit on the grass verge and sort it out. If I sit down that low I have great difficulty in getting back up unassisted. If I stand and try to do things, my back aches something awful, so I walked up a farm path and found some large rocks I could sit on and get the job done. Back on the bike and about a mile further on, I got another puncture, now faced with the same problem, I decided to walk to Luss where I found a bollard at the entrance to to the village, where I could lean my back against as I stood at the side of the road and sorted the problem. Now well behind in time, another heavy shower, the wee yellow cape back on, I decided to skip Tarbet and just head for Firkin point and food. On arriving, I also decided to put the bike in the back of my partners car and abandon the run back, that's a first for me. 

One of the sunny spells between the showers and overcast sky.

     Never the less, the barbecue was a great success, even although it was punctuated by showers. It was also a wee birthday celebration for my grand daughter's 11th birthday, though that is in July, but she will be in Greece by then, so we had it a bit early.

During one of the dark overcast moments, my partners total failure to fly the kite.

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