Friday
18th November Light SW
Cold
and sunny, 2 to 4C
I
await news on the hooded merganser. By 10:30 a.m. I decide that I
need to move on and head off towards Edinburgh. It is wonderful to be
cycling with alight breeze behind me and with the sun shining. Snow
tops the hill a north of the Forth and everything feels good; better
than things have felt since leaving Orkney.
Through
Bouness and the first push of the day up a hill, a text from George
Gay is quickly followed by one from The Oracle, Phil Andrews:
It's
back!
A decision to make. Do I turn
around and go for it?
I text Phil:
Forget
it. I am half way to Edinburgh.
I know that for the first time
in a week I am feeling OK, just. I say just because I know I am very
close to the edge both physically and mentally. I am constantly tired
and my head is feeling very tense. There is the thought that soon I
will see my family again. My daughter, Rebecca lives in Newcastle,
160 miles away and I am heading that way.
There have been times in my life
when things thrown at me have caused stress problems and my decision
to continue towards Edinburgh relaxes me.
The ride from Bouness is beautiful with views along the Firth of Forth and a relatively easy road.
The ride from Bouness is beautiful with views along the Firth of Forth and a relatively easy road.
I am surprised when I reach
Queensferry and I spend some time photographing the three fascinating
bridges from the small quay. To the east is the rusty red rail
bridge. To the west the old suspension bridge and beyond that the
almost completed new road bridge.
Cycle paths, convoluted and with
confusing signposts that have distance to city centre numbers that
would provide physics students with motion parallax problems; 7
miles, 5 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles . . . . I have cycled two miles but
I am still seven miles from the City Centre. This becomes funny and
looking at all the signs one has the feeling that the people who put
them up were having a laugh at cyclists' expense.
http://www.edinburghcitycentrehostels.co.uk/
Great to be in a hostel in
Edinburgh; in fact it is called The Hostel. Adam, the manager
couldn't have been nicer or more helpful and Helen, also behind the
reception counter, is a biologist with experience of butterfly
surveying in Mexico. Both are wonderful characters and a pleasure to
meet.
As are the French couple from
Nice. With all emails, Facebook names and blogs are swopped for
possible future meetings in Peru.
28.17
miles 1659 feet elevation up 1562 down
Sounds like you are, very sensibly, being a bit kind to yourself Gary. If you ever had, you certainly have nothing left to prove this year. Also at a fiver a bird I could stand you resting on your laurels! Hope you have a safe journey to meet up with your daughter.
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