WE'RE IN SCOTLAND, BABY!!
Rough start today riding with PJ to Gretna. We were warned by a fellow cyclist that the hedges had just been cut and thorns were all over the path. Alas, it was too late... a gentle but unmistakable hiss announced itself, and soon after his rear tire was completely flat.
At mid morning we crossed a huge milestone - we've made it to Scotland! The place to be where the grass is greener, the air is fresher and the weather is.... sunnier?!
Our lunch stop today was in the town of Lockerbie on the lawn of a church, where we were also kindly invited inside to wash our hands if we wished. A small detour brought us to the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial site for the lives lost in the Lockerbie Air Disaster in 1988. It's worth mentioning that not only did all those aboard the flight perish, but so did people on the ground, from the chunks of the plane that rained from the sky after the bombing.
There were two route options to do today, a shorter, less scenic 67 mile ride or another that added another 20 on top. The decision was pretty easy for me - it just seemed like an unnecessary risk for me to push myself even more when I've invested so much in to the journey as it is. Just as we were told, however, the road was extremely unpleasant to ride with only a few smooth bits in between. The only consolation was that the route was eventually punctuated by sunny views of the hills and wind farms later on in the day through Clyde Valley.
We've arrived now in a motel near Abington and will be spending the night here. We'll have to take a coach or taxi of some sort to our dinner venue tonight - only a mile away but I don't think I'd be too happy about having to get on the bike again this evening anyway! I must make a more conscious effort to load up on starchy foods in the evenings and also energy bars through the day. I feel like today was quite a struggle and I do think that was at least partially due to my laxity in that sense.
Another day gone, but we've certainly made a great deal of progress just by staying next to the main roads.
Not even his Schwalbe Marathon Plus's could save him..
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