Thursday, July 13, 2006

A very wee bike ride in advance of the big huge one...


Well, the ride begins officially next Wednesday, the 19th, and tonight I managed 12 miles in calm conditions round the Ronas Voe/Gluss Water circuit. I've abandoned the toeclips and returned to clipless SPD pedals, and what a difference. How I ever thought I could manage without them I don't know.
The biggest worry is the weather, and that will only be a major issue in Shetland, where a headwind on Wednesday morning would be a disaster. I have to cover 36 miles into Lerwick and then do a radio show before catching the ferry south, and so far 12 miles is the most I've cycled. I am nervous about this first leg of the journey, and so at the moment I'm planning to take the van into Lerwick on Monday, leave it there and catch the bus home, then cycle into Lerwick either on Tuesday morning, if the weather's good, or Tuesday night. Then I could drive the van home with the bike, and drive into Lerwick on Wednesday. Or just wait until Wednesday. That way I get the chance of three possible weather windows.
One way or another, it's on. The hardest bits are the first, err... four days - Hillswick to Lerwick (36 miles) Aberdeen to Montrose (anything between 40 and 55 miles depending on the route), Montrose to Strathmiglo (60-odd) and a whopping 70 to Glasgow, though that's a Saturday and I've got the whole day and evening if necessary. Whose idea was this anyway?

1 comment:

Ajax MacKindlers said...

I took a trip out to Eshaness one fine evening last week whilst on another working visit to Shetland and think I recognised a "Notions" shaped blur cycling at giddy speeds out of Hillswick. Downhill and with a tail wind I detected no sign of a speed wobble, not even on the bike!
Good luck.