clairedavieswriter

Due to a particularly dreich weather forecast, our expectations for today were low, but the heavy rain never materialised and after a grey start…

… we rode for much of the time under blue skies with warm sun on our backs. The wind swung in our favour and positively blew us north, so despite the 12 mile climb at the start, we still achieved (bike nerd alert) my fastest daily average speed of the trip so far: just under 20kph.

We spent much of the day on the old A74, which was generally deserted.

Giving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy the glorious scenery of Lanarkshire…

… and its excellent cycle paths – which were furnished with encouraging signs for lejoggers (or at least those doing the short route)….

And thoughtfully located benches for scenic picnic lunches.

Mark dropped in en route north, to join us for 10k before pedalling back to his car, as you do.

The last 20k were not for the faint-hearted: Glasgow, COP26 host: where are your cycle lanes?

We reached the city centre, unscathed, shortly after 4pm.

Our accommodation for the evening is the wilfully spartan EasyHotel: the only storage is the floor, and WiFi is extra, but on the plus side stabling is available for trusty steeds, and to be fair £25 for a city centre room is pretty reasonable – and that includes the extra charge for a window.

Tomorrow I say farewell to my wonderfully cheerful ride companion since Kirkby Lonsdale. Thanks for coming all this way Diane!

Otherwise tomorrow I’m looking forward to another day off to rest and recuperate before I head into the Highlands on Tuesday.