This picture was taken on just one stretch of Scotland's extensive greenway system. Miles upon miles ahem...kilometers upon kilometers of greenway stretch the whole length of the country. Yes you read right, COUNTRY! make you jealous? It should. An entire paved trail system packed with unaware ipod absorbed scots, joy! It really is pretty cool because it allows car free access to come of the neighboring townships and such.
The road surface is smooth and even includes huge underpasses and tunnels which allow foot and bicycle traffic to move under the busier sections of town.
So on the other days ride I followed this greenway out about five or so miles, and then rode back in and under the tunnel to explore the inside of the city a little more. I rode up and over the mountain which dominates the Edinburgh skyline on a purely pedestrian and cyclist roadway.
Here is that little mountain:
I followed the road and roundabout which runs up this fair molehill and was rewarded with just a peak of the incredible view which the mountain, known as Arthur's Seat, offers of the city.
I tried to take a little video, hopefully it will work:
Up and over I went. I have since learned that a frequent fixture of the various road furniture in Scotland is black ice and frosted road surface. With so little daylight this time of year some roads never see the light of day, even if it warms up nicely.
Permanent frost is especially common on roads which aren't traveled by automobiles like the greenways or this lovely road around the mountain which I decided to come screaming down on this particular ride. As the road narrowed I found myself coming down an really tight section of road which wove its way down the northern (and thus cold) side of the mountain. I found out about the ice real fast, trust me. I wish I had a video of my near brush with pavement. As my rear tire slid out I leaned back out of the corner to get a little more vertical and place my weight squarely on the center of the bike. Of course this put me unable to corner and flying towards the curb and the mountain itself actually. I decided to go for it, mountain biker that I am at heart, Bunnyhopped my pinarello up and over the curb casing it into the muddy grass. Followed through with a sweet curve up and back down a slope of the mountain, and hopping back onto pavement. Whoah! crazy. I was impressed with myself, especially since my Pina is setup with moto braking.
Back down the rest of the mountain, cautiously of course. Around town I went. Up the Royal Mile and towards the Castle esplanade. Did I mention some of the roads in Edinburgh are older than America? Yeah, and they feel like it too. Here is just a few shots of the cobbles I rode that day.
And some more, this one of my new favorite roads. There is nothing in the world quite like climbing up cobbles in the big ring.
Anyways, We have a castle here. Also older than America. The castle itself has stood since about 1300 but similar structures have stood on the same glacially made promontory since Scotland's earliest history.
As I rode up to the Castle, passing the Gates an armed guard hollered "walking traffic only on the esplanade." It took me a few to hear him and then I dismounted. When I did he called "Cheers mate!" Wow, awesome treatment from an armed guard. Folks really are well nice here in Scotland (we say well like an adjective for pretty much anything here, for instance 'It's well cold out'" Anyways, the Esplanade. Promontory from which all of Edinburgh can be seen.
Pretty eh?
From here it was back down the cobbles and home for a hot shower to wipe off the road grime. In my next post "mudguards and miles." Stay tuned!!
2 comments:
Um Gordon, that's a road bike, couldn't you find a real bike?
Yeah, Im workin on it alright! One thing at a time, one thing at a time!
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