Drowned Bicycles

I came across a very sad article in The Guardian today entitled "Bicycle graveyards: why do so many bikes end up underwater?". It talked about the predilection some people have for throwing things into water - in this case bicycles.

Most of my favorite routes go alongside water - rivers, streams, oceans. I wonder how many abandoned bicycles, that started off as prized possessions, are hidden under those waters. It's like buying a puppy, watching it grow up, and when it gets sick, abandoning it. 

There are so many things you can do with an old bike other than tossing it and mucking up the environment. I've donated many bikes to charity, friends, scouts, etc. There's a few bikes in my garage right now that could use a new home. Someone would love them.

Just down the road from where I work there's a place called the Loma Linda Bicycle Hospital. I love that name. It's just a guy who takes in old bikes, fixes them up, and gives them away to people who need a free bike. He also offers bicycle maintenance advice and training. His whole ethic is to keep bicycles useful and loved for as long as possible. I need to go buy him a beer.

Back in Southern California

Now I'm back in Southern California trying to figure out how to avoid riding in extreme heat. Mind you, looking at England's current heat wave, I'm glad I didn't do Lejog in July.

I rode last Friday after work from Anaheim to Huntington Beach and back. It's a shortened version of The Crema ride that's only 40 miles, all bike path, and gets me back to Anaheim before the gates close at 9pm.

I rode it on the Brompton because I can leave it in the back of my car while at work and I don't have to worry about someone messing with it. Plus I get a slightly better workout compared to a road bike. I eat at the Huntington Beach Cafe right on the beach front. This is why - it starts with cheese quesadilla, pico de gallo, salsa, chips and sour cream and ends with great live music .

On the way back, three club riders pulled onto the bike path in front of me so I jumped on their wheels. The first guy pulled at about 21 mph and I could just about keep up but the next guy pulled at about 23 mph and I span out. I knew putting a 44 tooth chainring on would limit my top end and now I know what it's limited to.

The temperature started around 70F and dropped to 60F while at the beach. I had a strong headwind headed to the beach but it stayed around long enough for me to enjoy a strong tailwind as I headed back inland. In fact, I think the tailwind was stronger that the headwind which almost never happens.

Lejog day 14 Crask to John O'Groats

Today is the last day from Crask to John O'Groats. It's a day of lasts. The A836 continues to Altnaharra then we transition onto the B873 which runs generally downhill alongside Loch Naver, then the river Naver to Bettyhill. Surely one of the most scenic sections of the entire route.

Is this the most northern peacock in the world?

At Bettyhill on the north coast it gets lumpy with several noticeable hills. Slowly climbing the first, I was passed by three riders on e-bikes. "Bet you wish you had one of these", said the first. A little later the next e-bike rider said the same thing. "Yes", I admitted - they looked pretty good.

On the third hill I passed one of the e-bike riders struggling to climb. His battery had died. Ha! Karma!

Michele and I left lunch a little before the rest of the crowd and we were moving well with a tailwind so we somehow managed to beat the last brew stop which was disappointing. So we ended up getting to the end before the other riders, which was not our intent. But it was raining so we sat in a cafe at the end for the others to turn up. 

I had given my Lantiseptic to Melanie so my butt was really sore. Eventually everyone reached the end and we took the final photo. 

The Seaview Hotel had a fan heater so we were able to dry all our clothes. They didn't smell any better, but at least they were dry.

Once again Peak-Tours demonstrated why touring with a quality company is worth the money, especially if you are already paying to fly back and forth over the Atlantic. If I had been self-supported my crash would have wrecked my schedule and hotel reservations, possible jeopardizing my ability to catch my return flight. With Peak Tours it was only a minor inconvenience. I want to thank Mike, Mark, and Wendy for their support and help. I'm going to thank Wendy a second time because she provided us with food at the brew stops.

I spent a lot of time riding in rain this year, but a month later England is in a heatwave. I'm so glad I wasn't climbing huge hills in 100F temps thinking "I could have suffered like this at home for a lot less!"

So - Moselle to Mozart in two years on the Brompton?

Lejog day 13 Inverness to Crask

Today we rode from Inverness to Crask. It was belting down most of the day. Alan, our ride leader, informed us at the start that the bike path on the West side of the Kessock bridge was closed and we would need to take a detour to use the East side. One of the riders who knew the area would lead the pack through the detour. Unfortunately I needed to stop at Highland bikes to buy some waterproof booties because my shoes hadn't been dry for three days so we didn't get guided over the bridge. However I did get some lovely booties, although not at the great price Michele had got hers for.

We mucked around for a bit finding the detour but were lucky to run into Mike at the same time as a local was giving us bad directions. Mike had the right route programmed into his head unit so we followed him.

Crossing the Firth of Forth

Riding along the Ness estuary was idyllic.

The roads in Scotland made me glad I was riding 32mm tires. I felt sorry for Melanie who had opted for 28mm. I gave her my Lantiseptic butt cream but I'm not sure how much that helped.

The road the Crask is the A836 which is super narrow with signed passing points. Someone with an advanced sense of humor had carefully scraped off the right side of each A which turned PASSING POINT to PISSING POINT. Oscar Wilde wishes he had thought of that. Someone else, who didn't quite understand the joke, just obliterated the A completely.

Because I had asked nicely, Michele and I were allowed to stay at the Crask Inn while most other riders were bussed to Lairg or Altnaharra. The Crask Inn is a real treat. For one thing, the owner is a good cook and managed to make lasagna exquisitely for us. Plus he has a lovely dry sense of humor.

Two thumbs up for the Crask Inn.

Lejog day 12 Ballater to Inverness

Today we rode from Ballater to Inverness. Its 74 miles with 5,300 feet of climbing over the Cairgorms. Last time I rode Lejog we were unable to ride this day because storm Oscar brought 40-50 mph winds, freezing temperatures and heavy rain. This was the day I really needed to ride, and I did.

Before the hair

There's a hairy start to the route. About seven miles in there's a 20% grade sign. Most of us got off and walked - it's less that half a mile. Then the grade moderates to 12% - 15%. I could get the pedal over the top but I was quite wobbly and, with traffic passing, I decided to walk that part too. After a little longer the grade dropped below 10% and I felt comfortable riding again up to the ski center in Lecht where we found the first brew stop.

The weather forecast had been ominous, with cold rain predicted at the top of the climb and a gnarly descent to follow. The idea of a fast descent with frozen hands on slick roads was not appealing. Fortunately it was wrong and it was dry and about 50F at the top so that was good. In fact I enjoyed the descent very much - we certainly deserved it.

Nevertheless, the rain did arrive for the second half of the day. It was very heavy so I'm really glad it was delayed. If it had hit before the descent, that would have been bad. After lunch it was either raining, was just about to rain, or had just finished raining.

I came up with a new motto for Scotland: "Welcome to Scotland, here's a towel"

The descent and final section into Inverness was on a busy road which got Michele lost and on the wrong side of the road somehow. I waited ten minutes for her and got a bit worried but she showed up eventually. Accommodation at Charden Villa was pretty average. We walked around Inverness for a bit and I showed Michele her first Marks and Spencer. She tried trifle for the first time.

We went for a drink at the Ardgarry pub on the corner and I tried Balvenie whisky which was my absolute favorite. It's $60 a bottle in the USA - I might try to get one.