Lejog day 9 - 6/11/2018

Today we rode to Moffat, Scotland. Amber had never been to Scotland before. I was determined to check haggis off my bucket list today. Haggis isn't haggis unless it's eaten in Scotland.

We had good road surfaces today until we got to Scotland.  They're noticeably worse there although the very worst was yet to come. Traffic was increased which surprised me. We overshot the first brew stop and had to turn back. I guess we were really enjoying the roads

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Take a look at Ian's form - no hip swivel at all and very steady. Ex-pro?

The brew stop was tucked away in a car park on the right but Jim managed to get our attention so we wheeled around and had a cup of tea. Then on to lunch.

We also overshot the lunch stop which was at a pub a few yards before the Scottish border. We got there early so we decided to take a photo at the border.

Scottish border

Last English lunch

After lunch we were in Scotland. While the lowlands roads were still reasonably smooth, the traffic was heavier - possibly because they seem to have fewer roads. The Scottish are very proud and seem to hold some resentment against the English so I found myself playing up my American accent.

Here's a video of Mike and Liz on  their electric assisted bikes. Note how Liz takes the lane, which is probably the safest option considering the width of her hand tricycle. She rode Lejog on an electric assisted hand tricycle. Amazing. The Peak Tours crew made a special effort to charge, carry, and replace her batteries along the route. Kudos all around.

We finished the day in Moffat.  While looking at Moffat on Google Maps we noticed the Moffat Toffee shop which closed at 5pm so we decided to stop there on the way to our hotel. It is a wonderful store and we spent a lot of time and money there. The only reason we didn't spend twice as much is that we had to carry it all back to the States.

There was a group dinner at the the Star Inn which claims to be the world's thinnest pub. It may well be. There were many other places to eat in Moffat but we decided to be sociable and join the group. This is where I had my first haggis. It was surprisingly good, especially as it had melted cheese on top. The calories, cholesterol, and salt content make this very unhealthy so I'm not planning on eating any more.

Today we rode 73 miles and climbed a mere 2683 feet.