July 12, 2025
Perth to Stirling
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
One of the wonderful things about cycle touring is that everyday is different. You don’t necessarily expect it to be, but it just turns out that way. Today we had a full day’s ride to Stirling and we were looking forward to a two night break. Dave was studying the route this morning while laying in bed and winced when he saw (1) a really stiff climb about 10 km into the ride; and (2) a long 62 km day. His knee has given him the most trouble after ascending steep climbs, especially when coupled with a long day in the saddle.
On the plus side, it was predicted to be sunny with a high of 78 degrees, and it turned out to be one of the nicest days we have had on the entire tour. We have to work more on the packing front when the weather is nice, because all our rain gear and jackets get packed away. That is a good problem to have.
The morning ride was excellent and the climb no problem - helped by a lovely country lane and line of trees proving good shade. Much of the riding we have done in the last three weeks has been through forests. After we reached the top of the climb around 13 km we had a long ride along a ridge and had a wonderful wide ranging view. We rode through Kinross, where we had started our trip on July 2 twelve days prior. We were completing a big counterclockwise loop through the highlands. The weather in Kinross was markedly different from twelve days ago when it was pouring rain and blustery as we departed, but today was sunny with no wind.
(Later the four of us reflected that the worst weather of our two weeks together was the first hour leaving Kinross. It had poured steadily).
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
After Kinross the traffic got more complicated. Our cycling route was less appealing and we endured one 6 km stretch on a very fast highway with no shoulder and a lot of traffic. It felt a lot like the heavier traffic we had to endure in Ireland. Happily, we haven't had much of that in Scotland. In fact both Dave and I have remarked on several occasions how much we've enjoyed riding in Scotland. Riding in traffic on narrow roads has been blessedly rare and the Scots have developed some really nice cycling infrastructure.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We came to the village of Dollar where we sat down for lunch at Cafe 44. These Scottish tea shops have been the ticket. They have fine, sometimes creative food and nice, but brisk service. Afterwards we came upon the 170th Famous Alva Games in the village of Alloa and it was a scene with pipers accompanying Scottish dancers. These games appear to be a version of Highland Games with foot races, bicycle races, and “heavy events” such as shot put, and caber toss. The Famous Alva Games were started in 1845 and as with Highland Games, it was an effort to revive Scottish culture and heritage after the bans imposed following the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. The road was blocked off at both ends but the security people let us through. They had a great day for a gathering.
The ride continued through a forest and then minor drama ensued as Eric’s battery ran out within a few kms of our hotel. He had had three bars of battery remaining at lunch but it dropped precipitously (to 0) and we still had 7 km to go. He managed pretty well on his own juice until the outskirts of Stirling where we had an uphill finish. It was a slow slog for Eric on a very warm afternoon and he earned his lager later. And for the record, the man never complains about any of the set backs we've encountered. He's a real trooper. Actually, both he and Melinda have earned our respect as fellow cycle tourers. We'll happily ride with them anywhere, anytime.
Our digs were the hotel located on the grounds of the University of Stirling. We have stayed in a few hotels associated with Universities: the Luskin Hotel at UCLA feels like a very nice modern business hotel. On the other hand, the hotel we stayed at in Lyon, Hotel des Congres felt vaguely dorm-like. The Stirling Court is more in line with the later; perfectly functional but nothing fancy. The biggest downside, and it was a big one, was there was no a/c. We knew right away it would be a tough night. The windows would open only a crack and there was no air flow. Dave really suffers in the heat so it’s worse for him. After cleaning up we laid down on top of the sheets with our little fans running. We would have had a miserable night without them.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We had decided to eat at the hotel that evening. The Wimbledon Ladies’ Final was on and it was too much work to take our bikes out to go into town for dinner! The match turned out to be a bust and we all convened for a casual dinner feeling a bit cranky and hot. Dinner was better than expected (fish and chips for us and chicken burgers for the Lilleys) and concluded with mint chip ice cream. It was still hot in our room so we propped our door open and lived with the noise created with many others doing the same. There is a heat wave in the UK right now and its going to be a tough summer if we have too many nights like this!
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 2,667 km (1,656 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 4 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |
2 weeks ago