LEJOG Day 10 - Moffat to Loch Lomond
Day 10
79 miles
870m ascent
Further heavy rain but a productive morning, lunch in Glasgow, then a few flat tyres & late arrival to Loch Lomond.
Pressure was on this morning -
A) for Greg not to be late
B) for us to crack out the 57 miles to Glasgow for lunch (to meet my friend & get to Balloch not too late, for some chill/exploration time).
A) for Greg not to be late
B) for us to crack out the 57 miles to Glasgow for lunch (to meet my friend & get to Balloch not too late, for some chill/exploration time).
We were totally on it, & left by 0800 into the pouring rain, only this time I was wearing my raincoat ;).
I've also had to ditch the water-resistant leg warmers for now, as they worked great except they were rubbing on the back of my knee giving me some sores, no matter how much cream I used (cycle touring is physically painful! ).
It was pretty much the same road again this morning however, with some misty views of surrounding mountains, and lots of nice conversation which passed the time.
Come mile 30 we had a 10 minute snack, & started to enjoy civilisation & some decent road surfaces. Seriously though, some of those roads were so bad - literally just a floor of potholes - slow & uncomfortable, for the wrists & derriere!
The route hadn't been too hilly up until then, but we were treated to a constant downhill into Glasgow. This would've been nicer had there not been a sudden constant headwind stopping us (but really, I mean me) from cycling forwards. At least the rain had stopped though.
We got to Amy at 13:15 - bang on predicted time. It was lovely to catch up with my old housemate, & enjoy another vegan heaven! We ate at 'Mono', a gig venue come vegan restaurant, where we relished pizzas, banana-split, ice cream & cake. We also chatted to a lovely lady who had spent 10 weeks cycling 800 miles, & camping around Scotland. She'd done textile workshops all over the place for it, then written a book about it. Kindly her & her friend offered me some money for the Alzheimers Society, & gave us her Facebook & blog name 'Create with Fibre'.
Before we knew it we had spent over 2.5h here, so slowly said our goodbyes & picked the route back up along the River Clyde.
I was surprised to find that this Cicerone route follows the cycleway 74, then the 7, all the way out of Glasgow via woodland and riverside paths. Very pleasant & brilliant to avoid the busy city roads.
The only downside to the trip back was the recurrent flat tyres that Greg suffered. They were both to his rear tyre, but after the second he just used a new inner so we could get going - it was already getting dark.
We followed the lovely canal side path into Dumbarton, then along the river Leven into Balloch.
Despite it being 1900, we had to at least peek at Loch Lomond before retiring to our respective accommodation! Annoyingly I stood in dog foul during the detour, which has now covered part of my overshoe.
Despite this, we got to the water's edge & could see a wisp of bright pink on the horizon ahead, & the view of moody munroes at the far end of the Loch. We will have to wait until tomorrow to get the full feel of the place I think!
I'm a little bunged up now with my dad's cold, the saddle sore on the left side is getting worse (but skin hasn't broken thankfully!) & I've got a minor gum infection. Hmm, here's hoping these will stay at bay for the last 4 days!
God bless, & good night.
X
 |
| This one road...forever, & ever, & ever... |
It was pretty much the same road again this morning however, with some misty views of surrounding mountains, and lots of nice conversation which passed the time.
Come mile 30 we had a 10 minute snack, & started to enjoy civilisation & some decent road surfaces. Seriously though, some of those roads were so bad - literally just a floor of potholes - slow & uncomfortable, for the wrists & derriere!
The route hadn't been too hilly up until then, but we were treated to a constant downhill into Glasgow. This would've been nicer had there not been a sudden constant headwind stopping us (but really, I mean me) from cycling forwards. At least the rain had stopped though.
 |
| Lunch at Mono with Amy |
We got to Amy at 13:15 - bang on predicted time. It was lovely to catch up with my old housemate, & enjoy another vegan heaven! We ate at 'Mono', a gig venue come vegan restaurant, where we relished pizzas, banana-split, ice cream & cake. We also chatted to a lovely lady who had spent 10 weeks cycling 800 miles, & camping around Scotland. She'd done textile workshops all over the place for it, then written a book about it. Kindly her & her friend offered me some money for the Alzheimers Society, & gave us her Facebook & blog name 'Create with Fibre'.
Before we knew it we had spent over 2.5h here, so slowly said our goodbyes & picked the route back up along the River Clyde.
I was surprised to find that this Cicerone route follows the cycleway 74, then the 7, all the way out of Glasgow via woodland and riverside paths. Very pleasant & brilliant to avoid the busy city roads.
The only downside to the trip back was the recurrent flat tyres that Greg suffered. They were both to his rear tyre, but after the second he just used a new inner so we could get going - it was already getting dark.
 |
| Another flat tyres? Geez! |
We followed the lovely canal side path into Dumbarton, then along the river Leven into Balloch.
Despite it being 1900, we had to at least peek at Loch Lomond before retiring to our respective accommodation! Annoyingly I stood in dog foul during the detour, which has now covered part of my overshoe.
Despite this, we got to the water's edge & could see a wisp of bright pink on the horizon ahead, & the view of moody munroes at the far end of the Loch. We will have to wait until tomorrow to get the full feel of the place I think!
I'm a little bunged up now with my dad's cold, the saddle sore on the left side is getting worse (but skin hasn't broken thankfully!) & I've got a minor gum infection. Hmm, here's hoping these will stay at bay for the last 4 days!
God bless, & good night.
X
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