JoGLE 4: Balloch to Gretna Green

Balloch - Dunbarton - Clydebank - Glasgow - Hamilton - Abington - Lockerbie - Gretna Green

We started the morning following the route 7 cycle way. This took us through some pretty run of the mill suburbs, intimidating council estates and bleak industrial estates. One long stretch had strange black towers every couple of hundred meters:

Very spooky. I thought they might be police watch towers or crack dens but just as I took the picture I realised it's a disused railway junction box and that we were cycling along the old railway line. I like it when they do that.

As you can imagine passing through Glasgow with the British Empire Games on proved a little difficult. What I thought very interesting was that you could see lots of shiny new buildings, evidence of plenty of public investment but heaps of emty billboards. Perhaps the private sector has a bit of catching up to do.

The highlight of the day was bumping into our pals from the Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man cycling teams at some traffic lights and just having to have a bit of a chat. 

After Glasgow we headed down the A74, which, in response to a reader's question (my dad), had no traffic on it at all, miles without any cars. They have built an actual motorway next to it and for large parts of it turned one side of the old duel carriageway into a cycle path. Like being in a zombie apocalypse. Though what we saw one couple do out the back of their car on the cycle path was definitely not zombie-like. 

As we sit here in Gretna Green, a stone throw away from the boarder, about to go from Haggis and battered Mars bars to Cumberland sausages and Kendal mint cake, from wee bony lass to lasso, I must give my views on Scotland:

There are a lot of B&Bs. A lot of it looks like Dartmoor. Pleasantly surprised by Inverness and Glasgow. 

Small Talk in the Big Ring

Today we are discussing disc brakes, joking about jerseys and debating dérailleurs with ... Liam "Compact" Conway.

Liam went to Uni with Greg, who knows Chris through Rolls-Royce, who then knows James through Rolls-Royce, who went to Uni with me. Crystal clear? So bessie mates now.

In my most "Our Graham from Blind Date" way: Liam studied Physiotherapy at uni but is about to join the RAF as a fire fighter. He was born in Preston but lives in Adlington. He's a dab hand in the kitchen,  got straight A's at A-Levels and knows how to give a lady a good time. 

We have been discussing cultural differences between the South and tup North. All very instructive for me.

Top Trums: youngest and shortest but most aryan.

Charity

I hadn't mentioned but some of the team are raising money for charity. More on it tomorrow. But if you are enjoying my blog and know how dificult riting and speling is four me then consider donating at our Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/JoG-LE-14/

Strava part 1 and part 2