Islay, day 1

(all the sheep eye charlie's fig bar jealously.)


Firstly, I love trains, and I love the trains in this country. We took a "bargain berth" sleeper all the way up to Glasgow, with our bikes, and it was lovely. Our own little room with one bunk each, the rattling rhythm of the tracks as terrifically soporific lullaby, and coffee, orange juice and shortbread in the morning.

Which was good. Because it turned out to be a long day.

The plan was to cycle from Arrochar & Tarbet station (the furthest the line would take us) west and south through a mountain pass and along Loch Fyne to the ferry-terminal at Kennacraig in time to catch the 18.00hrs (last) ferry across to Port Ellen, Islay. In theory, we had loads of time, not so so many miles to cover, and lots of delicious raw-food bars.

In truth, the raw food bars were delicious (especially mango), but the other two assumptions were oh so false, mainly because of:

Weather!

Hail and hail and hail and wind and wind and wind and this one mini blizzard, tucked in the middle, for fun. Mainly headwinds, of course. The gusts were 55mph, and the regular, non-gusts were stable around 30mph (not an exaggeration, even. When we finally did make it to the ferry terminal, we learned that all the ferries to Port Ellen were canceled that day. Because of the wind. The ridiculous wind, that practically canceled us.) Many, many times we had to stop because of a) being blown off our bikes b) not being able to produce any forward motion at all c) fear of death from being blown into traffic, or, for the one little stretch where the road twisted and we had a tail-wind, d) complete lack of control at high speeds, at the wind's whim. Also, sometimes, the hail-in-our-eyes was a bit too painful/blinding for productive riding. So. We walked a lot. We cowered a lot. I regretted, a bit, having chosen _this_ as Charlie's first exposure to the bike holiday experience. But scenery, that which wasn't hidden in/by the hail clouds, was lovely. Snowy mountains. Incredibly weather-impenetrable sheep. Waterfalls every where.

All in all, the 66miles took us seven hours and seven minutes. With no rest stops longer than five minutes. And then that canceled ferry. Luckily, Charlie did such a good job at looking miserable that the ferry company agreed to pay for our taxi from Port Askaig, where the ferry could go, all the way down to Port Ellen, where our B&B was (where the ferry was supposed to go). They even got us an extra big taxi that could fit our bikes in the back.

All things considered, I'm incredibly happy with my new Sugoi shoe covers. Warm and dry feet through it all. And they're Canadian! Of course.

Run the Bath again

Race Day! One of my favorite things about race day(s) is walking around town in a medal and a space blanket like it's no big deal. Today a kid asked his mom as we walked past, "Why are they in tin foil?"

Because, dear kid, today is the Bath Half marathon!

My fourth time in this race, in fact. That's 4/6 for the period I've been here, not too bad. And, today, a PB! But don't get excited, because, actually, what I did was just tie with my last PB. Weird. I know. Exactly the same. 1.40 last time, 1.40 this time. But I'm counting it as a real PB because last time I felt horrid after, and this time I just feel hungry.

(Charlie did brilliant too, considering he fell off his bike last week, smashing his knee and can't really bend it properly right now. 1.48, in a brace. Not bad at all.)

My least favourite thing about this race:

-although Bath is one of the most breath-takingly beautiful cities in the world (I say), this course, in order to stay mostly flat, takes runners along all the ugliest bits (except the start and finish, which are, to be fair, lovely). Maybe they want to encourage people to stick around for a few days to see all the nice bits afterwards?

My favourite things about this race:

-it's so close. A six minute walk down to the start from our front door.

-Great treats. You never know what you're going to get. Along with the regular sports drink, t-shirt, mars bar, etc, this year's goodies include Goji berries, toilet paper, discounts on flights to Toronto (!) and ground flax seed...

-it's a huge race in a small town. Meaning loads of spectators, and a good chance that you'll recognize a fair number, even if you didn't know they'd be out/they didn't know you were running.

new skills present

On special occasions, people like to buy themselves presents, on occasion. So, when I graduated from the PhD program, as a self-gift, I decided to give myself a new SKILL: Leatherwork!

I like sewing, and I needed a new satchel, and I know a great guy who was willing to teach me, so: Leatherwork!

Turns out it's like a lovely marriage of sewing and heavy hand-tools. I like that. I ordered half a cow (hide) on Etsy, from a chivalrous Texan and got ready to LEARN.

Less time than I expected later, (and with lots and lots and lots of help from my tutor, Gaz) I present...my bag! Big enough for my laptop, lined and everything. That's fancier than I get with most clothes... .