the weather was perfect for cycling - crisp and clear - warm when in the direct sun, but not too cold in the shade. There was a breeze but it was mostly behind us due t the layout of the course (and why its not Edinburgh to Glasgow).
Fiona collected me and then we headed out to collect Grace, arriving in at the end of the start queue at around 0900, where we sat, slowly moving forward through the morning. In an attempt to let the police control traffic, only small groups were being let go at a time, with a minute or two between them. Had there been no queue jumping then we would have moved faster but what can you do?
We finally made it to the start just before 10.00 and off we went. After only a few minutes the drinks cage on Fiona's bike had worked itself loose and fell off. Of course, by the time we stopped and headed back, the next pack of cyclists were upon us and we had to wait for them to clear before we could recover the water bottle. Rather than attempt to fix it there, we decide to simply let me carry the bottle in my empty cage (due to my new camel-pack). We continued through Glasgow's streets which had police holding traffic for the cyclists at the early points. As the trip progressed, we were expected to follow the rules of the road ourselves, though casual observation showed that not many others had remembered that point.
Once we got into the rhythm of it the trip was quite enjoyable. The route was quite hilly, rolling more than sharp climbs and drops and there was only one spot where we had to get off and walk, but that was more to due with circumstance - the piece was a narrow lane with enough room for a car to comfortably drive down, even against a cyclist climbing. However, there were a few hundred cyclists climbing, some not well, some walking, and three cars, increasingly impatient, coming down. It seems easier and safer to just walk up and leave the cars to battle the maniacs.
After that, it eased into a standard routine - my mass would bring me down the hills at greater and greater speed, zigging to avoid the ore timid descenders. I would try to roller-coaster as far as possible up the next hill before having to start pedalling where I would suffer and my pace would slow right down. the people I passed on the way down would pass me on the way up and then I would pass them again on the next descent. Fiona was quite annoyed that even with her new bike she couldn't keep up with me on the way down and I pretended not to notice that she never passed me even though I'm sure she could have left me on any of the climbs.
A perfect example of this occurred at the top of a climb. since the Leuchars air show was on yesterday an Avro Vulcan did a flyby over the route. What an incredible sight. There is only one air worthy Vulcan left in existence, and this must have been it. But could I get to the camera in time? The lack of picture might give an indication.
Is there such a thing as an "instamatic" digital camera? something with no autofocus, minimal start up time, just for quick further away than 5 feet pictures?
By the time we were getting to the end we were quite happy to be done. The final few miles through cycle tracks in Edinburgh were teasing, especially with the mile countdown. The entrance into the park with the finish line was fantastic - the crowd applauded everyone so enthusiastically that you felt like you had just won, rather than being the nth thousand and something.
After resting for a bit we headed for the coaches back to Glasgow and after what seemed like an incredibly long drive we were back at Glasgow Green, with the truck full of our bikes alongside. Before too long we had the bikes on the car and we heading home.
We lost Grace before the first rest stop at 10 miles. What actually happened was she got through a red light that we couldn't catch. I don't think she was that disappointed - she had her mind on a faster time than us - she finished in 3.5 hours, about an hour quicker and earlier than we did. Fiona and I managed the course in 4 hours 33 min cycling finishing at 1610, a total of just over 6 hours.
Late Note: The reason this is published on Sunday 12th but hasn't appeared 'til now is that I was waiting for the official photos. The site implied they would be available within 24 hours, but reading the news on the site indicated it took longer. I have now seen the photos but they are so heavily watermarked that I have to wait for the official CD to arrive.
In the meantime, it was confirmed that over 9000 people too part on the day.
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