Let me tell you a bit about my cycling history. how I got to where I am, and hopefully inspire some mini adventures - you don't need to be a pro or a regular tourer to enjoy a couple of days on the bike!
Like the majority of people who cycle, I was taught to ride a bike at quite a young age. I don't really remember learning - although I'm sure my parents remember teaching me! As I grew up I used my bike regularly, to cycle to school, to the shops, to my friends houses. Occasionally my mum would take us on longer trips, but generally not more than 15-20 miles. The one exception is when I was 14 and my mums friend invited us to go on a cycling tour with her, her son and her uncle. They made all the arrangements, and all I had to do was pack my panniers, turn up and ride my bike. We spent a fabulous week cycling around the Isle of Mull as far as I remember we had pretty decent weather - and quite a lot of hills. A few years later I was at university in Aberdeen, using my bike to commute to my part time job. Unfortunately one evening I fell unwell and my work sent me home in a taxi, after a week in bed I went back to pick up my bike and it was gone. Being young and naive I never pursued any real means to get it back and my cycling days for the next few years were seriously curtailed.
When I moved back home I started cycling again using a bike I bought from a friend, the fit on it wasn't great, and it was not the same as my fondly remembered companion, but did the job for a short (2-3 mile) commute, until I had an accident and the wheel was buckled, and the derailer damaged slightly. I managed to get it fixed, but it was never the same and eventually gave up. Bikeless for a while, I had in the meantime learned to drive and used this as my main form of transport. A year or 2 later though, I moved house from town to city, and the car became pretty much redundant as public transport turned out to be both cheaper and faster generally.
But sitting on a bus for the best part of 2-3 hours commuting each day (as I'm sure many of you know) is not fun. My mind turned to taking up cycling again. In conversation with my sister she offered me her bike, which had been sitting in the shed unused for a pretty long time. Gratefully accepting this I began to cycle again. Starting out doing 2 to 3 to 5 miles and gradually working up to my 10 mile each way commute. Freedom. Timing was the same as or faster than the bus, depending on traffic and wind, and while I am still not doing this every day I felt much better cycling at least 2-3 days a week. (I am now doing 3-5). And when I came across an advert for the 60 mile (100k) Pedal for Parkinsons event in Stirling I knew I had to give it a go.
My motivation for this choice was my grandfathers death a few years earlier. He had suffered from Parkinsons for years, and I had been thinking about doing something to help raise money for the charity for a while. This was the perfect opportunity. A 60 mile ride in the countryside around Stirling and unknown to me at the time, including quite a large proportion of hills. I convinced one of my friends that she would enjoy it as well and we started training. The most miles I had done at any one time prior to this was the 45 mile stint we did on our longest touring day on Mull at age 14, other than that, 10-20 miles had been my max at any one time, so for me this was a big deal. 2 days before the event, disaster struck. My bike was stolen from the tenement hallway. Thankfully I managed to get a replacement, and complete the event. Shortly after this my work began offering the Cycle to Work scheme and through that I got a shiny new hybrid. Since then I have joined Edinburgh Belles on Bikes cycling group, and become a ride leader and cycle trainer. I have taken part in a few other 'official' longer rides - the Pedal for Scotland from Glasgow to Edinburgh, and the Original Edinburgh Night Ride as part of the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling. and many more 30+ mile journeys as part of the Edinburgh Belles and on my own.
So this brings me back to the present and where I am now - getting to know the ladies through Belles on Bikes has inspired me to challenge myself and plan the upcoming tour. From the 20th to the 27th July I will be cycling from The City of Edinburgh where I live, to the City of Dublin, via Belfast. 7 days on the bike with one rest day, around 50 miles a day, and a 10 hour journey home on the 28th, in time to drive to Aberdeen for my friends wedding reception on the 29th July.
Hopefully I have not bitten off more than I can chew!
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