Biking Dude Blog

By bike is cleaned up and boxed up and will soon be shipped back to Minnesota, and I am sitting on a train heading to the San Francisco airport. It is strange to be traveling so quickly after months of traveling at such a naturally human pace. I am excited about going back to camp for a couple of weeks once I get back to MN and looking forward to working on some of the ideas that I've had in the last few months, but I imagine that it will take a bit of getting used to normalcy again. I find myself with quite a mix of emotions at the end of my journey, but my heart is filed with happiness and gratitude when I think on all of the wonderful people that I met on this trip. I remember my wonder at seeing the beauty of the land, and the accomplished feeling after battling through a difficult day. Nathaniel and I had discussed at length the differences between having an idea and executing it, between thinking and doing. Is one more important? Without the thought, there is nothing to be done, but an idea has no existence without execution. Until I got on that plane to Boston, until I actually put my feet on the pedals and started riding through my first day of gusty winds and blinding pollen, this adventure was just an idea, something a friend had done that sounded like a good idea. However, I'm not sure that I would have even thought of doing this if my friend David hadn't done a similar trip last year. I met many people that thought my journey was really cool, and said that they would like to be able to do something similar someday, but only a few actually grabbed their bikes to ride with me, even if it was only for a mile. The thought is important, extremely important, but it is ephemeral until it is realized. My point? I'm glad that I did this trip, that I realized what started as a vague idea, because I met people and saw things that I never would have even thought of if I hadn't gotten on my bike and started peddling. My continued thanks to everyone who helped me on this trip. Minnesota, here I come!

I traveled about 79.1 miles today.
Really long (but still fun) day. Camping tonight, will post more tomorrow.

I traveled about 70 miles today.
Roughly 70 miles today, not going to check right now. Took much longer than it should have due to hills, winds, and some difficulty following route signs in cities. Also rain. No pictures from today, since my battery was running low after checking the map all day, but these are some sheep I met yesterday while following a bridleway.

I traveled about 67.4 miles today.
And the day before was 71.5, fyi

I traveled about 70.9 miles today.
Biking into bad headwinds all day. Had a nice stay with Andrew, stayed up late chatting again. Got some climbing through the lakes national park today, but should be nice. Haven't been taking many pictures, but will try to do so if I can start making better time with the biking.

It was a bank holiday weekend for people in the UK, so there were a lot of people in the lake district national park when I went through. Really beautiful scenery, though plenty of hill climbing as well. Going to do some wild camping tonight on the way towards Glasgow, as I'll finally be entering into Scotland. I think I'm going to end up in Alexandria (little town near loch lohmond) tomorrow, then try to make it to aberfeldy the day after. From there, not sure.

I traveled about 63.9 miles today.
On Sunday

I traveled about 86.2 miles today.
Long push on Monday to shave off miles for Tuesday. Wild camping in some woods, temp dropped to 2C, chilly, but I stayed warm enough. Glad I brought all the cold weather gear I did.

I traveled about 53.6 miles today.
Hard work yesterday paid off today with a short trip. Staying with David and Morag tonight, really nice couple from warm showers. Met David in Glasgow and followed him back to his place, it was really great to have a guide to help navigate the city. Going to see loch lohmond tomorrow, then on to aberfeldy. A swan family made a nest right by the trail, so I stopped to take a picture. Daddy swan wasn't to happy about that, so I had to hide behind my bike.

I traveled about 72.5 miles today.
Picture of loch lohmond. Rainy today, and strong head winds. Luckily, the terrain blocked the worst of the wind, and I was able to power through despite lots of climbing, arriving in aberfeldy before 5pm. Also passed by loch tay, the whole route today was very beautiful. Reminds me of the mountains in Wyoming and the Minnesota woodland at the same time; the Scottish highlands are pretty great! Only two days of serious biking left (I'm taking Saturday to explore Edinburgh), and I'm feeling good about being able to finish strong.