From our cycling correspondent

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In June last year, towards the end of the first lockdown, John decided to buy an e-bike. This was easier said than done, because many other people made the same decision and bikes of all types became hard to get, but eventually he succeeded and has become a very keen cyclist. The bike has had its picture taken in many locations.

John’s bike at Baldernock
John’s bike at Balmore
John’s bike near Kilmacolm
John’s bike at Yoker
John’s bike on the canal at Cadder
John’s bike at Bowling
John’s bike near Johnstone

He has established some standard routes and sees some quirky things. This is Bowling, the western end of the Forth and Clyde Canal. The crew of the blue boat has been there rather too long I think!

Bowling
Bowling

A route to Clydebank takes him past Tom MacKendrick’s Beardmore Sculpture (built on the site of the Beardmore Naval Construction Works, established in 1906 and closed in 1930) and the Drop Lock, both at Dalmuir.

Dalmuir Drop Lock
Beardmore Sculpture, Dalmuir
Cycle way at Clydebank

A trip along the Clyde to the Erskine Bridge takes him past the Renfrew Ferry which links Renfrew on the southern bank to Yoker in Glasgow.

Renfrew Ferry
Renfrew Ferry
Renfrew Ferry
Clyde at Erskine

There are some interesting sights on the way out to Kilmacolm, including a Roman Legion.

Bridge of Weir
Bridge of Weir
Romans at Quarriers!
Quarriers Village
Formakin Estate

And last, but not least, some beautiful views.

Loch Carron road, near Fintry
Crow Road viewpoint
Carron Valley Reservoir
Looking back to Glasgow
Clyde at Carmyle

Though not quite last – this year John has added an e-mountain bike to his collection.

John’s mountain bike looking towards Dumgoyne
John’s mountain bike near Lennoxtown

And he has gone on a cycling holiday! More on that to come. And just to prove that I too was once a cyclist, here’s a horribly blurry scan of an old slide c 1983.

Scotland, UK ,

79 Comments »

  1. Pingback: From our cycling correspondent — The Glasgow Gallivanter – Go Cycling Magazine

  3. It always makes me happy to someone (re)discover cycling. I think it is an amazing thing. I have several cycling trips planned once the various lockdowns are over.
    Great photos.

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  5. It looks like he’s had some good adventures. And great photo of you two! I keep thinking I need to get a bike – thanks to the way the transport network is structured on this side of London, it would be so much faster to cycle to most places in west and southwest London than to take public transport, but I’m absolutely terrified of cycling on the roads here, so I still remain bikeless.

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  6. oh wow he has been having a fabulous time, and so fortunate that your cycling correspondent is also the lead photographer!! What great shots – are you tempted in the slightest to join him?!!

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  7. Excellent photographs – you certainly got around. I bought a bike years ago and I used it for a long while – but a busted right knee put an end to that. I still have it – currently gathering dust in the garage. Perhaps one day — you never know! Liked the 1983 photograph. Only once did I have a beard ( no photographs exist thankfully) I had been overseas for three months and never shaved the whole time I was away. Annabell did not like it…

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  10. I wish we had more quiet roads around here. I would do more bike riding. Too many highways and too much traffic on other roads. But we host travelling cyclists through a group called Warmshowers. None recently though. No one is coming to Australia, sadly.

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  15. Some great pics! John’s certainly seen lots of interesting things on his bike rides. The Roman Legion is incredible and I think they would be very scary if you were driving past them in the dark!

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  16. I’ve never seen a drop lock before! Is it unique, or maybe a new invention being rolled out by BW?
    I am allergic to bikes, as I grew up on one and never got over the humiliation of the family rolling up to church on our bikes as muy friends got out of cars. Now of course, it would probably be the other way round, and I have tried to pick it up again. I get as far as sitting astride, looking forward… and getting off. Maybe I’ll have to try again, as I thought about an ebike at the start of the pandemic. But…the investment is high if I’m permanently allergic.
    Love the pictures.

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  17. Such a different post from you, brought me back to commenting! Lovely story and the photos are brilliant – especially the opening one. My cycling days are long past what with the legs having got shorter (and they already started off as short) and the joints more painful. Nick and I used to do a lot of tandem cycling although I was often accused of not doing my share.

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    • We did a charity ride on a tandem once and hired one a couple of times (talking about my cycling days in the 80s). I found that I couldn’t even get it going if I was on the front, and on the back my legs were propelled round much faster than I wanted them to be because John was pedalling so hard!

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  19. Are you tempted to buy one so you can join John on his adventures? Friends of our have e bikes and love them. They’ve been cyclists for years but decided they needed something a little easier as they got older. They’d never go back to the old ones now. John has certainly seen some beautiful scenery on his rides. I had to look twice at the blue boat before I saw what you meant about the occupants. 🙂

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  20. What beautiful scenery he has been exploring, and I love the RED quirky Roman legion! We thought about e-bikes, but realised quickly that cycling around these Cornish lanes is very dangerous and we’d also worry about them being stolen if we left them outside a shop. Should have moved to Norfolk!

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  21. Wow! You were a hot babe back then Anabel :o) I recognize all the photos and places from past cycles but for the last year I’ve had a busted arm, just recovered, as when you come off a bike it usually hurts and I wanted two good arms for any potential falls I might have to save my head and face. I’d love an E bike but loads of things are higher up the list like a more reliable car as my current model has had several niggling issues for the past year. Exploration on a bike is fantastic though and the surprising distance you can cover on it.

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  23. Hi Anabel – good for John – they seem an excellent way to travel … I have thought of getting one – but not done so yet. Brilliant photos he’s taken for us … and he’s very obviously enjoying himself … great to see – cheers HIlary

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  24. The photos are terrific! We have too much traffic where we live to bike safely (in my opinion) so, whether regular or e-bikes, I’m not sure they’d get much use at home. BUT, when we travel (as we are doing now) I see loads of places to ride. Maybe I should get one of those folding bikes so I can have one handy at all times 🙂 Are you going to get one too? You can’t let your husband have all the fun.

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    • He does take a good photograph! He does have to travel through some traffic but on most routes is quickly out of the city (and canal and river pathways help). I no longer cycle – we hired bikes on holiday once and I didn’t enjoy it at all, despite being keen in my youth. And I’d just be holding John back anyway – he goes too fast for me.

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  27. Those e-bikes look good! Mary and I are contemplating getting e-bikes, too. We still haven’t solved the transport issue yet, though. We want to take the bikes with us when we are travelling, and we don’t know yet how to, considering the weight.
    Your post here, Anabel, reminds me that I really need to start bicycling again: get my lazy bu** out of the armchair and back into the saddle.
    Your 1983- bicycle looks great. It was around that time that I got my first road bicycle, too, Ever since I’ve been a fan of Italian steel road bicycles, and I still have two. Here’s one: https://wp.me/p4uPk8-17g
    Happy and safe bicycling to John!

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  29. I got my bike out of the shed, where it had been sitting unused for several years, last summer – cleaned it up and gave it a little lubrication. I had the intention of getting out for some local rides but intent didn’t turn into reality! An electric bike shop opened in Wigan recently and I’m tempted. They’re not cheap though and I wonder whether I’m motivated enough to justify the expense.

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  30. Well done to John on taking up cycling again and doing so with such vim and vigour. It’s a great way to get around. Even I was tempted to buy a bike during last year’s lockdown. However, I have not been on a bike since I moved to a city at 17 so I think I would instantly expire if I tried to ride a bike any great distance.

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  31. Great photos, I love the sunny view looking back to Glasgow. And the long dark hair and blue mac – I guess it was one of those thick plastic ones which were all the rage at one time? I had a red one, it made me sweat like mad if I cycled in it 🙂

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  33. In Germany, many people made the same decision and bought a bicycle. A large bike store, where bikes are usually packed together, was suddenly empty!
    I like the photos very much, they have a lot of atmosphere.
    Greetings from Susanne

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