Cycling sunday

Date: 26th February 2012
Length of route: 14.0 miles/22.5km
Route: Old Aberdeen-Hayton-Danestone-Dyce-Bridge of Don-Aberdeen Beach
Difficulty level: Easy

I recently found out about a Cycle Touring Club in Aberdeen who do different kinds of runs on different days, and as today was a Try Cycling day, and I fancied a relaxing cycle ride, I thought I'd try something different. Unfortunately, I woke up rather late, and dashed out of the house at exactly 10 o'clock, when they were due to leave. Anyway, I decided to circle Seaton Park (the established meeting point) and luckily I spotted a group of suspicious-looking cyclists doing the rounds and caught them up - fortunately, it was the Cycle Touring Club.


As they had only just started, I cycled up to them and introduced myself then we set off through the back lanes of Aberdeen and out into the open country lanes heading towards Dyce, where we saw a plane landing as we cycled along the way. I don't know about everyone else, but for me this is always an exciting thing to see in the country, especially as Air Transport was my undergraduate major. After gradually climbing up through Dyce, the rest of the route began to level off and then head down into Bridge of Don.

While we were cycling, I got chatting to a few of the others about cycling and other things, and it really made for a pleasurable experience and took your mind off the effort involved. Whilst we were talking, the miles/kilometres seemed to just fall away with the legs feeling little or no effort. Having said that, this was not the most demanding of routes and the weather was clear and bright, with little wind. However, it really does help if there is something to focus your attention other than the efforts of cycling.

It was decided that we would head from Bridge of Don down towards Aberdeen Beach to stop for a drink, which is where the run ended. I myself felt I could have carried on cycling for another few hours, and have already planned routes to Stonehaven via the back roads and along the Old Deeside Railway to Banchory (and perhaps beyond!). When we stopped for coffee, I noticed that we'd done 22.5km - which was amazing considering the other day I'd done 5k and felt tired! I guess it depends on your preparation and what you've had to eat, but I shall most certainly be looking to join in with the CTC again, perhaps on a longer run next time.



For full route information: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/71223528

First cycle of Winter

Date: 12th February 2012
Length of route: 11.9 miles/19.2km
Route: Old Aberdeen-Bridge of Don-Danestone-Woodside-Kittybrewster-Aberdeen-Old Aberdeen
Difficulty level: Easy

I've just returned from my first proper cycling trip of the Winter, and my first since I got my new bike up here in Aberdeen. I haven't written, or ridden for a while, so I'm a bit out of it, so the main purpose of today's ride was just to get back into it, and was decided pretty much on the spur of the moment as something to do on a spare Sunday. Anyhow, I ended up really enjoying it.

Started off by leaving my flat in Old Aberdeen and heading North down Don Street past Seaton Park and heading across the river and West towards Danestone, where I stopped off at a rather large Tesco, that happened to be a great hidden wonder. Inside was not only a supermarket, but a travel agents and a health food/nutritionists store selling everything the travelling cyclist could possibly want - protein flapjacks, bars, energy drinks, soya drinks, you name it. After buying a few supplies in here, I carried on south, back over the river and headed back down into Central Aberdeen.

This was easily the best part of the journey, and one I hadn't intended to spend as much time on as I did, but the long straight downhill stretches made for wonderful riding, and apart from a few traffic lights towards the centre, I had a solid 25 minutes of riding without any real stopping or slowing down. With it being Sunday, the roads were not overly busy and I could ride at my leisure. On some of these roads, I discovered that my bike, although hardly one of the most expensive models (it was £325 from Rutland Cycles, whom I highly recommend), can corner really quite well, however the corners in Aberdeen are certainly far from the most trying, I was very comfortable with the way my bike handled them.

After heading out of Central Aberdeen once again, I decided to make a circular tour and took the coastal road back North and then West back to my flat. As today was a very warm day (for the time of year and for Aberdeen!), and there was only a light breeze, cycling along the coastal road was also a real pleasure, with the sea on my right and no major obstacles to constant, consistent cycling. The only issue was the roads are pretty much ready for resurfacing in this area, so I had to simply avoid the cracks occasionally.

All in all, today was a very successful ride, which left me feeling refreshed but not too exhausted, and was purely about getting back into cycling and cycling for cycling's sake - purely for the enjoyment. As such, there are no photos this time, but as I hope to get back into it once again (if the weather keeps up), then I shall hopefully get out a bit further next time and have something decent to show for it.


For full route information:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/68834014

Day 13 - 30th August 2011 - The magic of Budapest, Hungary

During the coach trip back to Poland, where we would catch our return flight to the UK, we stopped off in Budapest for a few hours. At first we were given a guided tour by coach through the city, then we were given a bit of free time to get something to eat and explore by ourselves - unfortunately, only an hour since the older people of our group were tired and did not feel like hanging around for very long. Despite this Budapest is truly a majestic city - the buildings are incredible and there is certainly a lot to see and explore.

We saw a magnificent cathedral which is almost too big to fit into a picture, as well as the oldest bridge in Budapest. We crossed over this to Pest on the other side of the river (since Budapest was originally two cities - Buda and Pest), where we climbed up a hill to get a magnificent panorama of the city in a castle-like area with lots of steps and statues. This area also seemed to have lots to see and would definitely be a place to come back to, demonstrating the grandeur of Budapest from the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. At the top there was a statue of Budapests first king and the photo opportunities are endless, with battlements and adornments all over the place.

In addition to the magnificent architecture, Budapest is also a transport enthusiasts paradise, with retro trams, a railway station, trolleybuses all vying for the keen photographers attention. The trams go across the river on the wide boulevards that form the bridges and there appears to be many scenic routes that it is possible to take with more time in the city. I have marked Budapest as a definite place to return to and spend more time, as it would be quite easy to spend a few days here before moving on to see other parts of Hungary, which no doubt also have much to offer in terms of history and culture.

This brings to an end the two week adventure I have had, and marks the fairly significant achievement of having seen exactly half of the major countries of Europe - 20 down, 20 left to see! Despite the tiring nature of the coach trip, my enthusiasm for travel has not been dampened at all and has only increased my desire to see more and more unusual countries in far-off places.

Day 12 - 29th August 2011 - Donji Štoj/Ulcinj, Montenegro

As today was our last last day with our coach departure scheduled for the evening, we just hung around in Donji Štoj, the little village like area where we were based in our accommodation. Since we didn't have to vacate our apartments until the coach came to pick us up, we sat around playing cards for a while before heading over to the beach for a final swim. The beach here is very big so is not particularly crowded and allows for a pleasant swim - the water was very warm at around 30 degrees, certainly warmer than most swimming pools back home! We met our friends from our apartment building whilst we were on the beach so we sat talking to them for a while and sunning ourselves, which was a pleasant and relaxing way to spend the final day - definitely needed with another 30 hour coach trip ahead of us.

After the swim it was mid-afternoon so we went back to pack our things up and get something to eat, after which we all just sat on the roof of the building whilst the sun set, playing cards and chatting. A very pleasant end to a very pleasant holiday in Montenegro - rather nicely, I managed to capture this wonderful sunset from the roof, as if the country was saying 'Goodbye' to us in it's own way!

Link to Day 13: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/tuesday-30th-august-2011-magic-of.html

Day 11 - 28th August 2011 - Ulcinj, Montenegro

Today was our last full day so we decided not to do much and headed once more into the centre of Ulcinj to meet Damian and Ira. We had something to drink in their room, which was quite a bit smaller than ours and Damian showed us how to make the Turkish style of coffee that is so prevalent over here. It's prepared in a small pouring cup with a handle that looks a bit like a small pan that you put on the stove, filling it with water, loose coffee grains and a bit of sugar. Putting it to the boil it all forms together to create a nice foamy coffee without the need for an expensive electric coffee machine.

After this we went to a wonderful little pebble-dashed beach which is much less crowded and less commercial than the main beaches on the seafront. It's not as shallow and you have to step across some more stones to get to the sandy part of the sea in order to swim more comfortably, but it's a wonderful place and looks a bit like a miniature version of the Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy. After a brief swim we returned to the Old Town for a bite to eat before returning to where we're staying for a relaxing evening. When we got back, I bought myself one of the little coffee cups to take back with me, as well as some coffee to go with it - an inexpensive yet memorable souvenir!

Link to Day 12: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/monday-29th-august-2011-donji.html

Day 10 - 27th August 2011 – Ulcinj/Podgorica, Montenegro

Decided to take today fairly easy after yesterday's long day of sightseeing – I was asleep within minutes, which is very unlike me! Since we're getting towards the end of the trip now, and have spent most of the time travelling along the coast, we decided to take a train journey to the capital, Podgorica. It's only an hour away, but involves catching a bus to Bar, then carrying on by train to Podgorica.

The capital itself isn't anything particularly special, and is pretty small for a capital city (quite befitting of a small country). The buildings aren't particularly inspiring since the city has been ravaged various times by war, earthquakes and other things, and as such bears the scars of such a difficult past. The only historic item of note that remains is a clock tower from the days of Turkish occupation, made of stone instead of the dull concrete blocks seen mostly elsewhere.

Despite all this however, Podgorica retains a friendly, welcoming air, even though there isn't much to see or do. There are a few pedestrianised shopping streets with tree-lined walkways, and an attempt has been made to create a central area by installing a fountain and paving off the marked area known nowadays as Trg Replublike (Republic Square). However, the shops simply sell everything needed for everyday life such as clothes and technical items. There are no souvenir shops of any kind, and it seems impossible to find a postcard, despite the fact that there are some nice areas in the city. Still, this kind of added to the charm of the place, knowing that there were no other tourists around, as it's hard to imagine anyone would come here for a holiday. At least we can say we've seen the place, and taken a train ride which was fairly scenic. Tomorrow is the last full day we have here, so we're just going to take one last trip into the centre of Ulcinj and laze around for the day.

Link to Day 11: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/sunday-28th-august-2011-ulcinj.html

Day 9 – 26th August 2011 – Budva/Kotor/Skadarsko Jezero/Sveti Stefan/Kanion Moraca

Today was a very long day of sightseeing. As for the trip to Albania, we were up at 5:50am ready for setting off at 7:00am. Our first stop was Budva, where we had a little time to look around the old town part of the city. There were some very nice streets here with pleasant italian-esque buildings, although it's clearly a little busier and touristy here as the prices are somewhat higher.

After Budva, we continued on to what was probably the highlight of today's sightseeing – we stopped off at Kotor, a medieval walled city that is listed on Unesco's world heritage list and is very beautiful. Lots of tall buildings and narrow streets also in an Italian style, with the possibility of climbing up quite some way to a church or monastery in the mountains. However, we didn't have time to do this and in temperatures of +35 degrees we thought we might well melt if we did! Due to it's attractive nature, mass tourism has caught here on here much more than everywhere else, evident in the number of souvenir shops with higher prices and the number of English people visiting. However, mass tourism here still compares favourably to anywhere else and is not nearly so developed as to be off putting like numerous other tourist cities, such as Prague. Outside the walls of the city there is also a market selling home-made rakija (the local spirit) and honey, as well as cheaper versions of the same souvenirs being sold inside the city walls. I chose a nice metal keyring with the Montenegrin crest on it, as I had wanted something with the crest on for some time.

After Kotor, we continued on to a photo stop of Sveti Stefan, the luxurious island that is now a luxury accommodation complex but one that has still retained it's character. We didn't stop here for sightseeing and so continued on to the Skadarsko Lake, where we had a very pleasant cruise on a boat with our hosts handing out rakija and a local sweet delicacy, as well as water, which was very welcome. In the middle of the lake, some of our fellow travellers got out for a swim – sadly, the water was too deep for me, so I didn't dare get out into the water! Still, it made for some interesting pictures.

After our little cruise we carried on further to see the very impressive Moraca canyon, which is very high and the mountains are very much like Montserrat in Barcelona. The view was extraordinary and we did some pictures here before carrying on a bit further to the monastery here, which is situated idyllically above the canyon. We almost had a nasty accident on the winding mountain road, as another coach on the other side of the road tried to overtake another vehicle when there was no room to do so, and with three cars abreast it only just missed hitting us head on. Luckily it managed to swerve and our driver hit the brakes but it was a pretty nasty shock and could have been very nasty indeed. Luckily we made it back in one piece. At the monastery itself there were some very cute little kittens at the entrance but they scampered as soon as we tried to take their picture.

Finally, on the way back we stopped off at a wayside 'restaurant' for something to eat after our long day, but the service, such as it was, was abysmal, and they charged us for four pieces of bread when we hadn't specifically ordered any, as it's usually free with the meal in most restaurants in these parts. Definitely wouldn't go back there and really the low part of the day. Still, all in all it was a good day, when we got back the landlord of the place brought us the home made wine he promised us, 1 litre for €6, very reasonable, I just hope I can get it back in one piece! Since it's such a special souvenir, it would be very disappointing for that to break as well. Now, after a very long day, I am going to take a shower and go to bed!

Link to Day 10: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/day-10-27th-august-2011-ulcinjpodgorica.html