onbike 1939

Hi all, I am a vet touring cyclist living in Scotland and am into lightweight cycle-camping. This I do mostly in France as the weather is kinder there but I have camped and cycled all over England and Scotland including the Western Isles of Scotland.At present I have 4 bikes:a custom-made classic heavy-duty Mercian tourer(Vincitore);a classic road bike(Carlton);a custom-made Longstaff(formerly my wife's)and a hack for winter.That said I have just sold the first two bikes mentioned in order to buy a "Thorn Raven" with Rhollof hub.My regards to all members.

Gus Riley

Welcome to the forums onbike 1939! How's the riding in Scotland and England? I lived in East Anglia for 3 years, but wasn't riding at the time, I have always been curious about the riding conditions there.

onbike 1939

Hi Gus,sorry this post is late.The riding in the UK is usually dictated by the weather but not totally or you wouldn't ride at all. So really good rain gear is essential and a positive attitude also. We tend to ride in all seasons although I'm not too keen about ridng in the snow now that my old athritis is acting up. Given the size of the UK it's not too difficult to cover all of it after riding a number of years. That said there are still places that are rarely travelled especially in Scotland which has only a fraction of the population of England. Traffic is becoming more of a problem in the central belt as everywhere. The West coast of Scotland is popular with bikers and rightly so and I've spent some years camping in the Hebrides until I became fed up with waking up in a wet field. For the last two years I've cycled in the North-east of Scotland and now wish I had done so years ago as to me it has it all--little traffic, great roads and varied scenery. I used to cycle home from the ferry port of Dover, in the South of England every year on my way home from cycling in France. I used to enjoy that, fiinding a different route home (just north of Edinburgh) every year. It became a bit of a pain however again due to traffic and I haven't done it for a few years. The south-west of Scotland (Galloway) is another area that tends to be ignored and unjustly so. I do enjoy mixing with the members of my club (CTC) as there are still a few really old timers there--I'm only a stripling at 65. Some are members of the 300,000 miles club having completed that verified mileage in their lifetime. I suppose that when it comes down to it it's the friendliness of the cyclists that counts and we have that tradition in Scotland and try to keep it alive. Regards, George.