Tales from the Saddle

Blog from Scotland, August 21, 2008

Lovin the Northern Scotland Riding with my bro Mark, Glencoe

It’s about midnight on my very last night in Scotland and I’m heading to Belfast tomorrow morning. I’ve been on a happy cloud since my arrival in Glasgow and am not all that inspired to write a big juicy blog update now but here’s the quick update on how I got here. More yummy journals on the way soon enough and the juice will be there for sure…so check journals section for updates ;)

So I left Oslo in the rain but by afternoon I was pedaling solo on the tandem in mostly sunny skies into a nasty headwind along the pristine coast, Ipod crankin my favorite tunes, with real no desire to be with anyone but myself. I had a few rough days personally in Norway, with some experiences I am not sure I want to share just yet, so the solo time in raw Norwegian nature was what I was clearly craving—and it is what I got!

I spent two full days riding challenging hills, striking coastal roads, lush green and mossy back roads, camping in unspoiled old growth and a quite bay in the pouring rain, passed dozens of pure lakes and rivers and really had a super time just hammering the pedals. I finally met up with Aslaug and Finn, my Norwegian friends I met in Africa, and we took shelter from a nasty storm that arrived just at our cycling date in their warm station wagon that whisked us to their vacation home on a secluded island where we dried out and cozied up ;)

We lived the life at their cabin, beyond quick words so just wait for the newsletter for more details on this. I wish I had more time with them but I had plans to hit Glasgow, Scotland for the weekend and I’m glad I kept them. Here I sit now, at the end of a weeklong state of contentment, peace, love, fun, adventure and memories I’ll never forget.

Again, you’ll have to wait for the Scotland journal to get the real scoop, but basically I took a train to a boat to a train to an arrival in Glasgow where I met my brother from another mother Mark. Mark is a soulful Scotsman who met me a the train station and together we created a week that changed each others lives, and the lives of those we know an met, in countless ways.

From the weekend on the town, to the 3 day and 2 nights in the raw nature of northern Scotland, to the final days back in Glasgow—it was just bad ass, period. A “summary” at almost 1AM would do no justice. Just know that the spirit of Peace Pedalers, and all that I set out to see, experience and share, is manifesting in ways that are exceeding my expectations tenfold.

Below are few teaser pics for ya, many more to come with journals and full photo albums when I catch us in next few days. It’s been far too special to open a computer and miss out on life till now but I’ll get some time on the way to Belfast.

Get out there and see this world of ours—this stunning!

Binks