Mike and I left Coille Mhor and rode down the Loch Lomond shore line to Drymen. The day was overcast with spots of rain. One thing you learn on a Scottish cycle ride is that the weather can change in a flash, so you have to be ready. We use Gortex for the rain -- jacket, pants, and boots. On the whole it works for us -- but some folks find it too warm. I would say that it is best, if you can, to test out your gear before a trip.
From Drymen it was on to Balloch. This was our last view of Loch Lomond. This place must just hop in the summer time. It is so close to Glasgow, it must get packed. There was no one out on the day we passed through.
From Balloch to Dumbarton we were on one of the earliest cycle paths in Scotland -- the Balloch to Glasgow route. It follows the banks of the River Leven. You can see that this place used to be full of factories. Now it has a few new housing developments, but it is mostly a lot of empty fields and old factory foundations.
Dumbarton was a bit of a trick to get through, but we finally managed. Also, the route started to deteriorate -- glass on the path and a lot of garbage thrown around. Still, some interesting sights in the area -- the cliffs and castle outside of Dumbarton, the old canal between Dumbarton and Glasgow, the bike route through Bowling -- all worth a look.
The route right outside of Glasgow runs along the Clyde. However, new construction and major roadwork made it difficult to follow the NCR #7 route. When we got into Glasgow proper we didn't have a city map, so we just started to ask people for ideas about places to stay. Within about an hour we had tried a few spots and settled on the Greek Thompson Hotel. It turned out to be centrally located for our explorations, and it had a good breakfast too.
The evening of the 20th was our chance to take a look at down-town Glasgow. Very cosmopolitan -- we'll have to come back and explore some more.
The 21st was our last morning in Scotland -- we did a quick tour of the big central park, and then took the bike route out to Paisley. We rolled through the countryside -- no problem with route finding -- and were in plenty of time to get the bikes brushed off and packed up. Good bye to Scotland -- we'll be back!
ttfn
Mary
Route and pictures:
Pictures from the Loch Lomond to Glasgow route
Our bike route from Loch Lomond, through Glasgow, to Paisley
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