Last night we stayed at a campground for only the second time since we’ve started this trip, camping outside. The Pine Tree Leisure Centre. It was the sort of place you’d find cropping up near Lake Tahoe, and made for one of those nights that remind me why I do this. I parked my tent down right next to the river and set up my hammock and hung out in, just thinking about my role in life and what I’m coming back to. A few things that I notice about these trips. One, I really feel a profound sense of wanting to live, and wanting to do things - a sort of joy, sometimes almost a desperate joy - about what’s to come and wanting to see it. The second is that riding through nature is very calming for me, and in that calm and clarity I have a lot of deep thoughts about how to move forward with myself.
One thing - that I’ve said over and over, but it’s because it’s true - is that I really, really want to get in excellent shape. I look back and pictures of myself from trips prior and it makes me sad that I’m kind of overweight in some of them, and conversely the few times I’ve been in really great shape it makes me feel so alive. I know people say you shouldn’t judge your body that way, but what I finally realized is that I’m not doing it for other people, I’m doing it for myself.
We rode through Glasgow. It looked nice. They have a wonderful bike path all the way through the city. Also some very interesting looking modern architecture. Overall, though, what I will always take away from these trips is the nature.
On the negative side, we’re getting a lot more annoyed drivers and honking. Not that bad yet, but a noticeable change from England, where we didn’t have any at all.
Also - and there’s no nice way to put it - England was so clean and tidy, and Scotland is just a bit messier and more like, well, America.
There’s supposed to be these little biting gnats called midges that everyone warned us about, but honestly they weren’t that bad. Maybe it’s the unseasonably hot and nice weather!
I did feel pretty sick last night for a while. I think the “road diet” has caught up with me. I ate a rich dish with a cream sauce and mashed turnips and haggis and I think it came back on me.
