June 20, Glasgow to Edinburgh

Today, I woke up early and headed out of town towards Edinburgh, fully loaded on my touring bike. It was my first real 'biking day' and totally lucked out. The temp was in the 60s with blue skies - not typical for Scotland :) It was confusing as usual getting out of the city onto the bike path, but I had a good map, so I was set from there. Funny enough, there was a charity bike ride happening at the same time, from Glasgow to Edinburgh, along the same route! So I had lots of intermittent company on the roughly 90 km/50 mi trip. The bike path I took went entirely beside the Clyde and then the Union canal, which used to be the towpath for horses towing the barges down the canals. When I got to Fallkirk, I got to see the Falkirk Wheel which is this ingenious feat of engineering that allows ferries and other boats to pass between the upper Union canal and the lower Clyde canal- what otherwise would have required 16 locks to connect the two. I stopped here for lunch and got to see a number of ferries going around the wheel! I was excited at first that the path was not paved and nestled in with nature. The scenery was absolutely outstanding! But I have to admit, after mile 30, feeling like i had been on a paint shaker, I was dreaming of smooth paved roads. Because the bike was being shaken up, a screw on my rack came off and a number of screws came loose, including my tire skewers. So I had a few bike 'breakdown' moments, but figured it out and am wiser for it!
When I got to the hostel in Edinburgh, the first order of business was definitely a shower! The place is a bit dodgy, but it was the cheapest. My bike has to be left outside locked to a railing, ugh. I'm excited to start exploring Edinburgh tomorrow (after a well deserved rest!). I've already walked past the castle on Princes St and it's spectacular! I'll be staying for two days, then biking to Berwick, towards Newcastle. So far, still loving the time off and keeping very busy!