National Route 75: Maryhill to the Falkirk Wheel

Green and pleasant land behind Possil

After 2 months of rain we get an outbreak of sun and so decide to ride to the Falkirk Wheel, a route along the Forth and Clyde Canal to it's meeting point with the Union Canal.

We start at Maryhill (with a few of the usual confusions over direction) and are soon upon the first attractions of the route. The back-ends of Possil and Milton amaze us with their country-like greenery. For those who don't know Glasgow: these places have never had anything good said about them; they are synonymous with gangs, crime, drugs and deprivation. The canal-side is busy with groups of men, all 'taps aff', some fishing, some exercising the family staffie, some peeing in the bushes. It's your typical Glasgow summer scene, but weirdly lacking in threatening behaviour or violence. Maybe it's too early in the day, or maybe it's the shock of the sun, but everyone is cheery and pleasant.

We continue along, enjoying the flatness of the towpath. In the long straights we try out our top speeds. I am sure the un-named bike is faster than Thor, but he gets away from me every time. We stop for lunch on a pleasant bend and enjoy our repast (big thanks to Big Jamie at Cafezique).

Lunch: Thor, the canal, the never-absent-from-a-Scottish-lunch tablet, me enjoying a sandwich

After lunch we come across some fine planting. Gardens have stretched up beyond their bounds and have given the towpath a bit of their exuberance. Thank you gardeners of the canal-side for this surprise.

Finally, some hours after setting off, we reach our destination, the Falkrik Wheel. It's an amazing piece of modern engineering joining the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal. There are some small versions of proposed larger kelpies here looking majestic. The Wheel itself has leapt directly from a Picasso sketchbook.

The view from above the Wheel, where the Union Canal reaches an end in mid-air, is spectacular. On this day you could see all the way to the Cobbler. Amazing. And to top off the amazingingness of the amazing day, we caught the train home and all the staff of ScotRail that we encountered were friendly and helpful. Maybe they were from Possil.

Hero crashes of his pedestal

This morning I woke up to the sound of my hero Bradley Wiggins falling off his pedestal. I have spent all July watching the Tour and trying to grow side-burns. I spent all yesterday afternoon shouting WIGGO and lobbying the Queen to get him knighted. Then this morning I hear this:

"Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins has called for cycling helmets to be made compulsory after a man was knocked down and killed by an official London 2012 bus ... the driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving." The Independent

Promoting helmet laws after a cyclist is killed by a bus is rather like banning short skirts after a woman is raped: blames the victim and entirely misses the point.

I ride my bike every day to work and back. I wear a helmet. I don't jump lights. I (hardly ever) never ride on the pavement. Yet all of this sensible and law-abiding behaviour appears to have no impact on the behaviour of my fellow road users. Almost daily someone in a car/bus/truck runs me into the gutter, or cuts me off by turning left in front of me, or drives past me at a speed that knocks the breath out of me. Will forcing the few people who don't wear helmets to do so make any difference to these idiot-drivers? I don't think so.

Really Bradley, you should stick to what you know: being amazing at racing on a bike. Leave the comments on road safety to those who are using their bikes for commuting and transportation. You sports guys accept that there is some level of risk in what you do, cycling can be a dangerous sport. But I am not participating in a sport, I am just trying to get to work and home again. My behaviour is not the problem here, the problem is lack of dedicated bike lanes, lack of understanding from car/bus/truck drivers and lack of fellow cyclists.