Glasgow
Following our little adventure, we returned to Glasgow, where plans
were made for Esther to join me on a two-week cycle ride in Ireland.
Although Esther had a bicycle, it hadn’t been used for quite some
time and needed more than a spray of WD-40 to bring it back to life.
With the bicycle serviced and panniers purchased, we loaded the
bikes and were ready for our next adventure.
Glasgow, Scotland – Belfast, Ireland – 16 km
Getting to Ireland involved cycling from Esther’s house towards
Glasgow Central Station to catch a Stranraer train. This was where
the fun began and Esther, not used to the bicycle and panniers, fell
over, not once but three times between the house and the station.
Looking around, Esther was lying on the ground, her bicycle on top of
her, resembling a beetle, legs kicking in the air. All this happened in
peak hour traffic, but Esther was undeterred by the staring eyes. She
got up, dusted herself off, looked them in the eye and laughingly
declared, “Take three!”.
At Stranraer, the Belfast ferry took us across the North Channel,
where our arrival was at around 16h30 (peak time) and where Esther
proceeded to fall over once more. The reason for all this falling over
was Esther’s bike being too big and her legs too short to swing over
the middle bar. It was, therefore not so much falling off the bicycle
but more falling over.