The day started with having to lug my folding bicycle in its bag down to the post office in Perth. The Post Office was in a WH Smith’s, and I was hoping for a one stop shop with labels and everything I needed. But it didn’t. So dragging the packaged bike around Poundland, got me 98 more fragile labels than I needed! Back at the post office my parcel was accepted and after a bit of faffing around, including trying to balance it on a the scales, and nearly jamming up the parcel hatch, was making its way home. 48 hour delivery for £23 – not bad.

I went back to the hotel to pick up the rest of my stuff, and jumped in a taxi to Halfords. My new bike was there ready to be equipped, but a different guy was on the desk. He was just as helpful and had clearly been briefed to expect me.

He switched the saddle and pedals for me, and when it came to the rack some of the bolts couldn’t be undone to fit the new mounting points. So the rack dissappeared out the back, into the workshop to have the bolts ground off. When it came back, it was nice to see the guy from yesterday who had been working in the workshop. The two of them worked hard, as it was necessary to do further modifications to make it fit. They needed to grind off some unneeded lugs on the rack which interfered with the disk brake. They also straightened out all the bent brackets and added new bolts all round. It really was an excellent service. The only thing that wouldn’t fit was my handlebar bag as the handlebar is a bigger diameter than my old one, and I would need a new kit for it. The bag has shoulder strap so it wasn’t going to stop me. After this superb service I carried my new bike down the stairs and out into the rain to load it up.

The first ride was excellent, the wider gripper tyres improved confidence and comfort, while the disk brakes took all the worry of stopping a loaded bike in the wet. The riding position was comfortable, but I did have to fiddle with the saddle height as I initially got a pain in my knee. I was underway by 11:00 heading to Kinross and then the Forth Road Bridge. The cycleway followed the main road pretty much to Kinross, when it suddenly turned right up into the hills, I’m pretty sure the main road stays flatter and I had originally decided to take the easier route, but when I got there I followed the cycleway as it looked nicer. Upon reflection, it should be called ‘Kin-hilly, not Kinross!

Eventually views of all the Forth Bridges appeared, the iconic rail bridge, the road bridge and they are building a second road bridge. The cycle path is bolted to the side of the main road bridge with water on both sides and it moves a lot. You feel very exposed, to the height, the noise – wind and traffic, and the elements. When you get out near the middle it seems a very remote and lonely place despite hundreds of cars passing a few metres away.

After crossing the bridge my route was a very complex, so I decided to use the satnav, with voice instructions through an ear piece. To be fair it worked really well, getting me on to disused railway lines around Edinburgh Airport and onto a really nice tow path along the River Almond, all the time avoiding tricky navigation through very urban Livingston.

However, I did have a few problems with “the satnav lady”, the voice of OSM app (there was no choice of gender). She would say things like “do a U turn” which actually meant carry on along the path and take the over bridge – which just happened to turn back on its self, and could easily waste 10 minutes. Eventually we made up, and began to understand each other and everything was fine until she sent me to a closed railway bridge!

This was a bit of a blow as I was already running late. So I had to plot a new, longer route. I was heading to Biggar, which was quite a tall order given the late start, but there seemed to be a black hole for campsites in the area with nothing nearer. The map showed a Sainsbury Local (which should stay open until 10pm) in the town so I could get food, so I went for it. I had to go on some busy roads to bypass the closed rail bridge, but when back on the intended route it was a quiet pleasant ride. I discovered this was largely due to another railway bridge that was closed. However, pedestrians an bikes could pass so it nicely kept cars off the route. I rolled into Biggar at about 8:30, bought supplies, and after a while found the campsite, which was on the golf course. Everything was shut except the golf club house. The barman said just pitch the tent and pay in the morning. The campsite toilet block needed a key, so I availed myself of the club house facilities, the bar and the toilets. It was a nice site with good pitches, it also had a fresh wind which help dry my very wet tent while I cooked dinner. It was still wet from 2 nights before, as I couldn’t face getting it out too dry in the hotel room.