Pedals, Pipes and Pubs?

It’s a trip to Scotland… our first in Scotland, Great Britain, the UK! I had to learn the distinction between the country of Scotland, the “island” of Great Britain and the government (if you will) of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Secondly in Scotland the “pipes” refers to bagpipes not the vessel in which to smoke. And pubs refers to the pints of Scottish ale that we intend to enjoy!

The choice to bicycle in Scotland came about as an extension of a trip Jim and I are taking to England with his brother and sister. It came as a surprise Christmas gift to Jim and I decided to add on a bicycle trip in Scotland.

We had taken a cycling trip several years ago in Hungary-Slovakia-Poland that was self-guided providing bicycles, baggage shuttle and hotels. We found we enjoyed the experience of having a bed/hotel in a village each night that our baggage was shuttled to daily and we were on our own to follow the maps and make our way to our destination each day. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the countryside at our own pace and determining our stops along the way.

While researching such a trip in Scotland, I was undecided as to the choices of regions we could bicycle. This prompted me to contact our cycling friend, Sandy, who lives in Scotland for help in the geographic decision.

“We” met Sandy in Louisiana in 2022 when we were bicycling the Southern Tier from San Diego CA to St Augustine FL. Sandy was also riding the Southern Tier route. From Louisiana to Florida we often ended our ride each day at the same campground or motel and shared dinner meals and a post ride beer. We did this for about 3 weeks finishing in Florida on the same day. He was playing his bagpipes on a sand dune as we arrived to the Atlantic Ocean on our final day

Sandy and I had a text conversation and he prompted the idea that he should be our bicycle tour organizer/guide! Our travel dates worked out well in his life so it was decided we would once again meet up and he would take us on a Scotland bike tour! Sandy will be responsible for the route, shuttle van, finding lodging and of course guide to Scottish culture….pipes and pubs! My only stipulations were not to kill us…to keep the mileage AIS to about 4 hours…and no camping! He knows we are low maintenance travelers so we shouldn’t be too difficult to manage.

As the plans proceeded Jim and I decided that it should include the other friend who traveled across the country with us when we met Sandy…our best friend Curt! Curt quickly said yes to our Scotland guided tour reunion.

So the 3 of us, from Billings, Montana, will meet up with Sandy in Glasgow, Scotland this July for a 10 day bicycle tour!

Needless to say we are excited to meet up after 3 years, rekindle a friendship and see the Scotland countryside guided by a local. Hard to get better than that!