The Guildhall and Linen Exchange, Wetherspoons' pub/restaurant/hotel, has been a really good place to stay, but there is one drawback - it's noisy at night. People who've had a bit too much to drink are talking in loud voices below our window until 2 am, and a dog is squealing and yelping. At 3 am the seagulls start cawing and at 5 am someone is moving around what sounds like beer barrels. Not such a brilliant night's sleep. But we did get our washing done, for which we are really thankful. It was good to have a rest day yesterday.
Today we're off to Bankfoot, about 10 miles further on from Perth. We pop to Greggs for our picnic lunch, and unusually, despite our usual faffing, (ok, Reg, my usual faffing) we are ready to leave Dunfermline by about 10 am. It's hard to put your finger on it, and perhaps it's unfair to judge after only a couple of nights here, but we feel there's an air of "down at the mouth" about what we've seen of Dunfermline. The town centre is pedestrianised and modern, but there is a proliferation of Pound shops, cheap shops and charity shops. The "buzz" is missing, though on the plus side, it does have a Costa - and in the backstreets, a good bike shop where Reg had my new tyre fitted (rest day!). It would have been nice though if the bike man didn't assume it was just Reg doing Land's End to John O'Groats, and that I was driving the luggage! In the same street as the bike shop, I also found the best Christian bookshop I've ever been in. It is sponsored by some Christian organisation, which was why it could afford to be there.
We have 37 miles to ride today. We're soon on lovely country roads with beautiful scenery- we're gradually climbing up, but the terrain isn't too difficult. Two Scottish men stop their car and want to know where a certain Loch is, as they are going fishing. Reg soon looks it up for them on his sat nav.
It starts to rain, so we don waterproofs, but the rain doesn't last long - it's going to be off and on showery today. While we are putting on our waterproofs a cyclist stops to ask if we're okay.
"Are you all alright there?" (Notice the "all" - even if there's just 2 of you.)
This happens often, when we're stopped and a cyclist passes us. We do the same if we pass a stopped cyclist. It seems to be the unwritten cyclists' Good Samaritan code.
We're climbing steadily (interspersed with some downhills) - when we come to a long, long downhill. Unfortunately the road has just be resurfaced and laid with a thick surface of chippings - quite dangerous for bikes. We wend our way gingerly down the hill.
"Think how fast we could have gone if the road didn't have chippings!" I say to Reg.
We reach Kinross, which Reg has assured me will have a coffee shop, and sure enough, we find a little cafe where we have an excellent cappuccino and green tea. We chat to the owner -the cafe's only been open 3 months. She tells us how she grew up in Australia but then her parents decided to come back to England. And now her husband's job has meant she's ended up in Scotland!
We're on our way again, and the sun's come out - we're back on a scenic country road. We've stopped for me to take off my waterproofs. Reg says nothing but I know he gets a bit frustrated by the constant on-off waterproofs regime. While we're stopped, 2 male cyclists come towards us on this little country road - and they are loaded with luggage.
"Hi! Where are you headed?" I shout as they come towards us. They draw alongside us.
"Land's End to John O'Groats!" says the older man. We end up chatting for about half an hour. They are father and son; the father tells us that the son has just finished his Master's degree in Maths in Bath; the son says very little. We talk about other cycle tours we've each done. The father, probably in his 50's, says they are doing about 50 - 60 miles a day; they've come on a different route from us, and their mileage for the whole trip is about 1,200 miles, compared to our1,000. They have a lot of miles to cover today; they bid their farewells and leave us to our more moderate mileage of around 40 miles on most days.
While Reg and I are still stopped another young cyclist, with very little luggage, stops and asks if we're okay. He's also doing Land's End to John O'Groats.
"I had hoped to do it in 4 and a half days," he says, "but my knees didn't let me. Anyway, I must dash - I'm meeting my Mum for lunch in a town up ahead."
In a flash, he's gone. Land's End to John O'Groat's in 4 days? That would be 250 miles a day. It's not possible, is it?
We were going to press on to Perth for lunch, but when we reach the village of "Bridge of Earn" Reg spots a park bench and suggests we stop there. I'm really glad to have a break. I realise later why Reg decided to stop here; it's quite a climb up to Perth and that would have been very dispiriting before we'd had our lunch!
Reg realises that he's left his high-viz waistcoat somewhere. We'll need to get a replacement as soon as possible. While we're taking a couple of photos of the river in Perth, another cyclist approaches us and has a chat. He tells Reg where there's a bike shop in Perth; Reg walks out of the shop wearing his new waistcoat.
We arrive at the Bankfoot Arms, Bankfoot, where we are spending the night. It's 5.30 pm which is good for us! The room is lovely, with a green/blue tartan carpet to remind us that we're in Scotland. And there's 2 little packets of Scottish shortbread biscuits on the tea and coffee tray!
I'm really tired today. We can eat here, though when we do we have to wait quite a long time for our meal. I'm fast asleep by 9.30 pm.
Today we're off to Bankfoot, about 10 miles further on from Perth. We pop to Greggs for our picnic lunch, and unusually, despite our usual faffing, (ok, Reg, my usual faffing) we are ready to leave Dunfermline by about 10 am. It's hard to put your finger on it, and perhaps it's unfair to judge after only a couple of nights here, but we feel there's an air of "down at the mouth" about what we've seen of Dunfermline. The town centre is pedestrianised and modern, but there is a proliferation of Pound shops, cheap shops and charity shops. The "buzz" is missing, though on the plus side, it does have a Costa - and in the backstreets, a good bike shop where Reg had my new tyre fitted (rest day!). It would have been nice though if the bike man didn't assume it was just Reg doing Land's End to John O'Groats, and that I was driving the luggage! In the same street as the bike shop, I also found the best Christian bookshop I've ever been in. It is sponsored by some Christian organisation, which was why it could afford to be there.
We have 37 miles to ride today. We're soon on lovely country roads with beautiful scenery- we're gradually climbing up, but the terrain isn't too difficult. Two Scottish men stop their car and want to know where a certain Loch is, as they are going fishing. Reg soon looks it up for them on his sat nav.
It starts to rain, so we don waterproofs, but the rain doesn't last long - it's going to be off and on showery today. While we are putting on our waterproofs a cyclist stops to ask if we're okay.
"Are you all alright there?" (Notice the "all" - even if there's just 2 of you.)
This happens often, when we're stopped and a cyclist passes us. We do the same if we pass a stopped cyclist. It seems to be the unwritten cyclists' Good Samaritan code.
We're climbing steadily (interspersed with some downhills) - when we come to a long, long downhill. Unfortunately the road has just be resurfaced and laid with a thick surface of chippings - quite dangerous for bikes. We wend our way gingerly down the hill.
"Think how fast we could have gone if the road didn't have chippings!" I say to Reg.
We reach Kinross, which Reg has assured me will have a coffee shop, and sure enough, we find a little cafe where we have an excellent cappuccino and green tea. We chat to the owner -the cafe's only been open 3 months. She tells us how she grew up in Australia but then her parents decided to come back to England. And now her husband's job has meant she's ended up in Scotland!
We're on our way again, and the sun's come out - we're back on a scenic country road. We've stopped for me to take off my waterproofs. Reg says nothing but I know he gets a bit frustrated by the constant on-off waterproofs regime. While we're stopped, 2 male cyclists come towards us on this little country road - and they are loaded with luggage.
"Hi! Where are you headed?" I shout as they come towards us. They draw alongside us.
"Land's End to John O'Groats!" says the older man. We end up chatting for about half an hour. They are father and son; the father tells us that the son has just finished his Master's degree in Maths in Bath; the son says very little. We talk about other cycle tours we've each done. The father, probably in his 50's, says they are doing about 50 - 60 miles a day; they've come on a different route from us, and their mileage for the whole trip is about 1,200 miles, compared to our1,000. They have a lot of miles to cover today; they bid their farewells and leave us to our more moderate mileage of around 40 miles on most days.
While Reg and I are still stopped another young cyclist, with very little luggage, stops and asks if we're okay. He's also doing Land's End to John O'Groats.
"I had hoped to do it in 4 and a half days," he says, "but my knees didn't let me. Anyway, I must dash - I'm meeting my Mum for lunch in a town up ahead."
In a flash, he's gone. Land's End to John O'Groat's in 4 days? That would be 250 miles a day. It's not possible, is it?
We were going to press on to Perth for lunch, but when we reach the village of "Bridge of Earn" Reg spots a park bench and suggests we stop there. I'm really glad to have a break. I realise later why Reg decided to stop here; it's quite a climb up to Perth and that would have been very dispiriting before we'd had our lunch!
Reg realises that he's left his high-viz waistcoat somewhere. We'll need to get a replacement as soon as possible. While we're taking a couple of photos of the river in Perth, another cyclist approaches us and has a chat. He tells Reg where there's a bike shop in Perth; Reg walks out of the shop wearing his new waistcoat.
We arrive at the Bankfoot Arms, Bankfoot, where we are spending the night. It's 5.30 pm which is good for us! The room is lovely, with a green/blue tartan carpet to remind us that we're in Scotland. And there's 2 little packets of Scottish shortbread biscuits on the tea and coffee tray!
I'm really tired today. We can eat here, though when we do we have to wait quite a long time for our meal. I'm fast asleep by 9.30 pm.
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