Aberdeen to Aberdeen to Inverbervie

Left the Youth Hostel in Aberdeen, and battled our way through the interminable traffic lights and bus lanes into the centre of Aberdeen, via Cotswold Camping, which we'd found in the shopping mall when we were here 3 weeks ago on our journey up to Shetland. I was left in the cold looking after the bikes and panniers and people watching while Roger disappeared into the warmth of the mall - for the best part of 30 minutes. Can't believe how many blokes wandered around with high visibility fluorescent yellow thick jackets on, or how many people struggled to walk properly that went into the mall. Definitely use it while you can, you never know when the debilitation of older age will catch up with you. Roger managed to buy a windshield for the stove - a flimsy piece of lightweight aluminium that cost £15!!

Followed the cycle route 1 signs to the south of the city - followed the ups and downs and curves of the coast, past the lighthouse and channel where we'd sailed on on our way to Shetland, and past the old battery that used to protect the city from pirates and invaders. The route was really convoluted because there are really only a couple of major busy trunk roads heading out of the city south, and the route does everything it can to avoid the busy roads - which is all very nice but can involve much longer distances and much much more up and down cycling - often taking double the distance of the main roads to get anywhere. We mix and match between mainly following the route to the letter and occasionally taking the shorter, more direct route if seems to make more sense. Even if the man roads are hilly they are usually much better surfaced and tend to not be as steep as they are 'smoothed out' of the excessiveness of the ups and downs.

After 6 miles or so of the official route we were not much further than Cove Bay when the rim on Roger's back wheel decided to break, in a similar fashion to mine north of Inverness. What to do now? Had just about left the grotty traffic and busy roads of Aberdeen city behind, and also climbed out of the city up various long climbs - so neither of us very happy with the thought of returning all the way back down with the heavy bikes, getting the wheel fixed and then crawling back up the hills again. The map showed a campsite at Cove Bay so spent ages trying to find it - but didn't exist - asked a bloke when we could find one and he directed us about 2 miles down the busy main road (and hill) back towards the city - found the site in the middle of office blocks - a very odd place, plenty of vacant pitches and a couple of dozen residential caravans. No on in the reception type building and no one around - was lunch timeish by now. Decided to pitch the tent and for Roger to cycle with his bike down to Halfords which we'd been told was about another mile or so further down the hill into Aberdeen, and I'd stay to keep an eye on our stuff. The plan was that we'd stay here for the night as even if all went to plan and he managed to get the wheel fixed fairly quickly we wouldn't have enough time to cycle to the next campsite. Unfortunately, just as Roger was cycling away a bloke came out of one of the caravans and said that no tents (or touring caravans) were allowed to use the site - residential use only. So I packed most of the stuff back up but 'squatted' in the half put up tent to keep warm from the cool breeze while Roger nipped off to Halfords, just got comfy reading my book when he came back, Halfords could fix it - in a weeks time.... He'd been given the name of a bike shop in Aberdeen that should be able to fix it for him - about 1/2 a mile from the youth hostel where we'd stayed the night before. The sensible thing seemed to be to go back down the busy main road back into the city and stay at the hostel for a second night - not my most favorite of places as a slog up 3 or 4 flights of stairs and lots of fire doors and security card locked doors to negotiate, plus I'd found the lad on reception there a bit dour and some how condescending to us the night before - I felt like he was looking down his nose at us as I struggled to find the youth hostel membership cards and cash to pay with, with wet cold hands as we'd just got caught in the rain before we arrived. We were in 2 different rooms, and had a different pass key each (both looked the same) - so asked him to write the two room numbers down as they were on different floors and I knew i'd forget them, or get the cards mixed up. He made me feel really stupid to have to ask for this. But needs must etc. So packed up the tent, and then the bikes with all the panniers, and cycled back to the youth hostel the quickest way- using pavements were we could for safety, through all the traffic lights, dicing with the bus lanes, arriving back where we'd stared, 15 miles later, about 3.3 pm. While I toiled all the panniers etc upstairs (we managed to get a 2x2 bunk bed room to ourselves on the third floor) and made the beds up - I hate putting duvet covers on!!!! - Roger disappeared to the bike shop. back an hour or so later - had had to buy a new back wheel as would have to wait 2 weeks for them to have the time to replace the rim as they did on mine. £95 later.... + £43 for the room later - a bit of an expensive day. Celebrated by grilling beefburgers on the gas cooker at the hostel with boiled new potatoes and peas - washed down with apple juice and fished off with a yummy coconut and marshmallow cheapy cake from the Coop. Made all the worse somehow because it was a beautiful sunny (if cold breeze) of an afternoon, much better than in the morning.

So, slightly better sleep last night but woke up with a headache and Roger feeling very tired and stiff today. Checked out and Roger got my bike first from the bike shed - so put all the panniers on and then Roger appeared with his bike - and a flat back wheel!!! Had to unload the panniers to find the puncture stuff - used a new inner tube because we thought the guy at the bike shop had perhaps nipped the inner tube when he replaced the tyre the night before - they're very tight the tyres - Roger has struggled in the past with them for 'nipping' problems. I went and checked the inner we'd taken out - but could only find air leaking out of the valve - so presume this was the problem. Roger pumped the tyre up as well as he could with our minipump, but decided he would stop off at the bike shop to use their big pump. (Went via the post office to buy a large jiffy envelope to post some stuff home in next few days). About a mile after we'd called into to pump up the back tyre there was a sudden pop and the inner tube in the back wheel had burst!!!! Rude words were said as I'm sure you can imagine. Were on a busy road, by a bus stop outside a house with a wall and railings, so as quite a wide pavement we took all the panniers etc off in a heap, and Roger cycled back on my bike with his back wheel to the cycle shop. Once again I'd made myself as comfy as possible perched on the couple of inches of free wall in front of the railings and reading my book, a girl who arrived to catch a bus giving me funny looks at the large pile of baggage and upside down bike minus a back wheel. Reminded me that when I'd been waiting outside the bike repair shop in Inverness a old codger with his old looking jack russel had come past, dug me in the back and said 'You should have been a butcher you know..... there used to be three along here and they've all gone now....' - then carried on his way.

Roger back within half an hour or so - £10 for the shop to repair the puncture etc and a new inner tube. Loaded up the bikes once again - felt like we were never going to get out of Aberdeen. Decided we would brave the main road route south to try and make up time - a gradual uphill trudge which went well until the pavement ran out and we were forced to ride on the road - we managed about 4 miles at most - were dicing with death though - felt like we were cycling on the motorway with no cycle lane or hard shoulder - not a pleasant experience at all - and after braving two turnoffs which were the most challenging and dangerous bits we decided enough was enough and got off. Took us a while to work out where we were on the cycle strip map, and work out how to get back on to the actual cycle route again - at one point we were going the wrong way on the route!!! ie back towards Aberdeen - difficult because the route winds backwards and forwards over and under the main trunk road. Luckily realised we were very wrong within 1/2 a mile and no hills involved so not too much of a problem.

The morning had started off promisingly - sunny and just about warm enough to cycle without a coat for about the first time, but got cooler and cloudier towards lunchtime and started raining. At one point, as we decided to miss a particularly convoluted bit of the route and go for a more direct way, discovered why the official route didn't go this way as necessitated a very difficult dash across the dualcarriage way of the busy trunk road we'd decided to get off earlier. Lunch was taken sat on the grass verge of a country lane. Up and down and winding back and forth we eventually had the reward of a long swoop down into Stonehaven, rather fittingly the home of the inventor of the pneumatic tyre. The sun suddenly was out, it was Saturday and the place was swarming with people in their skimpy summer clothes, and we arrived in our big yellow jackets- which immediately attracted swarms of black flying ant like things - attracted by the colour I presume as no one else seemed bothered by them. Down at the waters edge now on the sea front. Was going to celebrate the appearance of the sun and some warmth with the first ice cream of the trip but the queue was enormous so will have to wait for another time. Felt like a million miles from Aberdeen - only 14 miles away by the direct main road.

There was supposed to be a campsite here - but just a caravan park - and anyway was only just after 3 so decided to continue south. Meant another long pull out of the village - but a car free route that we could take though - full of people out and about making the most of the lovely afternoon and view, and walking to Dunnoter Castle - a superb location and somewhere else to add to the list of places we'll explore in the future. On the way up I stopped to take a photo when suddenly I heard a voice saying 'You were at the bus stop weren't you? Have you cycled all the way here?' It was the same girl who had been waiting for the bus when I was sat on the wall with Roger's bike upside down and with only one wheel much earlier in the day.

The route continued togo up and down, doing anything it could to keep us off the main roads - pretty and sort of enjoyable, excellent scenery but very knackering on the tourers. Very glad when finally a long down hill freewheel into Inverberbervie, home of the guy who designed the Cutty Sark. Called at the Coop to buy food for tea and some bread - long queue as the locals bought their booze and ciggies for the night -then down to the sea to the campsite - and amazingly other campers with their families here, barbques ready to cook their teas. Lovely to feel comfortable sitting in the tent and not feeling freezing.

Not that I wont be requiring a hottie as usual for bed tonight....