The morning after the crash (May 20th), I woke up feeling demotivated and rather depressed. I didn’t feel like cycling and considered changing my flight and going home. However, after a couple of cups of tea in my hotel room and good look at the route I’d chosen that was mostly on roads and not particularly interesting terrain, I decided to skip the cycling for the day and take a train to a town with a bike shop because my brakes were squealing very loudly on steep downhills. I booked a train to Stirling and then went and had breakfast in a cafe until it was time to go to the station.

At the train station I got talking to a lady who was traveling to Nashville for a few weeks to visit friends and play her fiddle. She was a scientist by day and fiddle player by night. She told me she lived in Orkney but grew up in Shetland. Her name is Lynda. The train was delayed for so long I felt like we were best friends by the time we parted company.

While talking to Lynda and based on her thoughts on my route, I decided to change my plans and instead of going to Stirling, get off at Edinburgh where there would be plenty of bike shops. I would get my brakes fixed and plan for my return journey by finding a place where I could get a bike box to pack the bike and maybe arrange transport to the airport.

I soon realized that accommodation in Edinburgh was out of control expensive. I couldn’t find any hotels that were less than £250 a night so I opted for a hostel in the Grassmarket area for £30 per night. I was very familiar with youth hosteling in the 1980’s but this was a new experience. I ended up in a room with 20 other people but I had a somewhat private ‘pod’. The hostel used to be a Salvation Army women’s hostel and had a kitchen, lounge, bar and quiet room. After my initial skepticism, it was a good experience for a night.

After unloading my luggage, I headed off to Soul Cycles to get my brakes sorted out. An hour later, I was cycling squeal free on Arthur’s Seat thanks to Dave the mechanic who replaced my rear brake rotor and told me he would save a bike box for me.

Arthur’s Seat, situated in Holyrood Park, is an old extinct volcano that is about a mile from the center of Edinburgh. It offers wonderful views and a maze of hiking trails. It’s a popular walking and cycling spot. I was lucky to have a beautiful sunny day for my ride. The park was full of blooming gorse bush that I enjoyed throughout Scotland. The flowers fill the air with a spicy coconut perfume.

I ended the day in a French bistro in Grassmarket where I had fish and vegetables for dinner 😀

My first taste of Edinburgh was short but positive and I looked forward to returning in a couple of weeks. I checked on my route out of Edinburgh for the next day and went to sleep in my pod feeling more enthusiastic for the rest of the trip. 🚴