A nice Sunday and no Sky Ride! How will I cope? I know: I’ll ask if Andrew and Flt Bear fancy a wee hurl along the Forth and Clyde canal to that engineering marvel, the Falkirk Wheel. *Gets on Facebook and sends message* *Response – a clear yes.* Now this is going to be a mountain bike run as the path is a bit rough in places and the new cyclo cross bike isn’t ready yet. Plus, with last night’s clock change it will also be getting dark towards the end of the run so lights are essential.

Off we set, a bit later than scheduled but encountering very little in the way of fellow travellers on the route. The voyage through Glasgow was uneventful and surprisingly warm so one of the extra layers I’d put on was duly shed. And so onwards through Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs. The canal path is not particularly wide so progress was slowed down whenever we encountered other path users. We reached the Wheel at about 3pm and stopped for a coffee and a photo session. The latter took longer than I had intended but since the Wheel had not been in operation on my previous visits I thought I’d risk a bit of darkness on the way back. Boy was that “bit of darkness” an understatement! Fortunately there was enough moonlight to actually see where the canal was (as opposed to path!) but there were a couple of hairy moments when a barrier appeared out of nowhere and a dumper truck suddenly materialised. 50 miles or near enough and about 3 and a half hours. But a marvellous spectacle.