Bridge 7 - Cromarty

18th January 2013

The Cromarty Bridge crosses, guess what? - the Cromarty Firth.  It's not so easy to get to on a bike because the cycle route goes north another way.  That was one obstacle in my cold bike ride across the Black Isle.  I wanted to go to Dingwall but across this bridge.  I, sensibly, opted for the cycle route rather than the A9 dual carriageway but the bike lane on that route was covered in snow and ice, which was the main obstacle all afternoon.  So for a few miles I did have to cycle on the main road, but it wasn't the A9 - yet.  I took a lovely link road across to the A9 and that was a glorious ride with views of the Cromarty Firth and all the hills around.  There was then no option but the A9 - at least it was a freewheel ride down to the bridge.  Crossing the bridge itself was tricky as I had to be on the rickety pavement, while bits of debris were thrown at me by the speeding traffic.  At least the snow flurry had not developed into proper snow.

Ah well - safely over and I had a lovely ride into Dingwall along the sea.  After a welcome cup of hot tea at the Station tea room in Dingwall, the nice owner told me how I could get to the Inverness train platform without humping my bike across the footbridge.  By now I was very tired after the cold and scary ride from Inverness so I was very grateful for that insider tip, as well as for the tea and chat.

Bridge 6 - Kessock

Friday 18th January 2013

The Kessock Bridge goes across the Moray Firth from Inverness.  I arrived at Inverness by train and put on thermals and lots of layers and set off in search of the bridge.  In spite of the sub-zero temperature, I was quickly overheated and had to shed several layers - there's nothing like cycling up a hill to warm you up.  It was quite hard to find the bridge and I got over-involved in several roundabouts.  Met another cyclist who pointed me in the right direction but I still got onto a dual carriageway by accident.  However, no harm done and I made it to the bridge, as you can see.  I had a lovely cycle across and then I was on the Black Isle.  It's a lovely place and I must come back here on a day when the temperature is above 10 Celcius.  There is a brewery to explore - for starters.  The roads are a bit manic, but where are they any different?  My planned bridge in Istanbul will make the A9 look very tame,

Bridge 5 - Old Stirling Bridge

Tuesday 15th January 2013.
No snow or ice - just a beautiful sunny day in Stirling for a cycle across the Old Stirling Bridge.  The original Stirling Bridge of William Wallace's victory is long gone, though great stories about that battle remain.  I like the one about the carpenter's family.  Wallace ordered John Wright, a carpenter, to take out a holding pin from the bridge supports at a crucial point.  Until 1900 the eldest son of that Wright family was always nicknamed 'Pin', or so it is reported on the information board at this bridge which dates from 1500.  A  history timeline starts from there and goes along the riverside to 'The Raploch', with local stories from 1297 up to 2009.  It's fascinating and well worth a wander if you are nearby.  It's a short walk north from the railway station in Stirling.

Bridge 4 - Forth Road Bridge, Scotland

Boxing Day, 26 December 2012

Any bridge-biking project must include the Forth Road Bridge, mustn't it?

Thanks to my pal, Bill, for chumming me on this one.  We had one of the best days of the holidays - no snow, wind or rain :-)

Moira
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Bridge 3 - Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin

Image courtesy of
Tom Cronin Research, Photographer & Author 

17th December and a lovely day for a bit of city cycling adventure with my niece.  We hired bicycles through Dublin Bikes and set off for the river Liffey.  The Ha'penny Bridge is lovely but full of pedestrians.  Well, it IS a pedestrian bridge.  They were all very tolerant of me getting in their way as I biked over and back!

Image courtesy of
Tom Cronin Research, Photographer & Author 

Posing for the pic was the biggest challenge as the bridge was really very crowded - so thanks to my assistant/photographer, Ali Dunworth.  I am grateful to Tom Cronin for permission to use two of his lovely pics of this bridge.

My next Irish bridges will be in the Gap of Dunloe in Co Kerry at the end of July.


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Bridges 1 and 2 - Cramond

This first bike ride took place on 5th November 2012 on a beautiful autumn day. I found myself at the Cramond Brig and decided that this was as good a time as any to start my twenty bridges.

The original Cramond Brig is old and very picturesque.  The most difficult part of that cycle was getting underneath the bridge to take the photo.

New Cramond Brig - way more scary than the old one.

The new bridge is not at all pretty and, luckily, I was able to go across on the pavement (no pedestrians present!) and so survived.  I begin to see that traffic will be my biggest hazard with this biking bridges project.

Thanks for tuning in.

MOIRA

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The purpose

Supporting girls' education is a vital part of supporting the development of a country and I was a founder member of the Mamie Martin Fund, which enters its 20th year in 2013.  This small charity supports girls' education in North Malawi through local schools and people.  Like all charities it is experiencing tough times and we must not get into a situation of supporting fewer girls, all for the want of some fund-raising.

My part in this is to cycle over 20 bridges to raise £2000.00 before November 2013.  The picture at the top of this blog is of my trusty bike, which will be used for the Scottish bridges.  I will choose my bridges on the basis of 'interestingness'.  I will record each of the bridge crossings here.

Thanks for tuning in.

Moira

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