Bridge 11 - 'The Bridge to Nowhere', Bellhaven Bay, Dunbar, Scotland

 Robin turning the bike for me in the wind

 21 April 2013
Thanks to Robin MacEwen for the idea, planning (including tide tables), lifting and turning my bike and great images.

 The tide was not as high as we had anticipated but that did mean that my lovely shiny new wheels didn't have to touch the seawater.  The wind was so strong that it was really difficult to ride the bike on the bridge and there was a great deal more posing than cycling.  After a nice picnic, some of it in the JamesBond-like car that Robin has, I enjoyed exploring Dunbar's nooks and crannies.  Then I got the train back (in case anyone thought I had cycled from Edinburgh to Dunbar!) but left my precious spectacles behind, thus starting a whole trauma for me, as I am lost without them.  I am sure I will be reunited with them soon.  Meanwhile, this was number 11 and I have 9 to go.  The next one is the Dean Bridge in Edinburgh on May 10th.  See you there!

Bridge 10: Galata Bridge, Istanbul

                           Sponsored by Debbie Davidson

Galata Bridge, Istanbul

Neither cyclists nor pedestrians are allowed on the Borphorus Bridge so I had to settle for the Galata.  Indeed, this is actually where Debbie D would have been in the 1960s when her father broke his false teeth on a fish sandwich - the Bosphorus was only built in 1973.

Atek Bike Hire gave us free bikes!

Support team, Frank and Sally, did a lot of research in advance so, while I didn't believe that bikes were banned from the Borphorus Bridge and had to check it out for myself (what's new?), their advance work made it possible for me to do the Galata very easily.  Ishak Tekkol of 'atek', which sells and rents bikes was mystified at our short rental and, since he was in the middle of lunch when we got back, didn't charge us at all.  Huge thanks to him for that and go there if you need a bike or a bike-related service in Istanbul.  We only found him because of a helpful waiter in a nearby restaurant.

Enthusiastic waiter! 

Galata Bridge Support Team

We cycled on the footpath as I was not completely suicidal that day, though I did cycle a bit of the short distance from the bike hire shop to the bridge.  My support team then bought me lunch and I got a lovely pic with the same waiter who had found the bike hire in the first place.  Altogether a good day's work.