Cycle to Fife

I woke up to a beautiful, warm sunny day yesterday in Edinburgh, and decided that instead of my usual climb, I was going to go for a nice bike-ride in training for my big climb next month. I'd spotted the Fourth Rail Bridge in the distance when I was out cycling recently, and thought it hadn't looked too far away, so I decided to head for that (it turned out to be 15 miles away... looks can be deceptive!)

I hadn't researched my route, as I'd wanted to explore more of Edinburgh and navigate by sense of direction. I knew that if I roughly followed the direction of the coast, I'd come to it sooner or later. 

After a while I found myself cycling along a beautiful footpath than ran alongside the River Almond. I genuinely had no idea this existed in Edinburgh, it was really tranquil. There was almost no one about, no tourists - the beauty of leaving the beaten track. 

The beautiful River Almond, Edinburgh

After a few hours I finally arrived at the base of the magnificent Fourth Rail Bridge. I was very tired at this point and wanted nothing more than to plonk myself down in one of the tempting pubs that sat at the foot of the bridges; however I knew I didn't have far to go and the end was in sight. 

First view of the Fourth Bridges, getting closer! 

The structure of the Fourth Rail Bridge is amazing

The Two Bridges

Me infront of the Fourth Road Bridge (left) and the Fourth Rail Bridge (right)

I continued on my path, crossing the 2-mile span over the amazing Fourth Road Bridge, until finally I arrived in the Kingdom of Fife; I had reached my destination!

From the base of the Fourth Road Bridge tower

Panorama of the Fourth Road Bridge

Made it! The end of the Bridge, taken from the Kingdom of Fife! 

I decided to take a different route home, and followed a blue-signposted cycle path which promised to get me back to the city centre in 10 miles. It soon became clear that something wasn't quite right with these signs. About half an hour after passing a sign which said "city centre 6 miles" I arrived at another sign which said "city centre 7 miles." 

After over an hour of following these confusing, mind boggling labyrinth of silly blue signs, the path finally lead me right to a KFC, where the blue signs promptly vanished. The path came out right at the back, where they pump out the finger-lickin' good smells. I was physically and mentally exhausted; it was then that I realised I'd been well and truly stitched up. I'd fallen victim to one of the greatest marketing cons I'd ever witnessed; a series of signs which suggest a cycle route that plays with your mind, tires your body, then dumps you out at a fast food joint. Perfect. I frustratedly ignored the overwhelming desire to munch on some Kentucky Fried chicken and chips, and turned around to continue my journey. I saw a blue sign pointing back in the direction I'd just come from, which read "Edinburgh, 10 miles." 

I'd had enough of this game, and by cycling to the top of the hill was able to spot Arthers Seat in the distance. Using this as a navigation point, I made my own way home and arrived back about 45 minutes later. 

All of this is in preparation for my big climb next month, less than four weeks away. I'm raising money for Make-A-Wish UK, an amazing charity that makes the wishes of sick and dying children come true. Inspired? Please help me achieve this goal, and head over to http://www.justgiving.com/joe-goes-up. Every penny helps. Thank you, Joe x