h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today is B for bicycles.

I've been cycling ever since I was about 10. I remember going for a cycle ride in the countryside near Rugby, where I lived and crossing a flyover over the M1. It think it was the first stretch they built.

I didn't mean to save that. Let's try again.

Today is B for bicycles.

I've been cycling ever since I was about 10. I remember going for a cycle ride in the countryside near Rugby, where I lived and crossing a flyover over the M1. It think it was the first stretch they built.

But cycling only got exciting when I met the man I married. We agreed to go on a cycle ride in Scotland in the first week of September, putting our bikes on the train to Glasgow and cycling from there. This was a bit unfair, because he had a lightweight road bike with ten derailleur gears and I had a heavy roadster with three Sturmey Archer. I also hadn't realised that, whereas September in the south of England was still summer, in Scotland autumn had set in.

It rained as we rode along the banks of Loch Lomond but I was quite proud of myself for cycling up Rest and Be Thankful. We were applauded by a coachload of pensioners. We stopped at Inverary and cycled from there to Oban. The next stretch along the coast to Glencoe should have been beautiful, but it rained all day. From there we cycled up Glencoe and across Rannoch Moor, which is a bleak place, and it was raining by the time we reached Crianlarich. It was still raining the next day as we set out towards Callender. The wind rose and we struggled through the Forest of Strathyre with the rain lashing against our faces and running down our legs. I was soaked through and cold, reaching the point where a pair of dry socks seemed the highest luxury. It seems surprising, in retrospect, that I still married my cycling partner!

I'm still cycling today. These days I have a hyrbid Trek with eighteen gears, though I don't use the highest ones. We potter round Sussex, using quiet country roads when we can find them and avoiding the worst hills, including Ditchling Beacon.

[Amy P]

That cycle ride in Scotland sounds absolutely delightful. Except for the rain. And the cycling

Deb

I never could figure out bicycle gears. But then, I also never figured out how3 to stay on a bicycle without falling off.

The holiday in Scotland was definitely memorable.

As for cycle gears, in practice, most ordinary cyclists probably don't use the full range.

I've probably never used the full range on my bike - although I did have to resort to the very low ones when I cycled up Ditchling Beacon this year. That hill's a killer

<BB<

You did well to get up it. I tried once, when I was younger but had to get off and walk.

As I get older, I am less inclined to travel on steep inclines.

They get steeper.

Staircases seem to grow more stairs, too.

Except when you're going downstairs and someone takes the bottom step away...

<BB<

That last step is a lulu!

So that's what happened to Lulu - I wondered where she went after 'The Man with the Golden Gun'...

<BB<

I never did understand Alban berg's work . Lulu presumably ascended some steps and then fell. Why, how, when I have no idea.

To me, Lulu is a company through which you can self publish your great (or awful) novel or other written work

I think we are on the outskirts of Lulu Overload.