After catching a ferry and only 13 miles of riding we made it to Belfast in Northern Ireland for two days off.
First item on the agenda was visiting an Irish Pub. Vegan sausages with potatoes and veggies!
Had a few pints to wait out the rain then back to the AirBnB for a sleepless night. Why so sleepless you ask? Because we were so excited for our GAME OF THRONES TOUR!!! A lot of the show is filmed in Northern Ireland and we spent the day visiting many of the locations.
I think I did a spot on recreation of Arya climbing out of the water in Bravos after being stabbed.
Next was the Iron Islands. Yeah, we got to play with swords.
Harrenhal.
Our tour guide made the day. He is a regular extra on the show and had hilarious stories from behind the scenes. For anyone who is a fan of the show take this tour.
First ride. We were pretty nervous to start the riding, having to remember to stay on the left of the road and all, but today turned out great. Actually, 55 of the 60 miles were on a bike path. We almost didn't take it because we thought a lot of it would be gravel but it was perfectly paved and smooth riding. Anyone doing the ride themselves should definitely stick to National Cycle Route 754.
The entire path followed a canal with a pretty wild system of tunnels and water bridges, as well as the Falkirk Wheel, which is like an elevator for ferry boats.
Managed to avoid the rain all day, too!
Walked around Glasgow for a bit and had dinner at the Flying Duck, a fully vegan bar.
Edinburgh has been amazing. Delicious food including some surprisingly good vegan haggis! Found two bars with vegan choices, one with punk rock on the juke box and the other Game of Thrones themed! Actually, tons of places in this city have vegan options, including a fudge shop on the royal mile. Not enough time to try them all, but we did our best.
The city itself is impressive. Seriously old. Visited a castle that dates back to 1130. We've done so much walking it will be nice to get on the bikes in the morning. Hope the rain holds off.
Flew into London on WOW airlines. Not recommended though I have to say they handled the bikes without any hassle and they made it in one piece. After 24 hours without sleep we managed to get the bikes together in 20 min at Gatwick airport and took a Thameslink train into London.
In the morning, we jumped on a train to Edinburgh. Virgin trains have space for a few bikes in the luggage car, though you should make a reservation for them when you buy your tickets.
We will spend a few days in Edinburgh sightseeing and getting ready for the ride.
We made it! Smooth ride into the city for our victory beverages of choice.
We will certainly have some fun in Austin for the next few days before packing the bikes up to head home. This was a great trip that we recommend. Can't wait to get home to Mona and Ralphie!
We road through two state parks today. It was a great ride but got a little hilly. Ran into some other cyclists today. They had started in San Diego and were headed to their home in the Florida Keys. Pretty cool.
