06/08/2023
Saturday morning, Eloise was darting about the house cackling her head off. To say she was looking forward to Cassidy’s birthday party was an understatement. After all the plaits on Thursday, it was finally time to let down her party hair. Before the party, Eloise had to pick up Juju, a double win! She could not believe her luck.
Da boyz were left behind at home. Dad finally dragged Lachlan away from Baby Shark. Lachlan had just one condition before we stepped outside, he was insistent that he had to wear “Sista’s clothes” and was glad he had the full wardrobe to select from. Finally content, it was time to search for friendly neighborhood cats.
Eloise had an absolute ball at Cassidy’s birthday party with all her besties. The princess they had hired to run the party was exceptional, allowing a lot of #mumgossip to occur on the sidelines.
When Eloise got home to tell da boyz how much fun she the party was she was not thrilled to find Lachlan darting about in her clothes. After a short lecture from Eloise, he luckily decided to change.
Even though King of the Lochs, King Lachy, hadn’t been able to find Nessie it was announced on Saturday that “what has been described as the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster since the early 1970s is due to be held later this month. Drones fitted with infrared cameras are to be flown over the loch, and a hydrophone is to be used to detect unusual underwater sounds. Organisers said volunteers would also look for possible signs of a creature from safe vantage points on land. The search is to be held on 26 and 27 August”. Lach was not impressed that he was not consulted on the process.
There was excitement in the air though as “the Scottish Premiership returns this weekend for the much-anticipated 2023/24 season. As well as all the familiar stars, new signings, fun and games, and usual concoction of nonsense and quirks, VAR will be functioning for its first full campaign”. Although only half the city was happy.
Sunday morning we were pumped to flick on the TV and watch the start of the World Road Cycling Champion across Scotland. The cyclists had started in Edinburgh but we kept a close eye on where the peloton was as they made their way to Glasgow at an extraordinary pace for the final ten laps throughout Glasgow City. It was a beautiful day and the Scottish scenery was putting on a grand show.
We were just about to head off to catch the cyclists thunder through Bearsden when the race was paused. “Five people have been arrested after a protest halted the Men’s Elite Road Race at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland. The event was paused with just over 190km (118 miles) of the 271km (168 miles) remaining, with the Edinburgh to Glasgow route blocked west of Falkirk. The demonstration took place on a narrow stretch of the B818 near the Carron Valley Reservoir. Police said five people were arrested after the protesters were removed. Environmental group This Is Rigged claimed responsibility for the demonstration and said four of its activists were involved”. I guess it was no surprise after Tour de France, Wimbledon and plenty of other international sporting events this year.
After lunch, we headed around the corner with the masses. There were a lot more spectators than we had prepared for. The seasoned spectators had even brought ladders to watch from.
The crowds kept building and building, the road was only closed a couple of minutes before a sea of rainbow cyclists flew down Boclair Road turning onto Milngavie Road. We had thought Glasgow was a strange City to host the World Cycling Championships, the roads are generally wet and the potholes are shocking. Look at the patchwork on that corner, it is so uneven. It was incredible the pace the peloton hit that corner.
Lachlan, who should have been asleep at this stage was lovin’ the energy and feeding off the crowd.
We followed the masses to a packed Hillfoot Station, in fact “more than half a million people travelled with ScotRail during busiest weekend of 2023”. The whole city had been brought to a standstill as the final 143km weaved through Glasgow’s narrow, bumpy, steep streets. It was incredible seeing some of the World’s best cyclists; Tadej PogaÄar and Wout van Aert, even to think how quickly they had turned around after the Tour de France finished exactly two weeks ago.
After watching a couple of laps we fought the crowds to get to George Square where there were some family activities. Eloise saw another smoothie bike and was quick to jump on, these are always a bit tricky as she cannot quite reach the pedals.
We found a spot near the finish line but Eloise was not enjoying the crowd noise as everyone cheered and belted the signs with excitement so we moved on to somewhere quieter.
As we were moving the skies opened. It would have been perfect racing conditions if it was not for the protest delays, now with slippery Scottish roads it was going to be an interesting scramble to the finish. Lachlan came alive, he loves the puddles. Lachlan’s favorite part of the race was not actually the cyclists but the big clock car at the front of the race. Lachlan was quick to rename this the “dino clock car” for no apparent reason but to much amusement from the Glaswegian crowds.
Even with the cyclist tracking it was wild trying to work out what was happening in the final laps as some groups dropped off. The helicopter was darting around the city at full pelt and you could hear the crowds around every corner.
After 6 hours, 7 minutes and 27 seconds, funnily enough about the same amount of time it took us to cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Let’s just ignore the fact that they went the scenic way and then did an extra 143km throughout Glasgow, in dramatic fashion “Mathieu van der Poel becomes world road cycling champion in Glasgow”.
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023] 
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023] 
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023] 
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023] 
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023] 
đ Glasgow to Edinburgh on a Brompton [28/01/2023]
With all the fanfare we battled our way back to Bearsden as the sun was strong again. Eloise was falling asleep while eating crackers after a big day.
In other sporting news, “Australia’s Diamonds win Netball World Cup for 12th time, beating England 61-45 in Cape Town final”.
What a fun time. The one-hour stop was a bit of a drag but gave you time to get in position for the Glasgow section.