Monday, March 17, 2008

Springtime for Glasgow (and bicycles)


Arrived in Glasgow last night and walked from Queen Street to the West End. For some reason I've always found walking about cities more interesting than perambulating in the countryside...and cycling even more so. Well, perhaps 'interesting' is the wrong word. 'Frightening' might be better. Who needs computer games or roller coasters when you can dice with buses along Dumbarton Road?

Absolutely cracking morning, blue skies and deep shadows in the Botanic Gardens as I walked over to Mag's flat to pick up the folding bike. And then not one, but two bicycle shop encounters (cheap lock, cheap pump), par for the course, in their intimidation factor. ('Cheap and basic? I'm afraid THIS is the cheapest and most basic we care to stock (£20 Kryptonite'); May I borrow your stirrup pump? 'That's 20 p per tyre...' But I just BOUGHT a crap £5 pump from you...)

Actually, the 20p per tyre charge was waived, though I did get a lecture on under-inflation and having a bit of string tied around the frame ('have you just ASSEMBLED this?'). It was all a bit like the old days of dealing with intimidating sales assistants in music shops - the ones who would let you try out a guitar and then demonstrate their blistering prowess by playing Steve Howe's The Clap at double speed. Until punk wiped the smiles from their faces. And the mercury from their fingertips.

Over to Beeb HQ at Pacific Quay, which involves the aforementioned Dumbarton Road thrill ride, before the excellent traffic-free bike-and-pedestrian route from Finniston. West End to PQ is definitely quickest by bike.

4 comments:

alice b. toeclips said...

Tom
What IS it about the bicycle shop that attracts the occasional eejit employee?
I was just made aware that a cartoon I got a friend to draw concerning this VERY SUBJECT is on a Edinburgh website:
http://cyclingedinburgh.info/shops.
The fact that air from a floor pump was being charged...un REAL!

Donald J Scump said...

Dare I say, dare I,? "road tax for all cyclists!!" for all their traffic free bike routes.

Only kidding I have great respect for all cyclists and always give them a wide-berth.

family of four said...

Tom

Bike shopes, guitar shops and of course hi fi shops - always make me think of the classic gramophone sketch from Not the Nine O'clock News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSINO6MKtco

Love listening to the show on the internet - Hobart Tasmania Australia

hoolet said...

hi tom
you'd be better keepin your eye on the aldi and lidl shops for bike locks and pumps , and of course the poundland , i got a couple o' bike locks in poundland and have seen the same ones in other shops for 5 times the price,as you say glessca is a great place tae cycle when i was a boy in parkhead i loved tae go doon and accross the river on any of the ferries that ran then , atho the wet steps doon tae the wee push you pull you wans were a bit dodgey.