A run on the bike with the Midges!

It was a lovely day today, light breeze, blue sky with some fluffy clouds. It was ideal for a wee run out on the bikes. At the moment I have started my IAM riding training, and I have to practice, great excuse!

Set off, with Ed, up through Glencoe, practising my positioning, counter-steering and linking the bends, plenty to keep me occupied!

Turned right in Glencoe village, round through Kinlochleven, round the loch to our favourite haunt: Lochleven Seafood Café.

Notorious for midge, I kept my helmet on and didn’t take it off until I was in the café. Good planning. Lovely dinner, scallops and langoustine. A cracking view of the loch too.

One of the other diners thought the view was so special, he got up from his seat, got his camera and tripod out the car, and set it up at the loch side. Brave man. He got the tripod settled, bent down to look through the view finder with the entire café customers watching. It was like comic cuts…..

5….4…..3….2…..1…..

ATTACK!!!! As the onslaught of monstrous man-eating Midges started to scoff…. Much waving of hands, slapping (bald) head and rubbing of face, all done with one hand as he picked up the camera and tripod and literally threw it back into the car, whilst jogging into the café!

Much chortling! Silly man, 10/10 for giving it a go though, don’t know if he even had a chance to close the shutter!

Leaving, I had it all planned, ear plugs in, helmet on and key in hand, lowering my visor as I stepped outside. Ed was doing very well until he realised he had forgotten to put in his earplugs. I didn’t hang around to give him sympathy! Escape was on my mind!

Brilliant run on the way home, quiet roads and good weather…… until BAM!!! It started to rain…. WTF?!?! Nope, it wasn’t rain, it was bloody Midges splattering my visor… it was so bad, I could hear them smacking against my helmet! Gads!

About a mile from home Ed zoomed past me, I knew what he was up to – sod stopping off for fuel, he got home opened his garage, opened mine after he had driven in… I came around the corner just as his door was closing. Straight into the garage, bike off, scramble off to close my door before the house got infested!!

I though he was going to die laughing when he saw my visor…. He did ask how the hell I managed to see anything through it. All in all (midges included) a brilliant run out, thank you to Rory my IAM observer for making a difference to my riding already…..

Just to show you the result of my run: