A cycle on Millport

On Tuesday we went for a cycle around the island of Cumbrae. I have been making this well loved trip all of my life but it must be quite a few years since the last time. It was a perfect autumnal day; sunny but cool enough that I didn’t overheat. We invited Davie, as his last hurrah before starting at university next week. Since we only have two bike racks, it was a bit of a puzzle how to transport David’s bike as well as ours. However James and David successfully removed one of the wheels and managed to squeeze it into the back of the car. We parked the car at Largs and wheeled the bikes onto the ferry. After the short crossing, we set off anticlockwise around the island. The views of the Clyde estuary were absolutely gorgeous and the route was flat enough to please even me. On a Tuesday morning in September the island was very quiet. There were only a few other cyclists, a dozen or so walkers, and almost no cars. We saw cormorants standing on the red rocks at the shore and passed sandy beaches and war memorials. We stopped for coffee at the café at Fintry Bay and then continued round to the little town of Millport. After paying our respects to the renowned Crocodile Rock (yes the most famous thing in Millport is a rock painted like a crocodile which has been a feature of the town ever since I can remember) we continued onwards to the ferry slipway. My watch app told me that we had cycled for a bit over 16.5 km. This, however, was not enough for the intrepid James and David. They decided to circumnavigate the island once more. I was a little more cautious because my thighs were already feeling rather tired. So I accompanied the boys the 4 km round to Fintry Bay once more, where we had a light lunch sitting outside in the warm sunshine. Then I turned back towards the ferry slipway while they cycled onwards right round the island. So James and David ended up cycling for a total of 33 km while I was quite happy with my 25 km. It was a grand day.