Greetings From Edinburgh

On Sunday Mary and I will start a six day cycling trip in the Scottish Highands. Some of you cycling purists may think that we have chosen Scotland since “watts” (the way cyclists measure their power output) is a measurement named after the Scottish inventor James Watt (better known for inventing the steam engine) or because Scottish favorite son and Olympic medalist Sir Chris Hoy was feted with his handprints on an Edinburgh sidewalk

After setting the world record by putting out 2,600 watts on a sprint. I am struggling for comparisons, but for any non-cyclists reading this blog, that is akin to Aaron Judge routinely hitting 800 foot homers.

Well, Mary and I are not cycling purists and I suspect most of you are not either. In fact, after our last Death Valley trip, I received a number of emails questioning why my cycling blog focused so much on cycling. So I am gong to start this trip with a post about what is most important on a cycling trip — the food and the drink! I need to say this carefully since our good friend and cardiologist Linda reads this blog, but I know that many of you subscribe to the Cooperman adage that cycling takes the guilt out of gluttony. The more you pedal, the more you can consume with impunity. Right Dr. Linda? Was that 40 mile morning ride really about cardio or was it to end the ride by having both the Blueberry Meyer Lemon and the Chocolate Buttercream at Rise Doughnuts in Wilton, before you went home for breakfast?

We like to say that cycling is a calorie neutral vacation. Here was our friend Lucy’s breakfast after a morning workout:

Lucy, btw, weighs about 100 pounds. And she will neither confirm nor deny the rumor that she finished off her breakfast with a Cinnamon Bun.

When it comes to food, Mary and I have been on a mission to make up for cycling trips we took in our 20s:

Fine French food at the time with a lot of imagination — Spiral au Fromage du Kraft and Beef Bouguignon du Dinty Moore. We had nowhere to go but up and sometimes we’ve succeeded. Here’s a scene from our 2005 cycling trip to the Dordogne region of France:

So cyclists eat a lot, but do they eat healthy? Hmmm, which of these food at the bbq Mecca in Luchenbach, Texas from our 2023 trip are included in the food pyramid on Dr. Linda’s office wall?

And look at those happy faces after a 45 mile ride on a rainy day:

Insert the caption “The Joy of Comfort Food” and this would be the featured poster at The American Barbecue Council’s annual meeting.

But what’s food without drink? After pedaling all day, the reversal of the calorie expenditure process begins well before dinner. You need to relax with a beer or glass of wine. Sometime where you have a post-ride beer is as important as having that beer. Here was the perfect location after a tough day in the saddle on challenging hills by Lake Placid:

Wine? Cycling through Sonoma and Napa was wonderful. But we have painfully learned the obvious, that all wine is not created equal. There was that winery in Fredericksburg, Texas that did indeed sell the best wines produced in Fredericksburg, Texas. I have no pictures to share since we did not want to waste a digital photo.

But beer and wine, we’ve done that. We’ve come to Scotland to up our game. Scotch — a nice single malt or a blended variety.

Actually, we haven’t a clue. I have a very short history with Scotch. Mary has no history at all. I’ve had exactly one glass of Scotch in my life. When we were 19, Steve and I went to our friend Tom’s wedding. Tom was getting married, yet Steve and I could not even find dates for the wedding. Losers that we were, we decided that we would look sophisticated, and surely be chick magnets, by ordering “Chivas on the rocks” at the bar. Were we writing the script to “Wedding Crashers”? Yeah, right. One sip and our faces looked as if we had done shots of castor oil and the dateless wonders quietly returned to their table.

My dad loved Scotch and said it is an acquired taste. So 44 years later, I am ready to give Scotch a second chance. We’ve decided to cycle in Scotland to see whether Scotch can compare to beer and wine as a post-ride drink. I’ll let you know how this goes. And we welcome any suggestions.

Finally, I thought that Scots were supposed to be extremely welcoming, and everyone sure seemed nice on our first day in Edinburgh. However, I have my doubts whether they are sentimental. John Knox was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Scotland. The Scottish history book I read said that he is a national hero, but our tour guide pointed out that his grave is now parking spot 23 near his old church: