Last week Juliette was embracing adventure and commuted to work with Jeannie!
Her e-bike commute took her through some of Arran’s most scenic trails keeping them away from rush hour traffic and provided them with some amazing views.
The balmy weather last week gave me no excuses not to pedal to my part-time job at Eco Savvy’s Active Travel Hub! The Active travel hub is open on Tuesdays from 11am to 2pm at the Ormidale Pavilion.
Jeannie, my colleague, suggested buddying up to get home! Even Arran has a rush hour and the main road from Brodick to Whiting Bay can be busy and noisy! So Jeannie suggested we return off road, which I must admit, makes me a bit nervous. As I’m getting older, I worry more about falling off and breaking a bone!
I only purchased a secondhand e-bike this year, I’m still getting to grips with it. However, my fears were allayed as we set a steady pace and negotiated the bumps and dips carefully.
The Route Home
The route took us up the Mayish from the old post office in Brodick. And then through Roots of Arran Community Woodland. Buddying up gave us time to have a good natter and Jeannie, the more confident cyclist, gave me some useful tips for negotiating the bumps and dips.
It’s always so good to pass through here and greet the trees that were volunteer planted on what was once a barren clearfell site!
The woodland foliage deadens the sound of the traffic at this time of year and you get a sense of being far out in nature and with that, the worries of the day shrinking away. Also cycling makes me feel joyfully intrepid! Buddying with Jeannie helped me not to catastrophise as she has a reassuring can-do mind set.
We zig zagged around small rocks on the steep ascent to the viewpoint car park where we asked a visiting couple from Ohio to take a photo of us before we pressed on; me slightly weighed down with a tub of rice collected from the zero-waste cafe that day but feeling lighter overall!
If you would like to gain some more confidence cycling both on the road and on trails around Arran, our Cycle Buddy Scheme may be just for you! Perfect for those who are new to cycling or want to build on what they already know, or even fancy discovering how they can e-bike commute to work through Arran’s trails. To find out more information visit the Cycle Buddy Page.
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