Hi, I’m Gregor.
A drinks aficionado, based in Scotland, whisky is my most enjoyed little tipple, the way it blends history, place, culture, and community is something magical for me, it really excites me to think of all the people that worked at every step of the way to create a magical liquid and place it in the glass in front of me, from the arborists in America and Europe, to the distillery workers decades ago, to the lovely folk letting my sample it. It’s a hell of a process to make whisky. I’m enamoured… What’s with the bikes though?
Starting my cycling career in the wake of the pandemic, my one hour of reasonable exercise quickly turned into an ‘extended’ hour. As regulations eased, the miles increased. I soon found cycling to be my preferred mode of transport, not just within Scotland but internationally as well, notably marked by my International ‘Super Randonneur Award’. Across two weekends. I cycled 400 km in the Netherlands, 300 km in France and a short 200 km in Belgium, before returning home to rest up for a month in preparation for the final 600 km ride along a tweaked NC 500-esque route to complete the award. As proud as I am of these rides, there wasn’t much time to stop and enjoy myself, and indeed a favourite part of the 400Km one was cracking into the hip flask on the last few miles before we completed our longest ever ride and coming in comfortably on the allotted time.
With all this cycling, I’ve recently opted to reduce the miles and find some local delicacies. I’ve always done this, just never consciously; though my travels, I’ve developed a sixth sense for when I’m about to come across the end of a farm lane playing host to an honesty box stocked with fresh farm eggs and homemade jams, which perfectly complement a post-cycle breakfast. I’m still to achieve my lifetime goal of making cheese on toast from source – Long bloody cycle to Worcestershire for the sauce though…
Other than the lofty dreams of one day making a delightful cheese on toast with an intimate knowledge of its providence. I’m still a lover of whisky. There are around 70 distilleries in Scotland that host experiences, they treat cyclists with great respect and humility, god knows we need it. Arriving, having cycled countless miles, battling drizzly moorlands and climbing unforgiving peaks. Every corner of Scotland has its challenges for cyclists, and every corner has ample distilleries perfectly placed to ignite a fire in our chests and send us onwards with a little something to warm our cheeks as we nestle into our sleeping bags at the end of a day’s touring, just a little bit merrier than we might have been otherwise.
So I’m going to make it my goal to explore as many as I can, and with variety being the spice of life, I might interrupt the scotch programming to include world whiskies, beers, wines, all sorts really, and the places that make them
I’ll draft up a Venn diagram sometime, but in the meantime, expect adventure, drinks and ponderings.
Many thanks,
Gregor
