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Bean Adventures: A Bike Ride to Remember

Writer's picture: AutAut

Updated: Jun 27, 2023

J and I love being outside and going for walks, so when I bought a bike during my last visit, we were super happy. It saved us catching the bus into town, it was a good way to enjoy the sunshine, and we could travel further on bikes than by foot. Having a bike of my own also helped me to feel independent and free while I was visiting Scotland, especially with the thought of moving there soon fresh in my mind.

A piece of carrot cake, tea, and a rolo cupcake!

J wanted to take me to a local dairy farm and café for lunch - which I was more than happy to agree to - so we hopped on our bikes and set off. The weather was beautiful and sunny when we left the house, and most of the route was along a cycle path so J and I could enjoy ourselves without worrying about traffic. We arrived at the café in no time and wandered about the small shopping area before going inside. After eating our lunch and having some cake (so good!), J and I returned to our bikes, saying good-bye to the farm animals on the way, before cycling home.

Friendly goats!

A few things I should note before continuing are 1) J is used to cycling on his own so having me riding behind him was something to get used to, and 2) while the weather was sunny and dry, the cycle path is predominantly shaded and the tunnels along it are dark, damp, and muddy. But J and I had been on the path before and there wasn't any trouble with the two of us cycling together before - we both felt comfortable and safe travelling together.


We were roughly 15 minutes from J's house when we went through the first of two tunnels along the cycle path. This one is arguably the most damp and has a mix of wet gravel, mud, and puddles dispersed throughout the short tunnel. While J and I rode through it this time around, J was in front of me, I was maybe a little too close behind, and when J began shifting to the left side of the tunnel, my front tire clipped his back tire before I could stop, and I fell off my bike. Now, this wouldn't have been a huge issue if we were on the regular part of the cycle path as it's relatively clean and is just simple cement (so I would have scraped myself up but would have been clean). However, because of where I fell, I was coated in a thick layer of wet dirt and gravel from head to toe. Which meant any wounds were also covered in this layer of muck.


I knew immediately that I had messed myself up and told J we needed to get home before the pain set in. He rinsed my hands and elbow with my water bottle, and we set off back to his house as we had no other way to get me home, despite the rough state I was in. Alternating between crying about falling and cracking jokes about what I had done, I made it back to J's and got in the shower, clothes and all. J did his best to clean up my belongings that had been dragged through the mud with me - my purse, shoes, and phone - while I very cautiously attempted to rinse my wounds clean. I had scraped up my right shin and knee, given myself a bruise on my right thigh that would develop over the next few days, blistered and scraped both palms and thumbs, and last but not least - as J told me it looked like later on - I burst my elbow open. As I fell, I remember thinking that I was falling onto my elbow, which explains why it ended up coming out the worst. Standing in J's shower, I couldn't bring myself to look at it, but we both knew I needed medical attention to have it cleaned properly and to check for gravel, broken or chipped bones, and to check that I didn't need stitches.


One taxi ride later, I found myself in the Emergency Room in a Scottish hospital. I was admitted reasonably quickly and was looked after well. My elbow was scrubbed (ouch), bandaged, and covered. I also received a tetanus shot. I was given an appointment to return in a few days time to have it rechecked and x-rayed. The staff in the hospital during both appointments were super helpful and made me feel at ease, especially with me not being from there.

It might seem funny to consider this an adventure, but it was a beneficial experience for J and I to have together, even if it meant I ended up in the ER. And falling off my bike didn't ruin my trip, despite having a week left in Scotland. It was something to laugh at in the days to come that of course I wiped out, and of course I did this while visiting. I'll have scars to remind me of this trip for a while.


At least now in the future if I ever need medical care in Scotland again, the hospital has me in the system (although, they'll need to update my address)!





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