Combining an interest in "Shuggie Bain"

I have been reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Great book, I recommend it to all. No book report here by me. Get it, borrow it, and read it!

Given the various settings described in the book, I want to learn a bit more about Scotland’s heavy industrial past, coal mining, iron, steel, and engineering.

So, if I survive the Tak Ma Doon up and down, I'll divert to the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge, I'll have to plan my departure time in Sterling to have a couple of hours at the Summerlee before it closes at 4PM.

Here's the suggested bike route from Sterling:

With a follow on to central Glasgow via NCR Route 75 (about 12 more miles)

I used my GenAI buddy to suggest a time to depart Stirling so that I can absorb all I intend to explore on this day. 

Suggested Timeline for Friday, June 26

• 08:30 AM – Depart Stirling: Getting an early start allows you to tackle the climb while your legs are fresh.

• 10:30 AM – Tak-Ma-Doon Summit: This allows for a 2-hour transit and climb from Stirling. You’ll have a solid 30 minutes to "ponder the view" across the Kelvin Valley toward the area that inspired Shuggie Bain.

• 11:00 AM – Descend to Kilsyth/Coatbridge: The descent and the flatter miles toward Coatbridge should take about 1.5 to 2 hours.

• 01:00 PM – Arrive at Summerlee Museum: Arriving by 1:00 PM gives you 3 full hours before the 4:00 PM closing time.

• 04:00 PM – Depart for Glasgow: The final 11-mile leg into Glasgow along the canal and NCN 75 will take about an hour, getting you to your destination by 5:00 PM or 5:30 PM.

Why 3 Hours at Summerlee?

Given your interest in the "Pithead" world of Shuggie Bain, you will want ample time for:

• The Cardowan Winding Wheel: Located outdoors, this is your primary "source of truth" for the colliery’s scale.

• The Miners' Row: Walking through the 1980s-era house will provide a vivid domestic parallel to the book’s setting.

• The Steam Winder: Seeing the inner workings of the mine’s machinery.

Touring Attire

I'll be looking more like the guy on the left. It's all about the socks.

Overall Route for Loch and Glens Bike Trip June 2026

I worked a bit with Gen AI (Gemini) to create a full trip GPX from each of my daily expected routes. The resolution provided is not quite navigable, but I did get an overview that is fairly accurate. Just follow the line in a generally clockwise fashion from Glasgow. 

 Gemini summarized the tour fairly accurately and succinctly with the following description:

Route Landmarks and Geography

• The Southern Start: The route departs Glasgow and follows the Forth and Clyde Canal corridor toward the Campsie Fells.

• The Trossachs: You then head west into the National Park, navigating between Loch Venachar, Loch Katrine, and Aberfoyle via the Duke's Pass.

• Highland Ascent: The track turns north, climbing through the rail-trail corridor of Glen Ogle to reach Killin and the shores of Loch Tay.

• The Northern Loop: After reaching Pitlochry, the route includes your excursions to Tummel Bridge and Old Blair before heading south.

• The Descent to Stirling: The return leg follows the National Cycle Route 77 through Perthshire and Dunblane into Stirling, before the final climb over Tak-Ma-Doon Rd back into the Glasgow basin.

Making the Highlands Climbing easier?

I decided to rent a modern bike with 7 (rear) x 3  (front) = 21 "speeds" rather than bring my 1971 Raleigh Sports fitted with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer internal gear hub. (Actually, I own and can alternatively fit the Raleigh with a wheel that has a 3 speed Shimano Nexus internal gear hub.)

In any case, back in the 1920's, this ad indicated that "3 is all you need":

To me, it's not the number of gear ratio combinations. More importantly, it's the available low / high  range. It is nice to have a finer resolution of gear ratio combinations between the low and high, but to me, that's not critical.

For example, my 2016 Trek Verve 2, also a 7 x 3 geared bicycle, has the following gear inch values across its range of combinations:

Trek Verve 2		Tire Circumference mm (measured)
Tire diameter in inches		Tire Size 37-622 700 x 35 cm
27.50	Front # Teeth	Front # Teeth	Front # Teeth
Rear # Teeth	28	38	48
34	22.65	30.74	38.82
24	32.08	43.54	55.00
22	35.00	47.50	60.00
20	38.50	52.25	66.00
18	42.78	58.06	73.33
16	48.13	65.31	82.50
14	55.00	74.64	94.29

The Raleigh with the Sturmey Archer AW 3 Speed has the following gear inch values:

Raleigh with AW Hub
Tire diameter in inches	Rear # Teeth	Front Chainweel # Teeth
26.00	22	48
Gear 1 reduction	Gear 2 Direct (1:1)	Gear 3 Increase
-25.00%		33.00%
42.55	56.73	75.45

So, the Raleigh with the Sturmey Archer AW hub has a low gear equivalent to a frequency used low gear I apply on the Trek Verve 2, and a high gear equivalent similar to a high gear I use on the Trek. I have more range on the Trek, and finer resolution between gears, but it's not that dissimilar. 

The BBC Scotland Seagull Story

 Listening to this program is tuning my ears to Scottish English ...

Check out this clip from today's broadcast conveying a funny seagull story. 

Seagull on Niles Beach, Gloucester, Massachusetts