Turf Zone – 1984
I actually took a picture of the bloody zone, zone 1984, that bloody one. I even posed a stupid cuddy toy with a jingly bell on the bike for the photo. I can even recall the words “taking zone” as the zone started to take. But did I actually take the zone? No, I bloody well didn’t. And when did I actually find that out? Not until about 2.50 hours later after taking zones 3DTurf, AiliesCairn, AlbanyZone, Argyle and after climbing to the summit of ArthursSeat. So annoyed with myself. Insert serious sweary words here. And here.
So annoying when that happens, you don’t pay attention then ride off thinking the zone has been taken but it has not. And when you realise that all the following zones are for nothing, even more so. I knew you must take zone No 1 1984 first, then zone No 2 3DTurf next, and so on. I even wrote about this on the previous blog. Gutted, annoyed, for f*** sake.
Turf Zone – 3DZone
Anyway, other than that the day went well, though totally pointless regards Turf Mission Edinburgh Roon. I’ll have to start again from scratch on that one. My choice of bike proved ideal, Mr Orange, the Brompton G Line, the chunky tyres and 8-speed gears effortlessly dealing with the roughest streets Edinburgh throws at you. Though I suppose not totally pointless, at least I’ve proved a route for the first 6 zones.
You would think I might check that sort of thing and yes, I did, checking the appropriate pages to see my progress. Yes, nothing was showing but there is a note on the site stating that progress might not be instant and may take some time to show online. That’s what I assumed. Thank goodness I stopped at zone no 6 and didn’t continue. Who knows how far or for how long I might have continued, only to find myself gutted later on.
Turf Zone – AiliesCairn
The day also proved my strategy and planning was good. I’d parked up by the Commonwealth Pool, free parking there on Sundays, and cycled to the other zones, returning back there to leave the bike in the car for the foot ascent up to zone ArthursSeat. My times for the 6 zones was around 2.50 hours, so that gives me a good idea how much time is involved cycled for miles across Edinburgh between Mission zones. So perhaps not a totally lost day. Good to meet JammyDogNut at zone ArthursSeat, where he kindly pointed out why the Mission might not be updating. I’d not taking the first zone! Duh!
Turf Zone – AlbanyZone
One decision I made for this Turf Mission was not to take any other zones along the way. Okay, this might seem daft but I just wanted to concentrate on the Turf Mission. No way would Ethan Hunt take time off to do his shopping or nip into a cafe for a coffee and cake., so I’m not going to either. Actually, it was a pleasant change to be able to simply ride the bike from zone to zone, relaxing into the rhythmic turning of the pedals, the longest ride being 4.5 miles or 7 km. I also wanted to take a photograph of each zone for the blog and I guess that’s what distracted me from finishing the take of zone 1984. Pity Big Brother wasn’t watching over me and could have sent a hint?
Turf Zone – Argyle
So, I’ll have to return another day and start again, possibly on Monday if Mr Bus Driver lets me take the Brompton on the No 31? Good to know that you can get 6 or so zones in a couple of hours, which means I have the option of an evening or silly o’clock session when the car is available. I suppose I could cycle from Bonnyrigg into Edinburgh but that would add another 16 miles to the session. Stuff that. Back soon.
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