The forecast was for rain (it usually is), but sun and heat have dominated the weekend, leading to bikes, hikes, picnics and climbing.

Yesterday was Emma’s birthday. We met Emma, masseuse and one-time Buddhist nun (whom I suspect, but cannot prove, fights crime by night with her Shaolin superpowers) while she and I were purchasing our rides at the Bike Station. We have since gone hiking in the Pentland Hills, but had yet to meet up for any actual cycling. That changed yesterday, as she invited us to join her friends for a birthday ride. (more…)

The writer’s strike being over, I guess I can get back to some serious blogging. Mind you, I don’t really understand striking writers. Who draws up the picket signs?

The last few weeks have kept us busy with mundane bits of just plain living, but there have been a few notable events worth a mention. (more…)

Let me just repeat that. Wow. Though it is just two miles or so from the office, it has taken me until now to make an excursion to the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA) at Ratho. My review? (more…)

I returned to Alien Rock last night, but not to the church. After my harrowing near-death experience last week (never mind that it was somebody else’s death I was near), I decided to dodge anything belay-related. Alien has a second gym in a non-descript warehouse completely given over to bouldering, which suited me just fine under the circumstances. (more…)

Orla, three of the other Picsies and I went to the Glasgow Climbing Centre tonight. Like Alien Rock in Edinburgh, this is a rock gym built into a church. This one might arguably be rather nicer, as they’ve preserved many of the building’s original features, including rafters, stone walls (some still used as climbing features) and windows. (more…)

Started at Picsel today with a training session. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only was I not the only person starting with the company, I wasn’t even the only foreigner. My “freshman class” included representatives from Scotland, England, Wales, Spain, Korea, South Africa, and India. The best laugh of the day had to be when the last fellow to introduce himself drew a gasp from the Scots, as he declared that he had come all the way down from Thurso: on Scotland’s North coast. Obviously this was way more impressive than Seoul, Johannesburg or San Francisco. (more…)