A quiet place
“Surely the system has to adapt to reflect the times”
The name of the picturesque riverside town we are staying in is written as Kirkcudbright but is pronounced as ‘Kir-coo-bree’. It is one of the many peculiarities of the Scots language, along with ‘haute cuisine’ being pronounced as ‘deep fried haggis’, and ‘incessant rain’ as ‘summer’.
It’s similar to the ongoing debate in cycling circles about the word ‘gravel’. Is it just another word for ‘CX’? Mountain-biking with drops? Or is it ‘adventure riding’? Whatever you call it, it has spawned its own range of bikes, clothing and components and a growing band of trailblazers (see panel) who have plotted routes in some of the most beautiful and remote corners of Britain.
National campaign group Cycling UK even has an ‘off-road adviser’, Kieran Foster, who for the
