COAST TO CULTURE BY GRAVEL BIKE: CYCLING TO GLASGOW CITY MUSEUM FROM AYR

🚴‍♂️The Chimp Rides from Ayr to Glasgow | Holy Grail of Bikes & Urban Adventure 🏙️

Join The Chimp on his wildest cycling quest yet — a ride from the coastal town of Ayr to the concrete jungle of Glasgow in search of the Holy Grail of bicycles! 🏆🚴‍♂️

Along the way, The Chimp stops at Kilwinning Abbey, a place shrouded in legend and mystery, rumored to be one of the last resting places of the original Holy Grail. From ancient ruins to urban sprawl, this ride is packed with contrast, comedy, and chaos.

But it’s not all smooth rolling! A sudden crash on the ride adds drama to the journey, reminding us that even the most legendary quests have their setbacks. After dusting off, The Chimp presses on to Glasgow’s Riverside Museum, home to some of the world’s most iconic bicycles and transport history. Will he find the holy grail of bikes? Or is the true treasure the ride itself?

Along the way, there’s plenty of sightseeing, urban exploration, and that classic Chimp-style commentary that keeps you grinning from ear to ear.

👉 If you love bikepacking, gravel cycling, or just a quirky adventure with a historical twist, this is the video for you.

🛎️ Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more offbeat cycling journeys across Scotland!

Your Komoot route here: https://www.komoot.com/tour/2392375328?share_token=aZcZ6vD8RXc8g1YVxr4Dz87QKTJf2F3lVIRBccSAQpiagWhuOm&ref=wtd

Kilwinning Abbey website: http://kilwinning.org/abbeytower/default.htm

#GravelCycling #BikeAdventure #CyclingScotland #HolyGrailHunt #CyclingCrash #UrbanCycling #AyrToGlasgow #KilwinningAbbey #RiversideMuseum #BikepackingScotland #CyclingVlog #TheChimpRides #ExploreByBike #HistoricScotland #ConcreteJungleRide

Welcome along to another video. I am that cycling chimp. And in this one, my route is going to be a 70 km trip. I’m inviting every single one of you guys that’s watching this to join me as I seek out something I haven’t seen in years. So, if you’re interested in finding out a little bit more, or maybe you’re new to the channel and you would just like to see Scotland by bike, you’ve came to the right place. So stick around, grab yourself a cuper, kick back and relax, and let’s get the show on the road. Today’s adventure, I plan to cycle from my hometown in air to the Big Smoke, also known as Glasgow City. As I said, it’s 75 kilometers in the route that I’m taking because I want to go and see if I can find, as Bono once said, something I’ve been looking for. More on that later on. Today’s weather, as we can see, is pretty overcast, but the sun is coming out back and forward. So, I’m hoping I’m not going to have this little jacket on very long today. So, let’s get clipped in and see how we get on. Now, I’ve got a little bit of an apology for you guys. It’s been a little while since I’ve made a video and it’s the first time I’ve been on the bike in more than a week. I decided after ride to the sun I was going to use my three Rs, which was recuperate, recover, and repl. I had to do it. I was starting to get burned out from the sports and the events I was doing. And I was starting to have a little bit of a creative block as well. And when I say creative block, I meaning I’ve got plenty of roots. It was just I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. But when I had a little think about it, this is a route I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. And there’s actually two routes that I could have went. I’ve decided to follow the NC7 from air all the way to Glasgow. I was going to go the opposite direction where it would be up the old A77 cuz I’m led to believe it’s all kind of not so much cycle path but segregated road for bikes. But due to the way that I’m feeling just now, I wanted to stick as close to the air railway line as possible just in case I got a bit fatigued and I’ve got to bail and I can get home easy enough. So far, we’re feeling not too bad in the bike. I think as well in my head it was getting to the stage after ride to the sun. I thought how could I top that and I’ve got to thank you all for the support and the kind messages after that. It was an incredible achievement for myself and everybody that took part. But I thought today with heading to the city and the destination I’m going to was going to give me some inspiration because there’ll be bucket loads where I’m going. And there’s a few things on this route I want to see on the way as well. And the good thing is there’s a little bit of a tailwind which is helping me. Can never say no to a tailwind. Well, as I say has got to 17 km and actually feel not too bad in the bike. I thought I’ve been awful sluggish. I thought it would have been a drag, but it’s actually quite good. Going to have a quick snack just to keep me fueled and I’ve been drinking plenty of water to keep hydrated as well with electrolytes. And talking about water, I’ve got a funny feeling we may see some rain. As I was just coming into Irvin there, I can see the black clouds just over by Cold Winning. So, I’ve got a funny feeling we’re going to see some wetness at some point today. I was going to take this little jacket off cuz I’m quite warm, but I think I’m going to keep it on for a wee while because it is slightly water repellent, so it might help. I’m standing in front of one of the NC7 Millennium markers and uh it says that Trun is 5 miles behind me and Irvin is three. So I reckon Kwan’s maybe about six miles and then we’re in uncharted territory for a little while. The route that I’ve made up today is actually bits and bobs of routes I’ve done before. So it’s a kind of greatest hits of the coast and some of the Glasgow stuff that I’ve only recently done. I’m definitely happy that I’m riding the Green Hornet today. Um, I was planning to do this on the Brmpton, but don’t think I’m strong enough for that just now. It seems to be that the Green Hornets’s becoming a little bit of an old faithful. That’s a bit of foreshadowing, by the way. Let’s get a quick bite of my OGT bar and continue the journey. And here we go. In front of me there is a NCN7 marker and as I like to call the crossroads and the reason for that being is well I can either go straight towards larks. My glasses are starting to steam up. I can always turn back and start heading towards home again or we grip it and commit it to Glasgow. Think we’re going to commit to it today. There is one little thing I want to see as we go into Kwan first. I’ll tell you a little bit more about why I’m cycling to Glasgow today. So, let’s go and investigate coin Now behind me, tucked away just behind Coin’s main street is Kowin Abby. Now there’s a little bit of significance to this abbey. Well, there’s a little rumor. So there is, as usual, there’s always a huge plaque outside it. I was just telling you there Terrronism monks came from Kelso Abbey in the Scottish borders to set up the abbey here. It was founded by Sir Richard De Morville sometime between 1162 and 1189 and it’s named after St. Winn. Now as I said there’s a little rumor about this place. It’s believed in one way or another that this could have been or could be the last resting place of the Holy Grail. I don’t know how much truth is in that, but but it’s all to do with the links of the Knights Templar. But imagine that all those archaeologists like Indiana Jones traveling all over the world to try and find it and it’s actually here in Scotland. Although they always say that the last resting place is Rosland Chapel, but it’s absolutely magnificent looking. This is the first time I’ve been up close and personal with it. So just in the door there, there’s a little plaque that says the site of the warming house, the only room where the monks were permitted a fire. This would have provided some warmth to the dormatory above. Obviously, the dormatory is not there anymore, but yeah, it’s absolutely fantastic looking. Now, I know that they do open door days where you can come along and actually get inside the Abby Tower to the top and they do do some events as well. If you look on their website, I’ll put that in the description below. Um, there is a couple of fun things that they do. I did see there was something to do with archery, but I’ll let you do a little bit of slithering and investigating with that one. But as I said, it’s just amazing how close it is to the high street. As you can see, the high street’s just down there. As I was saying, the rumor is that it’s the the last resting place of the Holy Grail. Allegedly, I’m looking for a bit of a holy grail myself today. You’re maybe wondering why I’m traveling up to Glasgow. Well, as I said, it’s a route I’ve always wanted to do, but I needed a little bit of purpose and I needed to go back to my roots a little bit and think about inspiration. Now, if you ask me today who I kind of follow in the cycling community, obviously I follow quite a lot of people in the Scottish cycling community, but the biggest professional person I kind of follow is Lacklin Morton. Now, if you asked me 32 years ago what really got me into cycling, I would probably give you one name. And that name would be Graeme Ori, also known as the Flying Scotsman. Although technically he was born in England. It’s been many, many years since I’ve seen what I’m looking for. And I know that where I’m going, it’s a replica. The original one is in the National Museum in Edinburgh, I’m led to believe. Although I remember seeing it with my own eyes in a garage in Irvin just before Graham was competing for the world speed record on a drrome. Now I’m not going to delve too much into the history of Gra. I think that’s for another video. I just wanted to showcase this route. So now that you know where I’m going and why I’m going to clip back in and start heading towards the city. So far, this rout’s been really good. It’s been mostly off-road, but if you really want to try it, as always, I will put the route in the description below for you guys to try out. So, let’s clip back in and start heading into a little bit of uncharted territory until I get to Lock Winnock and Castle Simple. Well, when I looked at the profile, I didn’t think it was going to be any hills. I thought it was going to be a pretty flat ride, and it is in the most part. But just as we’re coming up to the Blair estate before Dai, there’s a bit of a climb. I’ve not done a climbing. I haven’t been doing any climbing since Ride to the Sun a couple of weeks ago. It’s only about 800 meters and a 3% gradient, but when you’re not used to doing it, it certainly tickles the lungs a little bit. That definitely blew the cobwebs away. Wasn’t a hard tail at all, but just wasn’t expected. That’s the only climb in today’s route. I’m now heading towards Dry. From there, it will be Glen Garnock Loanok. This is starting to sound like Scot Rail service. And talking about Scot Rail, I’ll be utilizing their services on the way home because I don’t plan to be doing an impromptu Imperial Century again. I think we’ll stop at Loquinnock and get some more fueling. That’s the biggest thing that I found while doing Ride to the Sun was if you keep fueling on the bike, you go longer. Instead of trying to wing it with sweets, gels, and electrolytes, you need to get some real food into you. Oh, and by the way, have you guessed where I’m going yet? Even though I’ve said Glasgow, but where I’m actually going, I’m heading towards the Riverside Museum, also known as a transport museum. That’s me now just coming on to the coernley to Paisley railway path. I’ve just come out of Glen Garnuk. Now I’m under the impression from here pretty much to Paisley it’s all off road. It’s all cycle path. And I’ve done quite a bit of this path before especially when I’ve been going towards Kil Mcome. But recently when I done the Sunday social kill my comb ride with the Ouija wheelers um the second half of this route I slightly know where I’m going but that’s the beauty of the Garmin head unit cuz I’ve got the map plugged into it. So it’s just a little GPS showing me how to get to where I need to go. As I said I’m going to stop in Lo Winner for something to eat and I’ve got four miles to get there. So, let’s see what this path has in store. On your right, guys. No, you’re all right. Sorry. Oh, you’re all right. You’re all right. Cheers, boys. This is an absolutely fantastic path. It really is. It’s great that interlinks from Glasgow basically all the way down to air and the vast majority is traffic free, which is a bonus. I’m actually looking forward to stopping in Lo Winnock because I’m starting to get a bit peckish. But yeah, it’s definitely been a nice route so far and definitely one I would recommend. Oh jeez. Right, come on guys. Let’s uh move to the side, please. Nothing to see here from local people. Let’s go. I’m going this way. That’s good. That’s good. I didn’t know I was going to have a menagerie of birds greeting me as I got to Castle Temple, but we’re here just shy of 50 kilometers. Going to stop with something to eat. It’s an absolutely great place to come, especially when it’s a nice day. Not saying it’s a nice day today, but when the sun’s out, it’s very, very enjoyable. That’s me just popped into the cafe at Castle Simple. Got myself a can of Coke and I’m just about to eat my sandwich, which today is ham and cheese, by the way. It’s quite a good place as well, cuz there’s a lot of places around about you can park your bike to lock up. They’ve got facilities if you need a toilet. And as I said, the cafe is quite good as well. It’s reasonably priced, which is something that’s always great when you’re out in the bike and you’re looking for a quick fix of something. What I’m going to do is going to eat this sandwich and then continue on. I think we got roughly about 20 km until we get to our destination. The question is though, how am I going to go over the Clyde from the south side? Cuz I’m going to go in through Govern. Well, that’s me fed and watered. Been to the toilet as well and just ready to go. But I did notice there was a park information notice board here. And I don’t know whether the Loena community is a little bit further ahead than everybody else in the country, but apparently they’ve got zombie apocalypse survival training. Unfortunately, I’m a little bit old to be participating in it, but I’m pretty sure there’s a few things you could learn on that that come in useful. It’s a little bit of a challenging climb just as you come out to get back up onto the railway path. It’s a little bit harder because the front bag’s a little bit heavier. I just couldn’t resist. I seen there was a raspberry coconut cake. So, it’s in the bag as is another can of Coke. This cycle way really is a dream. I’ve seen a few cyclists on it, but it has been pretty quiet. And I thought it would have been a lot busier as well as the kids are on their summer holidays. I’ve seen quite a lot of kids out their bikes, but it’s been relatively quiet. We’re just about to come in to the back end of Paisley. Well, why does it always happen when the cameras are switched off? We’ve just t a We just took a spill in the bike. Nearly had a near collision with another cyclist, which everybody’s okay. I did take a we tumble, but I’ve got a funny feeling I may need to get myself a new helmet. It’s not broken in any way, but there is a dent. I feel okay. I said we’re just coming down a hill there and it’s a blind corner. Obviously, the twos were maybe going a little bit too fast, but I tried to take off at the side and then the grass was a little bit wet, so it just come straight off. I’m just hoping that we’re okay. I’ve not bent any of the rear mech of that, but everything looks okay. No scratches, just a little bit of just a little bruise in my dignity just now. Let’s get back on and see how we got on. Yep, everything seems to be okay. I’m actually glad I had my helmet on cuz I thought I took a a bit of a dunk when I went down. I feel okay. No dizziness or disorientation. So, we’re not too bad there. I’ll give the bike a good check over when I got home as well. It seems to be shifting no problem. These things happen sometimes when you’re out the bike. You think the cycle paths are are safer, but these things happen. Just wish I got it in camera cuz you would have got a good laugh. I couldn’t recover like I did when I was on the ice. But we’re all good. Not long to go now. The other thing I wasn’t expecting was the sun to come out for me. Hit this side of the city. Absolutely boiling. I eventually had to take that little jack off. I’m stopping for a little bit of sausage. I’m still a little bit hungry. Just adding a little bit more fuel. We’ve done 67 km, so we’ve only got a couple left to go. But it’s been a great cycle, apart from our little mishap, but we’re all good. There’s only one turning that was wrong and we had to go into some of the main roads, but we got here. Now, how am I going to cross the Clyde? I know. I’ll use the brand new bridge that takes you across. now. That was certainly a lot easier to get to that way than it would have been if I had to navigate the city. Need to find if I can park my bike somewhere to begin and have a little look to see if I can find what I’m looking for. Now behind me here is a Riverside Museum, also known as a transport museum. It’s been here since 2011. The original transport museum used to be over by in partic. But they moved to this new site and it’s quite good. It’s free entry to get in. So if you’re ever in Glasgow and you’re looking for something to do, it’s one of those things that is a mustsee. But let’s go and see if I can find what I’ve been looking for. Now we’re looking above his old bikes here. I’m not seeing what I’m looking for. God, I remember from those taxis used to go about Glasgow City Center now. Could it be here? Nope. They’re just trikes and really old bicycles. That’s not what I’m looking for either. Where are you? Nope. I’m not looking for an old penny fing either. Come on. Where are you? I know you’re in here somewhere. Aha. This is what I’m looking for. At the beginning of the video, I was talking about Old Faithful. And here we have two replicas of Old Faithful. Now, these were both used in the Flying Scotsman film, but I remember when I was a wee boy and Graeme used to stay quite close to my mom and dad’s and one day myself, my friend were washing his car and he was actually working on Old Faithful in the garage building out of wash machine parts. It’s absolutely amazing to see. The UCI completely banned the bike, but he did accomplish two world records in 93 and 94. And he’s a huge inspiration for anyone that’s local in Asia, but anybody in the cycling world in Scotland. If you’ve never ever seen the Flying Scotsman film, I suggest you see it. And if you don’t know much about Grab Bree, let me know in the comments below because I might do a video on him. But yes, I’m very impressed. And we’ve also got his Olympic suit and jacket from Atlanta in 1996. And there’s a couple of UCI medals there as well. It’s an absolutely wonderful museum and it’s a place I’m probably going to come back to in the future and do a full video on it. Look at the size of this little racer. As I said, it’s a completely free exhibition for anybody to come and see. And it is quite good. But now I need to think about getting back to the real shire. And I’m going to utilize Scott Rail service. So let’s get the bike redressed again and start thinking about getting down broom towards central station. Now, just before I leave the Riverside Museum, I thought I’d show you this new bridge that connects Govern. It opened in 2024, and it’s been met with great praise because it links the city up a lot better as well. Now, the amazing thing about this bridge is it actually swivels around so that boats can get up and down the Clyde as well. So, it is pretty practical. The design on it there is also supposed to be fashioned just like the cranes that used to belong all um the Clyde and the ship building days. One of those cranes sits at Feniston which we’ll pass as we’re getting back to the the train station. I didn’t know that Governor. That’s the first time I’ve actually come through Govern. I’ve only ever passed Ibrooks when I’ve been um driving in and out the city. And one of the other things you’ll probably be wondering at the back of the Riverside Museum, I’ve also got a tall ship. So you really could have a great day out here. And you also get a fantastic look across the Clyde, the BBC Scotland Studios, the Science Center. You can see the Armadillo Hydro and the Crown Plaza Hotel. Can also see the Bell’s Bridge as well. Apparently, there’s a cycle path that takes you all the way along the Clyde. So, I’m going to utilize that to get back to where I need to go. Can’t believe I got to see that bike. A long time since I’ve seen it. Well, that’s us got to the end of yet another video. Just like to thank you all for sticking around and keeping me company today on the ride up to the big smoke. I really enjoyed that one and definitely one I want to try again. I think for me the biggest thing was seeing that bike again. As I said, I didn’t know that it was in the transport museum and it brought back a lot of memories for me as well. As I said, that route, even though I got a bit lost when I got into the city by taking the wrong turn, it was really good and I suggest anybody to try it if they want. For me, it’s time to go home and start looking at helmets after that collision that I had. As I said, I’ve got a dent in my helmet, so I’m going to need to get a new one. Looks intact, but safety first. If you enjoyed this video, give us a thumbs up. And if you really enjoyed it, consider subscribing because it’s your subscribing that keeps the chimp rolling and riding. And guys, the support I’ve been getting off you recently has been unbelievable. We’re nearly at 2,000 subscribers and I might have a big route if we get there soon. Hope to see you on the next one. In the meantime, you can check out my last video up there or you can check out previously on that cycling chimp which are archived videos and it seems to be a lot easier watching them now. Till the next time guys, bye for now and remember to pedal smart out there.