Forth Road Bridge

I joined the cycle club today as far as the P-stop in Inverkeithing - on the other side of the Road Bridge; our route being on the path on the right of the Blip. It was pleasant not having to contend with the noise and vibration of the traffic.
 
While the others were availing themselves of the ammenities in the Civic Centre, I noticed Boab coming out of a Café with a cardboard cup of coffee and enquired as to its palatability; he merely said, “It’s fine.” Which I took to be an endorsement. The scone I had came straight out of a microwave which had transformed it into a block of rubber and was not made edible by anointing it with the meagre portions of butter and jam supplied, but was, never-the-less, a suitable accompaniment for the mug of dirty dish water. I won’t be taking Boab’s advice on cafes again.
 
It was with a little difficulty that I found the way to North Queensferry due to the roadworks, I was looking for the Fife coastal path for some new angles on the Forth Bridge; although there were plenty of signposts for it, they all pointed to places like fenced corners of carparks but, none of them actually set me on the path; next time I’ll try and pick it up at Inverkeithing and see where it emerges. The excursion wasn’t entirely pointless as I found a new angle on the Road Bridge, see first extra; it can be used for the club’s “Where is it?” competition at our Christmas lunch.
 
Coming back over the Bridge, I was struck by the courtesy of the many workmen:
1.     There are a dozen or more identical narrow gateways to prevent unofficial motor vehicles using the cycle route; I had ridden through half of them when one of those noble gentlemen advised me that they were narrow and I might not get the trike through. If nothing else, it was very thoughtful of him.
2.     Then there were many items of heavy machinery operating on or by the cycle route (one of them a JCB sweeping up gravel); as I approached each machine, it’s operator swung the business end of it out of my way and waved me past with a friendly smile; on one occasion it took three men with friendly smiles to see me safely through.
3.     One of the workmen has seemingly been designated to begin the task of continuously painting the Forth Road Bridge; I wonder if it is the same one who used to paint the Rail Bridge. At least he’s made a start – see second extra. I actually saw him at work on the outward journey, but he must have been on his break when I returned.
4.     Another of them has the task of sweeping the road surface; the broom (third extra) says he’s nearly finished while the state of the road says that he’s nearly started
Whatever, cycling over the bridge devoid of motor traffic is a delightful experience.