6/6 (Just getting around to posting)

Havent had a big trip since getting back from America last year.

New job and the year was rolling on and summer was here, so i needed to get away. It was a bit last minute and being inspired by the HTR and the Highlands Audax I packed my CX and headed up to Glasgow where i could safely leave my car for a few weeks. A few beers catching up with old friends and then it was time to hit the road and make my way over to catch the ferry across to Arran.

A pleasant ferry crossing and then an undulating ride around the southern part of the island lead me to my stop for the night



Leisurely start the day and a 10 mile journey to the ferry terminal back to the mainland. Just timed the ferry to perfection and beat it in by 2 mins. Up through Tarbet (the best chicken pate i've ever had, or i was very hungry) and then up to Oban to catch the ferry across to Mull to stop for the night.

Great views on Mull and scorching weather as i climbed up into the hills.



The heat was relentless, food was getting scarce and the usual shop/cafe/hotel every 20 miles wasn't appearing so instead of continuing around the eastern part of the island i decided to cut across to Tobermory to settle in the YHA and have a good wash and cool down.

In the morning the sea mist had rolled in as we crossed back over to the mainland. The Southern part of Moidart is very pleasant, gentle rolling hills in the trees, until you hit the bigger hills going across to Mallaig. Another ferry across to Skye and then to pay my respects at the Patron Saint of Knackered Knees.



A great meal in Broadford before settling down of the night.



Time to make my way up the eastern side of Skye in search of food. 'Shop 5 miles ahead', great. So i get my head down to find its only open in the morning FFS! Theres this eccentric bookshop next door, so i was hopeful if i turned on the charm i might be able to get a cuppa. Ended up with a lot more, of a huge cheese platter which kept me going for many more miles.

Finally main my way to the top of the island to stop of the night. Not a bad spot, i've slept in worse.



In the morning it was time to hit the road again



And make my way down to the southern part of the island



Back onto the mainland up and over to Lochcarron and over to the base of the climb over to Applecross. This is where the scenery starts to get serious. It was like some kind of scene out of Jurassic Park (my photo doesnt do it justice)



The climb up and over in the morning was steady away (ok i pushed part of the middle section) before the fast decent down to Applecross and then making my may around the coast and then to the YHA in Torridon for another wash.

Its Scotland so the rains going to come at some point. Low level clouds and drizzle across Torridon & Fisherfield so the views werent as good as hoped, but that leaves a good excuse to go again.

I pushed on over the tops and the huge climb over towards Ullapool in search of more shelter and a promise of changing weather conditions after a couple of days of rain.

The weather was as promised and the next morning the wind had dropped and the rain had passed.



Then it was time to go properly north. The scenery didnt disappoint. Beaches and montains anyone?



The section past Loch Lurgainn up to Lochinver as very scenic and the Lochinver Larder didnt disappoint. Shall we say that the road north was a bit steep. Up towards Unapool for the most expensive can of coke in the world. I'm sure this sight may be familiar to a few.



Another night in the wilds before continuing further upwards to visit the most northern Spar in the country* in Durness. The skys were clear and the winds were picking up and strong, but unfortunately for me, they were in my face. A bit of a head down and get on with it across what seemed like the edge of the world over to Tongue. I had planned to head to the bothy at Achnanclach hoping there may be a reasonable track out to there. Unfortuantly arriving it seemed like a couple of miles of Deathmarch to find it may have been locked, but found this place out of the wind. No idea what it was.



*this may/may not be true


7/7
Tour d' Yorkshire

That looks great ... only a bit jelous.

Patron Saint of Knackered Knees

My knee started to ache just looking at that picture

Can I join the party please?
Having recently bought a few new bits and bobs, some from Stu, I thought I'd better go and try them out with a trip out after work.
Cue rather more faffing about than I'd foreseen getting everything fitted to the bike, I eventually got away around 8ish last night. Now I'm not blessed with miles of lush singletrack near home, but there are enough bridleways and towpaths for a worthwhile rattle test. A loop of just under 20 miles got me into the local woods just as darkness fell. It was a lovely warm dry evening, so I didn't even try out the tarp or Stu's unexpectedly lurid guylines! Bivvy bag, mat and bag out and had a decent kip.
Up with the sun this morning I managed to get a pic that at least proves the bike was there! A short ride and a quick stop for brekkie and then home for work this morning. Looking forward to the next one.

unexpectedly lurid guylines

You wouldn't want anyone tripping up over them would you?

Lovely photo's Chew.

Chew, vaguely exciting ride there. Brought back memories of my last two tours up that way.
Stunning scenery

Just about made it 7/7 for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFGHczq ... SKht099rPQ

Nice one Jeff, enjoyed that
Those tracks in the first half - are they the "footpaths" between the top of the Sychnant Pass and the east end of the Roman Road?

Bivvy spot looked good too.

Ian wrote:Nice one Jeff, enjoyed that
Those tracks in the first half - are they the "footpaths" between the top of the Sychnant Pass and the east end of the Roman Road?

Bivvy spot looked good too.

Cheers for the feedback
They are indeed Ian, I know what you're thinking *you can get to Capel Curig using them* beats riding on the road to Trefiew

summittoppler wrote:I know what you're thinking *you can get to Capel Curig using them* beats riding on the road to Trefiew

I have a dilemma of whether or not to include these trails in my Welsh C2C. Although classified as footpaths in parts, they are well ridden trails and the chance of annoying grumpy walkers is reasonably slim. As a local, what do you reckon?

Ian wrote: As a local, what do you reckon?

Tbh Ian, in over 20 years of mtbing round those parts I've never had any verbal of any walkers. The area between Sychnant Pass and the eastern end of the Roman Road is well used by bikers and horse riders let alone the walkers. It drains extremely well so its not like we are causing harm to the tracks either. I've even seen the farmers up there tending to the sheep and they've never said anything. Conwy mtn is very similar as well, although as the tracks area a bit narrower you do have to be courteous to any walkers you meet. but once again I've never had any run ins there either.

If you need any other info give me a shout

If you need any other info give me a shout

If you can PM me your email, I'd like to send you a GPX over for comment

A late report...

Julys BaM was squeezed in during a holiday with the Mrs on North Uist. I had the fatbike with me so escaped to bivvy out on a little spit of land surrounded by around 325 degrees of water.


I was strafed by a couple of large owls soon after I'd got settled. I was actually waving my hands and clapping to try to scare them off. I've never seen them behave like that before and I don't know of it was me they were interested in or whether there were lots of insects flying around just above me. Either way, I eventually just hunkered down in the bivvy bag and they seemed to lose interest after a while.

I got a fairly good nights sleep and awoke just before dawn to catch a magnificent sunrise over Harris.



FWIW, I'd taken the bivvy gear but not the frame/bar bags and just rode with a small rucksack. I have to say, it was just fine for the distance involved.

Some more photos from the holiday over here... http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2014/08/ ... -easy.html

summittoppler wrote:Just about made it 7/7 for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFGHczq ... SKht099rPQ

I enjoyed that, I think it's the best one of your videos yet. Interesting that in the first half the majority of shots are of you riding away from camera and the second half riding towards camera. Gives a subtle feel of going away and then coming back again. Good stuff.

composite wrote:

summittoppler wrote:Just about made it 7/7 for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFGHczq ... SKht099rPQ

I enjoyed that, I think it's the best one of your videos yet. Interesting that in the first half the majority of shots are of you riding away from camera and the second half riding towards camera. Gives a subtle feel of going away and then coming back again. Good stuff.

Cheers bud, I was pretty pleased with it myself tbh. I've got a home made cable cam to try out for the next one

Enjoyed that vid here to. It then was followed up by ur may ride vid that was great also. I need to explore more of that area you have some great trails on your doorstep Jeff!! tried working out ur may route as I did recognise some of the trails. What camera/tripod do u use tar. Vid quality is fantastic

Cheers Mike, the camera that I use is the GoPro hero 2 and I won a Garmin Virb on FB a few weeks back so the footage on the bike is that one. As for the tripod, its just one of those small 4" jobbies which does the trick. I just use movie maker for the editing as well, would love to get my hands on something better though, I feel that I've used it to its max at the mo.
And yes luckily I have some great trails on my doorstep, I never get bored of riding these Its a shame as I'm off work for about 5 weeks (apart from the odd day) and I'd love to get out more but I've got the mini me's as the Mrs is at work

Summittoppler; nice video and scenery, a bit less sweary than others I have seen recently;-)

Do you like the Virb? I have been thinking of getting one for a while now and keep wavering.

Blackhound wrote:Summittoppler; nice video and scenery, a bit less sweary than others I have seen recently;-)

Do you like the Virb? I have been thinking of getting one for a while now and keep wavering.

Cheers
Its the Virb Elite and imo it gives better quality footage compared to the Hero 2. It seems to handle the quick movement when its attached to the bike, its got a great super slow mo (120 fps) and is a tad better at low light than the Hero 2 as well. The only drawback is that you cannot alter the screen angle, as its permanently set in widescreen. It also uses the battery pretty quick so spare batteries are a must.
You can see the super slow mo in action on my Florida video at 2:30

Thanks summittoppler.

This is a trip I did in May just before the HTR550, it's taken a while to get round to sorting out the pics and getting some notes down. It’s closer to lightish touring than proper bikepacking, but for 2 weeks I wanted a bit more comfort.

The train from Stratford upon Avon wasn't until 11:30 so a decent lie in was in order to start the day. The time dictated by a spectacularly cheap fare, I wasn't going to complain.
As I got near to Aviemore I spied a pair of lads with bikes and tents pitched on the riverbank - I smiled to myself, knowing that I'd be doing likewise during the next few nights.
An early start after a very full breakfast saw me heading out over the Kessock Bridge, aiming to follow NCN route 1 to start with towards Cromarty. I was hoping the ferry would be running but it was a little early yet.


P1030103 by pickers48, on Flickr

Heading North I was aiming for the estate road to Ullapool


P1030116 by pickers48, on Flickr

And a nice spot for a pitch


P1030125 by pickers48, on Flickr

The following day saw me back onto tarmac at Oykel Bridge towards Lairg so that I could carry on towards Durness via a bit more of the HTR550 route


P1030160 by pickers48, on Flickr


P1030177 by pickers48, on Flickr

And a nice spot with an ocean view


P1030185 by pickers48, on Flickr

After a wet start, the skies cleared at Cape Wrath


P1030227 by pickers48, on Flickr

Working my down the West coast past Kylesku


P1030284 by pickers48, on Flickr


P1030294 by pickers48, on Flickr

The weather broke between Garve and Skye, I was dry-ish inside my goretex jacket but by the end of the day (and 5 days camping without a shower) I headed for a B&B on Skye equipped with both showers and tumble driers!
I’ve seen most of Skye so I headed South from Broadford to pick up the ferry back to the mainland at Mallaig.
After another day of proper Scottish weather (it pi—ed it down), I was getting towards the Ardnamurchan peninsular, another good spot for a pitch


P1030361 by pickers48, on Flickr

And for breakfast the morning after


P1030365 by pickers48, on Flickr

I rode across to the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan, then back to Kilchoan and the ferry to Tobermory. Mull is just a fantastic place, even in late May the Bluebells were still out


P1030413 by pickers48, on Flickr

And another good spot for a pitch


P1030420 by pickers48, on Flickr

And (not very early…) the next morning


P1030417 by pickers48, on Flickr

2nd night on Mull, another pleasant spot


P1030448 by pickers48, on Flickr

Onto the ferry back to Oban, there was a visitor in the bay..


P1030450 by pickers48, on Flickr

At the ferry terminal I got talking to another tourer. His name was Matt, he’d been working in Ullapool and had decided to cycle home to see his folks. In Capetown, South Africa! We were booked on the same ferry to Islay, and once off the ferry we cycled across the island looking for a spot to camp


P1030494 by pickers48, on Flickr

I needed to carry on as I was booked on a train from Ardrossan in a couple of days time. We both cycled back and caught the ferry to Kintyre, which sported this sculpture made from old cassette sprockets


P1030508 by pickers48, on Flickr

We were hoping for another decent night weatherwise. Scotland did not oblige this time; it was pi—ing down again when we rode ashore onto Kintyre. Over the hill to Claonaig neither of us fancied pitching tents and getting even more soaked.
We headed for the ferry “terminal” to wait for the last ferry to Arran. And stayed there! A sort of transparent bothy!


P1030511 by pickers48, on Flickr

The next morning dawned with blue skies and sunshine. We caught the 1st ferry to Arran


P1030519 by pickers48, on Flickr

I had a train to catch so carried on to Brodick and home.

13 days, 575 miles, 3 B&Bs, 3 campsites and 6 wild camps. Not huge or fast, but enough to keep me happy for a bit.

very nice looking trip indeed

@pickers Some lovely pictures there.

Did you get one of the island hopper tickets?

@Richpips - Thanks. IIRC I had 2 sets of Island Hoppers - 1 for the 3 crossings to get me Armadale to Oban Via Ardnamurchan and Mull, the 2nd for 4 crossings from Oban to Ardrossan. Definitely worth having if you've planned a route.

Thanks Pickers. Stunning. Looking through your photos gives reason to my frequent visits to bonnie Scotland. You got to love it.

Pickers wrote:13 days, 575 miles, 3 B&Bs, 3 campsites and 6 wild camps. Not huge or fast, but enough to keep me happy for a bit.

Sounds like a very buoyant mix