Back to normal

I had a great week in the West of Scotland, cycled 325 miles, saw some glorious scenery and a little bit of wildlife, met some lovely people, ate good food (while drinking - fairly - sensibly), and had fun trying out the Caledonian Sleeper, and the five ferries. Now I'm home, adjusting to normal family life. Having demanded more of my legs than they are used to I'm also nursing a few aches and pains.

Still, I took the bike for a quick spin around the block tonight. It felt very light now that it doesn't have the panniers on the back. I now know a bit more than I did about what a real hill and a real headwind are like, so it did feel like a QUICK spin.

I've also loaded up the GPS traces that I collected last week onto OSM. As a result I've been able to make a few additions to the map. But only a few.

I knew before I went that the whole area is pretty well covered on OSM. It's just as well, because I used Open Cycle Map quite a lot for planning the route. The trip itself confirmed that the level of coverage of the main routes is pretty comprehensive. So there wasn't a lot I could improve. However, I've been able to plug a few gaps. It looks as though Sustrans have made some slight changes to the route of NCR7 around Kilwinning, so I've updated that. And I've tidied up a few minor details. That includes joining up some of the ferry routes with the road network in the hope that will help routing services.

So I want to thank those who had already done the heavy lifting. Their efforts helped me to plan my week,and to find my way around. I hope I've contributed a little bit to helping those who follow.

Now I can start to plan the next trip.

Day-7: To Glasgow

The last proper day of this year's cycling trip took me from Arran to Glasgow along NCR7. This was the day with the highest mileage in the week. With few hills it was a much less demanding ride along a fairly flat route that was quite a relaxing (and unexciting) way to end the week.

On the whole it was a lovely day for a ride, but after breakfast it took me about two hours to reach the ferry from Brodick to Ardrossan. In that time the weather managed to run through several seasons, from a sunny spring morning to a heavy hail storm, and back again.

After the ferry, most of the route from Ardrossan to Kilbirnie is on minor roads, but from Kilbirnie to Glasgow it is mostly on dedicated cycle paths, following an old railway track and parkland for much of the way. Short parts of the route are a bit drab, but most of it is pleasant enough, and for a sunny Saturday afternoon it seemed remarkably quiet. It was not exactly deserted, but it was much less busy than I would have expected.

Apart from the hail, the memory that will stay with me from the day was the encounter with the white van man. Most of the route is straightforward, but I hesitated over a few bits. At one point I was stood by the side of the road checking the map. White van man pulled up, wound down his window and called out "I'm parking there, sonny".

I assume he took me for a teenager (more than forty years too late) and I imagine he got a bit of surprise when I looked up. Forty years ago I suspect that I'd have been just as miffed, but wouldn't really have known how to react. Not much change there.

Day-6: Arran

Today I really wanted better weather than yesterday (which wasn't setting the bar very high). I got a glorious day. It's mostly been sunny with blue skies, little wind, and no rain.

I'd planned a fairly short distance: ten miles to Claonaig for the ferry to Lochranza, then twenty-odd miles round Arran anti-clockwise. Tonight I'm staying in the south of the island.

The usual advice for cycling trips around here seems to be to travel northwards, and circle any islands clockwise to take advantage of the prevailing winds. I'm doing it in the other direction. That's not out of perversity, but because I was keen to start with the overnight sleeper to Fort William. Once that was decided, there wasn't a lot of choice about the overall direction, and for the last couple of days I've been paying the real price for using the sleeper in the face of a steady headwind. Today the wind was much lighter.

I read somewhere that the only advantage in circling these islands anti-clockwise is that it makes the distance shorter, because we ride on the left of the road, and hence anti-clockwise is along the inside of the circle. I reckon that must save several metres on a fifty-five mile circuit of Arran.

There was another advantage for me today, because my route from Lochranza took me round the back road. This runs along the west coast, and is lovely and quiet, but also pretty flat until you reach the southern end of the island.

I took things slowly, with plenty of breaks, but the combination of flat roads, short distance, and little wind still meant that I arrived very early at my destination.

There was plenty of time for a soak in the bath, a coffee and scone for ten-to-fours, and a nice amble through the woods to see an ancient burial mound, before sitting in the bar assembling this, and listening to some surprisingly good jazz as background music. I'm feeling chilled - in a very different way to the way I was feeling chilled at this time yesterday.

Day-5: Loch Awe & Crinan

There's no escaping the reality that today has involved hour after hour of slogging through driving rain against a steady head wind - not exactly ideal weather.

I mostly followed Sustrans route NCR 78. This runs down the west side of Loch Awe, past the prehistoric monuments at Kilmartin, then along the Crinan Canal. South of Ardrishaig the Sustrans route takes a long loop round Kilberry, but I couldn't face another three hours of rain in my face, so I missed that bit out, and headed straight down the A83 to tonight's stop just beyond Tarbert.

From Loch Ederline the route is fairly flat, but along Loch Awe it is another roller-coaster. I can imagine this part of NCR 78 being a delight for anyone on top form, and riding the right bike to handle the hills. However it was well beyond my capabilities, condition, and luggage after a tough day yesterday. Coupled with the wind and rain, I couldn't say I enjoyed it as it should be enjoyed.

That part of the route did, however, give me a high point for the day. I stopped to take a picture along Loch Awe from one of the many peaks in the road. As I was getting the camera out, a red squirrel peeped from behind this tree, then continued to scurry up and down. I managed to capture it in a couple of pictures. It's not exactly Simon King, I know, but a treat on a challenging day.

Day-4: Mull

On paper the plan for today looked straightforward. Starting in Tobermory I would follow the west coast through Dervaig, Calgary, and Kilninian then cross the island to Salen, and down to Craignure in time for the 3pm ferry to Oban.

I expected it to be a bit of a challenge, but at the planning stage six hours to cover 45 miles seemed ample to allow a few breaks. Faced with reality, yesterday's slow pace on hilly roads was the first wake up call, and a more detailed look at the map over breakfast this morning persuaded me that I needed a fall-back plan.

So I divided the route into sections, and worked out that if I covered the first section in an hour and a half I could still make the ferry. If I did it in an hour I would have time to spare. It actually took me nearly two hours. The next section was no better. So by the third section I had given up the original plan, and I was beginning to wonder what to do if I missed the 5pm ferry.

Then after 25 miles of roller-coaster the crinkles in the road levelled out. I don't know what got into me, but I covered the last 20 miles at a cracking pace, and arrived half an hour early for the 3pm ferry. There was enough time to sample the first Irn Bru I had tasted in many years - which was possibly a mistake.

From Oban I followed National Cycle route 78 up Glen Lonan, It's a lovely route. There's a bit of a climb out of Oban, but after that it's very gentle. Which was just what I needed after a strenuous time earlier in the day.

The weather was cool, but otherwise perfect, and I think I've managed to collect GPS traces of a few roads that haven't yet been charted on OSM.

All very satisfying.

Day-3: Ardnamurchan

Two days ago the forecast for today was sleet. As I ate breakfast this morning the weather changed from sun to rain to sun and back to rain again. As I set off it was drizzling. After a few miles I reached Loch Sunart, and the sun was shining again. It stayed that way for most of the day.

The planned highlight of the day was to reach Ardnamurchan lighthouse, at the most westerly point of mainland Britain, but the unexpected highlight was spending ten minutes watching an eagle swirling over the road near Loch Mudle.

At the end of the day, the second ferry of the trip brought me to Tobermory, ready for a day on Mull tomorrow.

Day-2: Moidart

From Fort William I followed the road along the south side of Loch Eil to Glenfinnan (the site, in chronological order, where Bonnie Prince Charlie's supporters gathered for the '45 rebellion, an outstanding concrete viaduct, and a filming location for Harry Potter). Then further west to Glenuig and south past Loch Moidart.

The rain threatened on and off for most of the day, but it stayed away for all but the last ten minutes. As far as I can make out nobody around here has much faith in the official forecast, and certainly nobody I asked was prepared to commit their own opinion on what to expect. The general view seems to be that anything to do with the weather is pretty much unpredictable.

Having started off flat, the roads gradually got more hilly, which could be viewed as a thoughtful way of breaking me in slowly. By the end of the day I was travelling at a pace that allowed me to fully savour the dramatic landscapes. Or to put it another way, I was getting off and pushing up hills quite a lot. Of course if I hadn't packed for the different weather possibilities the bike would weigh less.

So if they fixed the weather and the hills it would be just like home?

Not exactly.

On the whole, even the most minor roads have good surfaces. There is very little traffic, and drivers are friendly and cooperative. If they reach a passing place first, they will wait for you. If you wait for them, they wave to say thank you. I ride past people in gardens who call out good morning, and expect a reply. On top of which there are constantly changing views of lochs, the sea, and distant mountains.

Day-1: Beam me up

The first stage of my cycling trip this year was taking the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston to Fort William.

I had decided to ride the thirty-odd miles from home to Euston, and opted for the simplest route - which pretty much involves a straight line through Ealing and Shepherds Bush, then down Bayswater Road and Euston Road. Having allowed spare time for virtually every conceivable contingency I arrived at Euston far too early.

They split the sleeper at some point in the middle of the night, so bicycles have to be carefully stowed and labelled. I didn't like the idea of ending up in Fort William with the bike in Aberdeen. Perhaps it was worrying about that, perhaps it was the haggis, or perhaps it was the movement of the train, but I had a restless night, and got up at about 6:00 as we were leaving Glasgow. So I spent three hours watching the scenery glide by and become more dramatic as we worked north.

We arrived at Fort William on schedule. The passenger ferry to Camusnagaul leaves a few hundred yards outside the station. From there I was in another world.

It's the Scotrail equivalent of teleportation.

At one point I was pedalling madly to avoid buses and taxis in Euston Road. Then I had a few hours restless sleep. Then I was gliding along a single-track road where my own tyres were making more noise than anything except the waves lapping on the shore of the loch.

It's all a bit disorientating (in a nice way). How it will feel on re-entry doesn't bear thinking about. So I won't.