Scotchland....This summer?

[Zakalwe]

Cheers guys

Right....morning 2. Pissing wet outside. I mean, raining like it can only rain in Scotland. And blowing a gale to boot. Plus, the world was about to drop outta me butt.

Two watery dumps later I am stuffing my face on a full Scotch breakfast (well.....ya gotta keep yer strength up!). Back to the room for another dump (great stuff Guinness, puts hairs on your chest and turns yer poo black.....)......I go out in the pissing rain in my leathers to start loading the bike up...not in the best of moods. Back inside, I bust the zip on my rainsuit trying to pull it on over wet leathers Ahh well, at least riding in the rain is good practice at throttle control.

I headed for Oban...I was toying with the idea of jumping on a ferry to Mull, but TBH, the rain was wombles torrential. The A816 was a fab road...or at least it would have been if there wasn't an inch of water running down it. Honestly...I was miserable. I had decent rain tyres on (Power 2CT) but could not get any confidence going. I know that I had loads and loads of grip (after all....Colin Edwards at the Michelin launch of these tyres was getting his knee down everywhere)...all I had was visions of pulling a bike outta the scenery by myself in the pissing rain. Plus I was sliding all over the saddle in that poxy rainsuit, so every touch of the brakes had me knackers crushed against the tank. Riding in the rain is for the birds.

Anyhoo...40 very soggy miles later I pulled into Oban, feeling very sorry for myself. My gloves were soaked...my boots were literally full of water. Not good at all. The rain stopped for a bit, so after a wee pep talk, I decided to mosey out to Tyndrum. Now the A85 is one of my favourite Scottish roads, but 2 miles outside of Oban the heavens opened again. I had a bit more confidence, and was sorta enjoying the sweeping bends, but also being very mindful 'cos I had a few "moments" with the rear spinning up on the white lines. I finally lost my sense of humour at the "Green Welly" at Tyndrum, so I stopped for a brew. A £35 pair of Sealskinz socks (awesome......even at £35) was purchased....cue me getting some weird looks as I tried to try my wrinkled up, Gollum-like feet under the hand-dryer in the bogs. I will never, ever underestimate the benefits of warm dry feet again.

it had started to dry up a wee bit, so I headed back to Oban (I had a B+B booked there for the night) for a bit of lunch....its always been a bit of a tradition of mine to grab a bite to eat at the wee seafood shack on the pier. The food is superb (for a seafood fan)...fresh crabs, lobster etc etc.



Half a dozen crab claws later sorted me out...


I squelched back to the bike and headed for Fort William.

(a soggy Fireblade. Pissed-off owner not included!)

Again, 2 minutes out of Oban it was pishing down again. I got as far as Onich, and stopped for a pee. The rain was running down the inside of my oversuit. My boots were full again. my gloves were sopping. The Pinlock visor insert had given up the ghost. i honestly felt like peeing in my leathers, as I wouldnt have been any wetter (but at least I would have had warm feet ). So I buggered back to Oban again, and decided to find the B+B (was about 3PM at this stage).

In the B+B I hung everything up to dry (leathers wern't too bad, boots and gloves went on the heated towel rail to dry), and went out for a coffee. Amazingly, for 5PM, the sun was shining.

So I battered back to the B+B, stripped the cover off the bike, unlocked it all, suited up and went out for a proper blast

[Zakalwe]

Back out the A82 to Tyndrum. What a wombles superb road. Praise be to the council up there....some of the most awesome corners were Shellgripped An hour of being anti-social (and raging at the queues of drivers pootling along at 30MPH in a NSL zone....honestly, has the "Speed Kills" message really made people think that to go over 40 on a slightly damp road will lead to disaster? It's always cars with UK plates too! The foreign registered cars are OK, just the UK ones seem to be driven by idiots). Anyway, a full tank of fuel was offered up to the gods of speed, before i got back to Oban...then i went for a blast out by Lerags, back down the A816. Much better now that Noah and his bloody Ark had buggered off There's nothing like having a poper fast blast down some awesome road, and then pulling up by some beautiful scenery, hearing the bike ticking as it cools down, and collecting your thoughts....







Back into Oban, park the bike up and then oout for a pint. Have a laugh at the seagulls, sitting on the bins, patiently waiting for scraps of fish'n'chips.



Finally, off to get some kip. Quite pleased really. Day 2 started off pretty miserable, but it cleared up nicely and i got to sample some awesome roads

[cupasoop]

Good write up Steve, made me wanna go to Scotland

Me too. No, wait.....I'm here already. Panic over.

[Zakalwe]

Next morning...woke up to the fragrant smell of drying boot and gloves wafting from the bathroom. Wander down to consume another million calories in the full Scottish breakfast.

Bike loaded up, leathers on, weather looking fine, and we're off. I had planned a fairly big day today. I wanted to see a bit of Skye, and then head northwards towards Ullapool. Back out towards Tyndrum..awesome road in the dry. Fast, open sweeping bends, with some great scenery. I ran into a couple of showers, but nothing too bad, and not worth stopping to put the rainsuit on for.

Fuel up at Tyndrum, and then head north for Glencoe. What an awesome road the A82 is......long fast straights with awesome scenery, great open bends twisting their way through the forests and bogs. Makes you feel great to be alive and on two wheels. I love riding like this, no real destination, no pressure to get anywhere (my rule is to stop at the first B+B after 5PM and get booked in), no Blackberry, no email, no mobile phone. I really needed this trip to help clear my mind a bit (it's been a tough year...loads of shite at work, a divorce, my Mum getting worse, etc etc). The perfect antidote is an open Scottish road, a few quid in your pocket and no plan other than to be back home whenever you want.

The weather stayed dryish after Tyndrum. Big black clouds were sliding across the sky, pregnant with rain, dragging their bellies across the mountain tops. The nearer I got to Glencoe, the better the scenery. Hugely scarred hills with the road bisecting it's way through them. The approach to Glencoe is awesome....truly breath-taking. Photo's cannot do the awesomeness of this place justice. I stop at a parking place to take some snaps, and just stand there, watching the shadows of the clouds slide across the mountains. In the distance, Buachaille Etive Mòr (the most photographed mountain in Scotland?)stands guard over the entrance to Glencoe.



This place makes you feel small. It's not their scale, its more (for me anyway) the knowledge that these hills have seen ice-ages, Stone-Age man, fearsome battles and will still be here when I and everyone that ever knew me are long gone. There is always a sense of indifference from big hills like these....not in an evil way, just that we must seem very transient, very short-lived, when measured on the timescales of these big hills........

[Zakalwe]

I'm getting into a rhythm now.....the ride through Glencoe is stunning, fantastic road through the best scenery in the world. i stop in Fort William for fuel and a drink. I can't wait to get get out of there...too many people, too many cars, too many shops, bars, crowds, reminders of everything that I am trying to get away from for a couple of days. I wave at ben Nevis and then get the hell outta Dodge, up the A82 by Loch Lochy and Loch Oich.

I stop a couple of miles outside Spean Bridge, at the Commando memorial.



This bronze sculpture overlooks the hills and valleys that the Commandos trained in during WW2. Today, it was dry, but windy, The hills looked ominous, even in summer.




I shudder to think what they must be like in the depths of winter, where these guys lived rough and trained for going behind enemy lines.
Brave, brave men.



Stop off at Invergarry for fuel (I am conscious that the further north you go, the less likely it is to get fuel....loads of petrol stations have shut down in the couple of years since I went up here). I grab a sandwich at a wee petrol station, and sit on the grass in the sunshine. Some chickens keep me company, begging for crumbs.

Back on the bike, and I'm heading for the Isle of Skye, down the A87. Another stunning, stupendous road. Jaw dropping scenery, with the A87 twisting and turning through it. In the distance I can see heavy rain ripping across the hills and sea. The wind has really picked up, and I am getting blown about on some of the exposed sections. Rain starts to chuck down, but I am in a rhythm and don't really notice it. Bend after bend, after bend. I would love to know this road better, and do it on a warmer, calmer day. As it is, it is a blur of straights, blinding corners, Alpine like curves. I am sure some of the car drivers look at me and feel sorry for me...out in the wind with rain coming and going. Inside my helmet I am whooping for joy, cursing myself knowing that I could have taken that last corner 40MPH faster, braking, ragging the throttle, loving the acceleration out of bends. Motorbikes wombles rock.

[cupasoop]

The A87 is a bit tasty, isn't it (all 50 miles of it)?

[benny hedges]

got to watch dusk up there tho judging by the deer carcases at the side of the road - theyre big fookers lol, wouldnt fancy hitting one of them on a bike
top write up tho

[Pete.L]

Lovely job Steve, Painted a brilliant picture in my minds eye.
Although some of it was a little too graphic for my taste

Right....morning 2. Pissing wet outside. I mean, raining like it can only rain in Scotland. And blowing a gale to boot. Plus, the world was about to drop outta me butt.

PMSL
Pete.l

[AMCQ46]

great write-up, great photos and great spirit.........Just load the bike up and go ride, change the plans as you go along

Thanks for sharing it, it is over 20 years since I did those roads, and I forgot how great the scenery is up there.
I was on an RD350LC with throw over panniers back then,.......not the best tourer, and I seem to remember that the paniers manged to rub against the wheel which wore a hole in the panier and the bin bags so all my kit got wet and stunk of 2-stroke exhaust. but great fun as long as you wernt worying about whhere the next petrol stop was going to be.

hope it worked as a pressure relief valve

[bikerpiker]

I enjoyed reading that ,excellent
Some nice pics ,great area ,one i know well ,i've been rideouts to Oban/Inveraray etc, this year ,but havn't been up to Glencoe for a few years.
I'm on holiday for a fortnight as from Fri, ...the first week im off 'darn sarf' to 'Dawzet' for a week with the wife and kids,i might just head up the west coast on the bike at some point during the 2nd week.

[Zakalwe]

I'll hopefully finish the write-up off tonight.

Good point about the deer.....the main road into Ullapool is well known for that as they come down from the hill, across the road to the loch (Loch Broom). I used to rent a lochside cottage up there fairly regularly. on a quiet evening you could sometimes spot the stag and his harem if you were mega-quiet. I also remember getting up one night about 3AM.....all I could hear outside was hooves...there must have been dozens of them outside.

[marravtr]

excellent write up matey, i loved my little jaunt up there earlier but only scratched the surface! some fantastic roads and looking forward to another roadtrip up there again

[Zakalwe]

Right, so where was I?

Ah yes, bombing down the A87 towards the Isle of Skye, along the banks of Lochalsh towards Skye. I stop off in Balmacara for a wee break and to make some phonecalls. The wind is getting up again, and in the distance i can see the Skye Bridge.


I push on, down to the Kyle of Lochalsh, and then over the bridge. Its as windy as fook...though the screens on the bridge do a fair job of keeping the worst of the wind off. I had sorta planned to do the loop around Skye, but the weather was breaking. A couple of miles along the road it started to spot with rain, and i cold see heavy rain in the distance, so I made an executive decision to return to the mainland and head north. The fact that the skies were clear as a bell that direction made the decision easy.

So back across the bridge, and look for the A890. At this point, I had a half-tank of fuel. Being a total gobshite, I thought that I would chance it, and not fill up in Kyle. I nearly came to regret this!

The A890 is another lovely ribbon of Tarmac, climbing through trees with some fantastic twists and turns. I meant to pick up the A896 near Strathcarron, but missed the turn and followed the A890 towards Achnasheen. The 890 is a cracking road though, single track in places, but with great views as you run between the hills.


I was starting to get a bit twitchy about fuel at this point, even to the point of pulling out the satnav to see how far the nearest petrol station would be. It was telling me that there was one in Achnasheen, which would mean that the Red Light of Death would be on at that stage. Can you imagine how chuffed I was to arrive there to find the bloody place had closed down. Not happy. So I chanced heading towards Kinlochewe, with the light burning a hole in my retina. Thankfully, the station there was still in business, and still open. Fuelled up, I decided to push on to Ullapool (about 75 miles).
The run along the A832 is another of my favourite routes, past Loch Maree. Another place of outstanding beauty, with the mighty Slioch in the background

I hit Gairloch, and then turned up to Poolewe. The weather was stunning at this point, bright sunshine (though it was still windy). The A832 winds its way through forests, hills and then opens out at Poolewe into some stunning vistas.

The colour of the sea was amazing...again, photos just do not do it justice.

Every corner turned is stunning.......the hills overlooking the deep emerald-green waters of the sea.

I’m pushing hard for Ullapool now....I am getting properly saddle-sore at this stage (after 5 hours on the bike, even EDZ undersuits wont stop the skin on your thighs from becoming sore). The views are making up for it though.
Finally, after blasting at daft speeds through what can only be described as a lunar landscape, I pop out at the top of Loch Broom (the road from Poolewe to the A835 should be considered another “must-do” roads in Scotland). I pull into a well known viewing spot, and marvel at the Loch Broom valley.

There is a guy there on a Triumph....he has travelled from Sweden. We have a good natter in pidgin English about routes, and then he heads off, leaving me to contemplate the vista down to Ullapool.

The last 12 miles are taken in a blur. I know the 835 to Ullapool well, and it is a fab road. Really well surfaced, with some great corners and roller coaster dips. Stunning. I pull up about 10 minutes later in Ullapool, and go searching for some digs for the night. (this is the view from the other end...near the pier looking back up the Loch)

It was a fantastic day’s riding. Over 250 miles, through some of the best scenery anywhere in the world. I’ve been on the bike since 9:30, and i was ready for some grub and a couple of pints. First, find a B+B, then the Seaforth beckons!

[tattie]

Zak,
Fantastic write up and I live up here The bit about the mountains in Glen Coe " I know what you mean, real heart stirring stuff" I have a lump in my throat thinking about it.


Cheers

A.M.

[Anotherbikerbabe]

Good write up, glad you enjoyed it. I only got as far as Fort Bill and came home via Glencoe etc and have to agree with you there. Sounds and looks like you had a ball.