Should have had a message with that picture! Off we go on a 3 day mid Wales adventure. Wasn't raining when we set off this morning, still not raining this avo!Â
I started a thread looking for suggestions for a specific tour, if anyone has any ideas
Weeeeellllll, I forgot to come back (here) after the King John's Way a week or so ago...Â
320 miles of Lincs goodness and 4 days of sun, that's SUN! On the down side, the headwind tracked us faithfully for all 4 days though day 1 across the Fens (North Cambs to Woodall Spa) was the worst (as in bastard, bastard headwind). It was strong, on the nose and untroubled by any features getting in the way and slowing it down/sheltering us.
Day 1 was 60 miles of dead flat Fen passage. Woodhall Spa has a very genteel vibe, nice place to stay.
Day 2 was 80 miles of Lincs Wolds lumpiness, Woodhall to (ta daaaa) Cleethorpes which wasn't as bad as expected.
Day 3 was 72 miles of very pleasant boggo rural riding Cleethorpes to Lincoln. Lincoln these days is part gentrification and still part shit in the old city centre. Cathedral bit is quite interesting though...
Day 4 was 100 miles of hilly recall back to base via Belviour Castle which sits atop the only hill for miles around. 2 x 17% ers to get up and over it. Did I mention how tandems like hills...?
Well worth a look for us as the route almost passes our front door.
In other news, a bonus offroad mini tour of the Royal Chilterns Way has been booked for the end of May with my usual gravelly chums - and no effing tandems 🙂
First trip this year: 3 days singlespeed touring with other members of Bicycle Walking Club around the Clwydians and Berwyns. 2nd annual meeting: last year we did Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge.Â
Wet start, wet finish, nice in the middle.Â
https://flic.kr/p/2saRWBd
Next trip is probably IoW in July.Â
Currently on a rocking and rolling MV seaforth back to Ullapool.Â
Day 1 started at 19:00 -rode to just past drumnadochit on the GGW those that know it......the road climb with the double arrows. And pitched up the tarp road side.Â
Day 2 started at 6.30am and rode all day till 9 pm completing the GGW - riding out to locheil and round the road to the corran ferry before dropping onto the cycle path to ballachulish for a chippy tea. -back on the bike and hit the NCN 78 to kentallan and slept on some cliffs woke up to everything covered in frost and the tarp stiff as a board. Was toasty in my aging pipedream 200 -in a rab survival bivvy atop of neoair. -albe it with hat/buff , my microlight down jacket and fleece and full skins on .....almost as if I'd seen the forecastÂ
Day 3. 7am start and fired down the rest of NCN78 and found my 14:00 ferry was infact 13:30 which was lucky as I was there at 11am. - we landed on Barra and rode to vatersay and then back up and round to the airport in a squall and watched others at borve trying to rapidly get their tent boxes on the roof of their car back down into its flat pack guise due to the wind. I went round to the airport and sheltered in a low spot using a fence to support the tarp.
Day 4 Caught the 7am ferry after a 10k early ride. Then on the other side rode to carnish on north uist via balivanich for supplies ... But the cupboard was fairly bare so we had curry super noodles , baby bels and a tin of tuna. Tried to catch the bakery but they closed at 1 and it was 1:45 so was forced into the benbecula distillery for some fine Cullen skink before heading onto moorcroft holidays for a fine 13 quid campsite with laundry , shower and a rarely seen in Scotland campers kitchen.Â
Day 5 late start at 9:30Â due to a ferry booking at 16:00. Still got to berneray in time to blag onto the 13:00 ferry AND have a meal at the fantastic Berneray bistro.Â
On the other side rode up to just before the licklisto turn off on the road to tarbert before the heavens opened with heavy rain and hail and not wanting to end up soaked to the skin with the prospect of a night out I sought shelter behind some large rocks about 40ft from the road and set about building a low howff out for my tarp to keep the rain and hail off but low enough to stay hidden behind the rock and thus out of the wind. - had a great night's sleep.Â
Day 6. Spent the morning convincing my self the isle coffee van was round the next corner as it should have. Been but before long ended up in tarbert at the deli with no sign of the coffee van. Never mind the deli coffee was good and knowing there's pretty much nothing before Balallan except the petrol station about 6 miles out of tarbert I stocked up.Â
Got to balallan and found the tea room was closed so no respite till lochs. By the time I got to lochs I was so done with the wind I fired up the phone and got on Google for a hostel dorm in Stornoway.Â
About 470k probably 70/30 on/off-road cutty did well. Used everything I took multiple times EXCEPT the waterproof trousers.Â
Still time yet. Heading up the road to try and get to glascarnoch area tonight hoping for a quieter road in the evening before taking a selection of off-road trails back to tore and rejoining ncnÂ
Well buggered if I know what went wrong there only the first two have thumbnailed and I'll be damned if I can see what I've done differentlyÂ
that looks a grand trip trail_rat  nice one.
just realised i never mentioned where we are headed.
not got much time this year... new grandkids, almost full time childminding, illness and parents deaths... life gets in the way sometimes.
so we are heading to Holland on june 1st for a 16 day circuit taking in some amazing looking villages.
i like holland. flat and boring some say. perfect relaxed cycling i say, where a uk cyclist can ride without fear of death every time they go out.
Thanks for the inspiration everyone posting pics though I'll stick with my tent having looked at the pics of your tarp, Trailrat. 😉
Basque country next week is confirmed having looked at the weather forecast.
Only planned on riding the climb out of Ullapool last night but the flags were ripping in the right direction made it down to just afore rogie falls in a shade over 2hrs on an MTB. Swung onto the trails from there got shouted at by a forestry CCTV RoboCop tripod thing who was going to be calling the police. - good luck with that. Followed that I'll I joined the puffer fire road and swung onto the course and camped at the swivel seat above loch kinellanÂ
Was a cold night but I had heated some water and put it in one of my soft flasks and stuck it at the bottom of my bag and had a grand night's sleep. Woke up this morning and there was frost about so got up packed up and got going. Was in Inverness by 9.30 on a combo of trails and NCNÂ
Ended up being 570km and 6060m climbing . Most of it into a bastard headwindÂ
Most of it into a bastard headwindÂ
been watching a friend on HT550 all week....... still on route. the weather has been pretty horrible.
