Off the islands…
17th and 18th June, Cross to Stornoway- 14C and mostly cloudy
A hearty breakfast, or ” heart attack on a plate” as our host described it, to start the day.
Then off for a 40ish km ride to catch the ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool.
Managed to find the local bike repair shop in Ullapool just before closing, and arranged to return in the morning to replace the (loose, wobbly) bottom bracket on Neil’s bike. Yay!
Local camping park was in a pretty nice spot, and we thought we’d try and find somewhere to eat out. Neil found the local Indian restaurant, just around the corner, but was a bit concerned about the not so excellent reviews. Turned out it was just fine, good food and more than enough to eat 🙂
Had to have a bit of a laugh at the waiter with his enormous and very noisy trolley delivering food to tables. A class act indeed…👌
Started the next day with the intention of carrying on, but decided to stay put and have a day of work (for me) and fixing stuff (for Neil). And some route planning… but a nice spot to have a bit of a rest day.
Met a lovely German couple in the camping spot next to ours, cycling around Scotland on a tandem (aptly named “Heavy”) with a whole lot of gear!
Just cannot imagine all the arguments Neil and I would have if we tried to tour on the SAME bike 🤣
19th June, 15C and mostly cloudy again.
Ullapool to Laide, 68km, 870m of up.
Hitting the NC500, along with countless campervans, buses and other assorted travellers!
But the upside, was a plethora of coffee stops to choose from 🙂
Lunch spot out of the misty drizzle…
Somewhere at the top of a hill my gear cable failed…so a limp into Laide in Granny gear and a sense of dread for the coming days’ cycling…
Laide was an interesting town. Nowhere at the campsite to charge devices. And the local pub were so determined to prevent anyone from utilising their precious power resources that they installed Indian wall sockets to render them unusable.
Ah well…nice spot…
20th June Laide to Gairlich, 35km, lovely warm sunshine and 18 degrees!
Neil did some googling and found a random little bike repair shop at the next destination.
Fingers were crossed, message sent and we made our way to the Gairloch Harbour where we found a gem of a place, terrific guy who replaced the gear cable in less time than it took us to down our coffee and scone at the Cafe next door. Brilliant!
Our camping spot in Gairloch was magical. We’d booked two nights, mostly because there was a whopping big Triathlon going on in Torridon so we thought we’d better avoid that for the weekend
Glad we did- a really lovely spot to chill for a bit, a chance to catch up on a bit of work, hike the hillside (or run it if you’re Neil 😅) and enjoy the warm spell- 22 degrees!!
And what could be better than fish and chips at your campsite with a view like this… (well, Neil will tell you that GOOD fish’n’chips would have been better…but who cares really…a goodly quantity of fat and salt is quite satisfying!)
22nd June, Gairloch to Torridon, 66km, 770m elevation, rain, rain and more rain. And wind.
A pretty tough day today- from heavy rain to brutal headwinds, a standing lunch while avoiding swarms of midges… and worst of all, even the downhills seemed like uphill with the force of the wind!
But we rode through the stunning landscape of Torridon and camped at a little village- Shieldag. Beautiful spot, dramatic view, and more rain…
Escaped to the warmth of the local pub hoping for a meal but the weekend of Triathlon has left it all pretty busy so we lucked out there. Back to the tent for our emergency meal of tinned corned beef, instant mash and mushy peas- perfect!
Continuing south tomorrow…
https://www.komoot.com/collection/3509510/-uk
Let’s go cycling 
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