This was my first try at cycle touring, and it's something that I will be doing again
I was originally planning to use my Defy road bike as it would take a rack, but in the end I went for an n+1. I bought a CX bike to use as a commuter and general purpose machine. It can also carry more on a rack, and has more (and lower) gears. As this trip was to prove, it makes a great fast/light touring bike as well.
Day 1 - Arran
So it was that 9 of us rocked up at Ardrossan harbour ready to catch the 12:30 ferry to Arran to start leg 1 of the trip. Only 9, as
@Edwardoka was having major problems getting hold of a small, but vital, part for the bike he was intending to use. His final message was basically "I hope to be there by 8pm".
@Pat "5mph" had booked us all in at the Lochranza distillery cafe for dinner at that time.
When we landed in Brodick, the group split up. The girls,
@Scoosh and
@Brandane (joining us just for the Arran ride), took the 15 mile direct route to Lochranza.
@Fubar ,
@DougieAB ,
@Harry_Palmer79 and myself took the 40 mile southern route looping clockwise around the coast. Since it was a very nice day, I had already decided I would go that way, it's a lovely ride even if it is rather lumpy. It had a sting in the tail in the form of a headwind all the way up the west coast, which slowed us down somewhat, but even after a leisurely coffee and cake at Machrie Bay golf club, we made it to Lochranza in plenty of time to settle in at the hostel and amble up to the cafe.
The distillery cafe is a lovely place to be, the menu sounded absolutely gorgeous, orders were placed and drinks obtained. About 5 minutes after the waiter had taken our orders,
@Edwardoka appeared before us as if by magic
. He had resorted to using his Focus race bike and was carrying a rucksack of an impressive size
. It was gonna be a rather uncomfortable tour for him. Still, at least he was going to get fed. He ordered his food and went to get changed in the toilets.
I highly recommend the cafe, the food was absolutely excellent
I've never stayed in a hostel before, and the one thing to remember is that you never know who you will be sharing a dorm with. In our case, we seemed to have an Elephant on one of the top bunks. A restless one at that. Who didn't seem to know how to put his phone on silent. After he'd jumped off the bunk for the third time in the early hours to go to the bog, it was getting a bit tiresome. I may have rustled my plastic bags more than was absolutely necessary early the next morning
Day 2 - To Islay!
This was going to be hard. The weather forecast was for higher winds and rain, and we had two ferries to catch. This was Rule 5 weather if ever I saw it. After breakfast and coffee to get us started, the first ferry was 30 mins to Cloanaig. Once we arrived there, we had an hour to get up and over the large hill in front of us to catch the next ferry from Kennacraig to Port Askaig on Islay.
Now the rain began in earnest and it soon became apparent that that 20mph wind was going to be almost in our faces
. We climbed and climbed and then climbed some more. It was only 6 miles, but almost 5 miles of it was long dragging ascents and we were getting steadily soaked, though at this point my feet were still dry. Finally the descent to the port came and as I came over the crest, I could see the next ferry approaching. We were gonna make it just fine
The two hour crossing to Islay gave plenty of time for some welcome refuelling and hot coffee. Spirits were high and there was much banter and joking in the group. Then we looked out the window when we arrived in port and saw the climb ahead of us
. And it was raining again. The climb was as bad as it looked, peaking at 15% and once over the top, we were in a 20mph headwind and driving rain with 20 miles to go to our next hostel in Port Charlotte. An hour later, I had done just over 10 miles and my shoes were full of water, this was real suffering. Turning back wasn't an option, my bed for the night was 10 miles in front of me, so I had to keep pressing on.
I came across the fast threesome (Edwardoka, Ross and Dougie) who were waiting in Bridgend. We knew we needed to turn right somewhere, but had seen no signs for Port Charlotte. I thought we needed to carry on a bit further. I was wrong
and after an extra 6 miles, we took the turn that we should have taken in the first place. 8 miles still to go
. This part was the most exposed to the wind and I couldn't hold on to the wheels of the fast threesome. Once I slipped off the back I have never tried so hard and gone so slow on a bike before, watching them pull steadily away was soul-destroying. I was riding in a pretty dark place now and wondering if this torture would ever end, when suddenly I saw a town sign: "Port Charlotte". I had made it! Many minutes behind everyone else, but it was done. Panniers removed, bike into the shed, empty water out of shoes, hang everything up in the drying room and get under a shower.
Dinner for the evening was to be had at Yans Kitchen, which was awesome!
Day 3 - Free day on Islay
The day dawned with no sign of rain, but with even stronger 30mph winds
. Fubar was going to ride to Bowmore and almost everyone else went along.
@Scoosh and I
showed good sense wimped out and spent some time checking the bikes and chatting in the common room. Dougie was the first to return, looking a bit damp from the rain showers that had flown over, and we went to have a forage in the kitchen. A check of the "free food" shelves turned up most of a pack of spaghetti, some bolognese sauce and some cheese. I soon turned that into a snack lunch before the rest began arriving back.
Another cycling couple arrived. They had been camping and the wind had destroyed their tent. He was sure something was wrong with his headset but didn't know how to fix it. Scoosh and I were happy to help, sorted the headset and showed him how it was done
Spirits were high again and after another excellent meal at the Hotel, we checked the weather. The final day should be dry and we would have a 25mph tailwind for our return leg
Day 4 - The Return
I slept terribly. Specifically, insomnia struck and I had to make do with no more than 2 hours sleep
as we were up at 6am to get fuelled up, packed and ready to leave by 7:30am. If all went well this meant we should catch the 1640 ferry from Brodick. It wasn't long before we were flying through Bowmore and on down the bullet-straight "low road", which is also almost completely flat. It was joyous to be able to hold 20mph+ easily and we easily made the first ferry and a second breakfast.
Even though the ferry left 20 minutes late, the climb out of Kennacraig was wind-assisted and we flew across the 6 miles back to Cloanaig. After the short ferry back to Lochranza, we agreed we would just press on to Brodick as we had 2 hours to get there for the 1640 ferry. Climbing the bogoullie with a wind-assist meant a fast descent and a surprisingly rapid passage down the east side of the island, arriving in Brodick only 1 hour later!
As the others arrived during the next half hour, a nervous looking lady approached us and asked if we could tell her why her gears weren't working. She had one of those dreadful Dunlop BSOs that Sports Direct sell, but it looked sound other than the transmission needing a good clean. She couldn't get it to drop to the inner front ring and she'd been lifting it on there by hand
. All it needed was a limit screw adjustment and all was well
after which
@Scoosh was only too happy to explain the 'bent and tales of the tour to her. That's two new friends and maybe two new forum members?
An epic trip, racking up just over 100 miles of riding. I want to do another tour
. Even with the ordeal of the second day, I know what I would do and take differently next time, and I'll cope with it better as it cannot get much worse than that
It was a pleasure and an honour to ride with you all
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se43K2eNDac&list=UU9KWFB7bShUmvQW829WKsww
about exploring/researching a family connection on Islay and this developed into a 34-page CC Ecosse Chat thread before we set off 
...
) they enjoyed it and nobody died (IAW Mark's 'daily briefing' 
)
and 1km visibility - it is apparently rather nice ... 
)
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