Need advice on a bike tour of Scotland

[Radomir]

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their advices.

To: Peter Molog
I'll study your tours in Scotland. It is interesting. I have already downloaded the recommended maps to my PC. Also I will put it on the GPS. There's a lot of details and it is good...

To: Norman H and rfryer
Really I see I have to change my track and exclude off-road parts. I see the best way is to finish our trip at Oban and take a train to Edinburgh...
I'll come back soon with a new track.

.... at Ardgay where your route appears to go via the YH at Culrain, which I believe is now closed, and uses the footbridge over the railway at Invershin to regain the main road.. Stay on the main road, A836 to Lairg. Incidentally your route goes past the Crask Inn. “The Crask” is, I believe, up for sale but you should aim to spend the night there if you can. Especially if you like whisky!

Sure, we like whisky
Frankly speaking I did not understand a little bit the above and your abbreviation. What is it YH? Kidly ask you to expain more clear the way after Ardgay....
As to Crask I already found it.

[Norman H]

Sorry! YH = Youth Hostel

Your route from Alness is on B9176 which joins A836 about 5km before Ardgay. At Ardgay your route turns left onto a minor road and towards the YH at Culrane. In order to regain the main road A836 you will have to use a foot path and footbridge over the river. Better to stay on the A836 I think. The last time I went that way I stayed at the YH and I remember carrying our bikes up some steps to use the foot bridge.

You can see the footbridge here, alongside the railway bridge.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=57.924694,-4.400539&spn=0.01397,0.042357&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=57.924595,-4.400438&panoid=wDjgQQ2sbp_7s2QB4wEhvQ&cbp=12,180,,0,0

[Radomir]

I also thought but to ask is better...
As to road after Ardgay everything is clear now. Thank you.
Tomorrow I will try to change my track according to all advices...

[bogmyrtle]

You could cut out some of the mileage if you use the bike bus that runs from Inverness to Durness. It stops at Ullapool so you could use it to get to Durness.
This is the website
http://www.inverness-durness-highland-bike-bus.co.uk/

I would however suggest you e-mail the company first just to make sure the bus will run next year and to check the dates it will run as it is seasonal.

[loafer]

hi Radomir
your route looks great ...I see you have cape wrath included ... (a great trip) ..just to let you know this ferry is run depending on the weather http://www.capewrath.org.uk/

[Radomir]

There is no snow in Moscow now but a little bit cold (till -5). Off-roads are very well. That's why we try to go out of the city as often as possible.

Sorry for my a little delay...
I have changed the project of out track and you can find it here.
http://www.gpsies.com/mapOnly.do?fileId ... Leave=true
Direct lines are trains with 1 change in Glasgow.
I've made the above using all advices but... it is impossible to go everywhere. So, I prefer the most important and famous areas (as seems to me). I understand that we can find more quiter and friendly roads on the islands.
Total length of our way is ~ 1300 km now (without train and ferry-boats). But 1000 km is the best for us (with minimal height ).
The mileage will down till 1100 km If we exclude Cape Wrath and take a train from Edinburgh to Dalwhinnie at the beginning of our way.
What can we do else? Is it necessarily to visit Cape Wrath or we can find there approximately the same views as Skye, for example. Of course, we will go to the Cape in case of good weather but we have one day more if we exclude Cape Wrath....
We will have total ~ 20 days of run and would like to visit the most interesting places of Scotland and don't lose a time "between cars".

[Norman H]

Radomir, the route looks good. I sympathise with your dilemma. The problem that all cycle tourists face; what to leave out. The answer of course is to come back in 2016.

Cape Wrath is one of those Iconic headlands that people feel the need to visit. It's one of the last few areas of wilderness left in the UK. You should try to fit it in if you can, especially if the weather is good. One possibility is to leave the bikes at Durness or on the far side of the ferry crossing and use the Minibus service that runs between the ferry and the lighthouse. That would probably save you half a day. Unfortunately I don't know of any hostel accommodation within half a days ride going south. The hostel at Inchnadamp (approx 70 miles) is about the closest that I know of. Another Idea, as I mentioned previously, is to use the bus between Durness and Ullapool.

In addition to Cape Wrath, if you have time, go the few extra miles from Kilchoan to visit the Lighthouse on Ardnamurchan, before getting the ferry to Tobermory

I will send you some links for accommodation etc.

[Tigerbiten]

One way to save a lot of distance cycling and hills is to get an evening ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway, cycle down the Heb's to Lochmaddy and get the ferry back to Skye.
Stornoway to Lochmaddy is roughly two 50km days and around 1,000 meters climbing in total.
You still have a big pull up just before Tarbet, just not as big as Bealach na Ba.
Ullapool to Uig on staying the road via Bealach na Ba is 330 km and 5,000 meters climbing ........

So unless you do get hit by a SW gale and/or do want to go over Bealach na Ba then that may be a better option.

[horizon]

radomir: I read your post at the same time as I was looking at car insurance. That was a mistake and I apologise for having read your post not in the way that it was intended to be.

I hope you have a great trip.

[Radomir]

To: Tigerbiten
If we will finish a riding on Outer Hebrides in Tairbeart? Or the way from Tairbeart to Lochmaddy is interesting too?
Unfortunately I did not understand your phrase "So unless you do get hit by a SW gale and/or do want to go over Bealach na Ba then that may be a better option". Sorry for my English but could you please explain the above more clear (more easy)?

To: horizon

[andrew_s]

"So unless you do get hit by a SW gale and/or do want to go over Bealach na Ba then that may be a better option". Sorry for my English but could you please explain the above more clear (more easy)?

The route from Stornoway to Lochmaddy heads SW across wide open ground with no shelter from the wind at all, and the Western Isles are notorious for being windy. Therefore if there is a gale from the southwest, it will be hard work and you will be better off taking a mainland route, as you will be if the Bealach na Ba is somewhere you want to go.

On the whole I'd rather take the mainland route anyway, though which is best will depend on the weather (it's fairly common for the Isles to have good weather when the mainland is poor, and the other way round).
Between Kylesku and Ullapool, the coast road through Lochinver/Inverpolly/Loch Lurgainn is a lot more scenic than the fairly uninteresting inland main road, though it will add 36 km & 700m climbing.

If you look at routes on http://cycle.travel/map, as well as click for start, click for end, an look at the route, you can also click and drag the route to go somewhere else, and click on the route and "Find photos". This is very useful if the route goes along a track, and you want to know if it is rideable or not. There's a map further down the photo page to show exactly where the photo is taken.

[Radomir]

The route from Stornoway to Lochmaddy heads SW across wide open ground....

Sorry but what is it SW?

[Paulatic]

South West (direction)

[Radomir]

South West (direction)

Direction to South-West (North-East wind) or South-West wind?

[PJ520]

Wind direction is the direction the wind is coming from, in written English this is indicated by the first letter or letters of the compass directions, North, South, East, West. So with a SE wind if you ride south east the wind will be blowing directly in your face i.e. you will have a headwind. In spoken English the whole words are pronounced e.g. "a south east wind"

Your English, by the way, appears to be very good, You will have little problem making yourself understood though you may find the Scottish accent very difficult to understand but they will understand you. (Don't feel bad. Americans who think they are native English speakers have a terrible time with UK regional accents.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_of_the_compass Weather forecasts (and cyclists) mainly use the cardinal and ordinal points for wind direction. Hope this helps.

Pete