Featured Touring Scotland Here We Come

Well @Pegscraper are you sure you don't know me?
Bear Grylls has nothing on me, wait until you see tonights tea

So this morning, I sorted the usb socket out and bought a pair of snipe nosed pliers to resolve it with as I also had a cunning plan.
Now I must add, my workshop at home has at least x4 pairs of snipe nosed pliers already so I certainly didn't need some more but, I figured these would be more versatile, you know, for other jobs
At Tingwall I had a chat with a fisherman and found out his return time

 

Went for a ride around, had an ice cream, did the Twatt signpost thing, then went back and I ended up with a passenger any ideas what?

 

Uhmmmmmm ....... a fish? For supper, perchance? Or are you just codding us on.......... )))

 

How about this beauty



Fisherman said, "if you're camping, are you sure you have a pot big enough?"

I said, " Nae bother, where there's a will there's a way!"
deeeeelicious

 

I specifically WORK Mondays as there are more Bank Holidays on a Monday

 

Yum yum


A front claw.

Had to do two 15 minute boils, tail in one, the rest in the other, so used best part of half litre of fuel, but it was worth it

Many smiles per gallon

 

What a cracking day to be out on the bike and not at work

Absolutely gorgeous

 

Last night's sunset over Scapa Flow

 

This morning's breakfast to put me on and ready for another hard day

 

Whoa - that's gorgeous!

 

Weather just now, having boarded the ferry.
Supposed to be 20⁰ but I think it feels hotter.
Not great for a person wearing bike gear with the liners in, I can feel my legs melting

 

What a cracking day not to be at work

 

So last night was a bit of a rush timing wise. The ferry got into Scrabster around 18.15 and I'd decided to head back to Invershin bunkhouse for a shower and a few pints.
Managed to refuel on route and get there just as it got dark

 

If your doing a similar route, be careful of travelling west this time of year i.e. anticlockwise NC 500.
On at least x3 occasions I lost the road in a direct head on setting sun and couldn't see a thing. The worse part is coming round a bend or out of a dip.
On one sweeping left hand bend and already wary of the sun situation, I was doing 60'ish and a cow decided to saunter across the road

Once heading south, the sun issue resolved itself to be replaced by a loose gravel centre line where I've put an X on the map.
Be very careful as it would be easy to drop it on the brakes etc. and I had to let off the brakes on a few occasions to maintain grip.

 

I think that's what they call "seat of the pants" riding!

Whenever I encounter the setting Sun low in the sky it always reminds me of rounding the Gooseneck on the TT course on evening laps when the Sun is out. Even with sunglasses or tinted visor you can't see shite.

 

A bit of a climb down from fresh Lobster!

 

I'm not sure what the map is telling me, but the route marked with an X is the road I took when I was coming back from John O'Groats, and it is a great route through Altnaharra, Lairg and Bonar Bridge. Actually, I rode it from Tongue rather than Bettyhill, but same difference.

Unfortunately this wilderness area is now the site of another windfarm, I guess we have to "keep the lights on" but is this really the best location for such a development?

 

Many years ago, 1994 actually, I was camping in a garden in Onchan. Mick Lofthouse of DTR racing was using the double garage there for spannering. Cracking lad, he had two mechanics, all three were meticulous in their preparation.
Once over coffe in the garage when they were doing some jetting changes, we discussed the course.
I asked, " how do you cope with the fog up on the mountain?"
Mick replied, " if you don't know where you're going, then you shouldn't be up there!"

Unfortunately in 1996 that conversation would bite him on the ar5e.
One morning in early practice, sessions used to be 05.00 to 07.00 roads closed, he rounded a corner and smashed into the wall. The only cause offered, he was blinded by the low sun.

Rip Mick

Low sun easily disorientates and can be a killer.

 

No @ajc400 not the same difference, both are like two legs of a capital Y.
The route north from Altnaharra splits. Left goes to Tongue as I did going North.
The right fork is what I came down going south and has recent, by the look of it, fresh stretches however, in between the car tracks is a very fine, easily not seen, sprinkling of small black tar chips which have probably scrubbed off and accumulated.
This is nowhere near the size of gravel so easily missed, and not an issue if you don't run off the car track.

 

Yup. Very dangerous.