On the road with a CX.
"To travel is better than to arrive"...
As well as blatting about all over the UK on my CX`s they have also taken me on a few road trips abroad - i like to go on a Euro adventure once or twice a year,too;Germany a few times to the CX rally at Vechta, a couple of times to the Netherlands for the Dutch clubs weekend,Ireland in `08 was a good one,and i did a tour of Scotland in this year,too.
Here`s a few pics;
Arrival pics at SJK(Holland) and Vechta -`06;
The CX-Periment at Vechta 2009.
Somewhere in Ireland!
At Lelystad Airport,Netherlands.
Vechta:400 CX`s,every one different.
The CX-Periment on Dartmoor,Devon UK;
CX-periment in it`s natural environment;
Empty dwellinghouse at Imber,a deserted village on Salisbury plain.
Click here for words pics`n`vids of my 2009 Germany,Switzerland & Italy Eurotour.
Scotland `08.
Here`s the route i took on my 2300 mile trek north of the border;
The road to Applecross,Bealach na Ba,"The pass of the cattle";
Places i visited during this trip;
I set off on the Thursday morning with a list of campsites located just inside the Scottish border.
My route took me past Anthony Gormley`s Angel of the North,so having never seen it before stopped and had a look.I liked it.I also had the location of the Housesteads Roman fort on Hadrians Wall as the next place of interest but time was running out if i wanted to get my tent up in daylight.I crossed the border found my campsite in Jedburgh and set up after clocking 450miles.
On the Friday i set off again and i only had about 120 miles to the rally site so detoured to the Forth Bridge for a photo opportunity.Next,just up the road was the Falkirk Wheel - very nice piece of engineering!
Got to the rally site and met up with the usual suspects and a few other folk i`ve never met before.The usual laughs,merriment and supping of beer ensued..On the Saturday saw my first taste of `proper` Scottish scenery with a trip up `Cairn-o-Mount`.
After breakfast and packing away Sunday i left for a liesurely ride to Inverness where i was hoping to find a motorcycle dealer with a rear tyre - the one on the bike had worn very quickly and needed replacing ASAP.I took the route accross the Ladder Hills near the Cairngorm Mountains.I took the mostly single-track road on the south side of Loch Ness and took a photo right at the southern end.I carried on up the north side of the loch (amazing road!) and found a camp site just outside the city.
Monday saw me try three bike shops to locate a tyre.None had one in stock,`we can order one for tommorrow` was the best result.So i ordered a new tyre from a tyre dealer in Dingwall and decided to press on to the west coast with the dodgy tyre rather than waste a day waiting for the tyre to be delivered.
I cut accross the Highlands and headed for Ullapool,which is a lovely small port.After a fish and chip dinner it was time to climb back on the bike and tackle the part of the trip i had heard was going to be one of the best bits - the route up the west coast.It did not dissapoint,there was spectacular scenery and empty,traffic-free winding roads for mile after mile.A biking paradise! Those coarse road surfaces combined with bend after bend really take their toll on your tyres though!
Along the north the road closely follows the coast,with the sea on one side and the mountains just inland.I pressed on to try and make John-o-Groats befare dusk where i set up camp and spent the night in the (supposedly) most North-Easterly point in the UK with the sea less than 50 yards away and the beams from several lighthouses scanning the surrounding coast.I`d made it to the `top bit`.Here`s the man that lives in the little shed next to the signpost that does the photo`s!
Tuesday;got to head back to Dingwall to get my tyre fitted which should be waiting for me.On the way down the east coast road i made a short stop at a small picturesque harbour and had a chat with a couple who were on holiday.They mentioned a place where they went in previous years the road to which was spectacular,with sheer rock faces,steep gradients,a mountain pass with hairpin bends.I got them to show me on the map where this mystical place was and i decided that that was where i was heading to next - after my new tyre was fitted...
So,i got back to Dingwall,and was my tyre ready and waiting for me?........yes it was! I don`t think i could of got many more miles out of my tyre ,and i didn`t realise just how low it had worn until i removed the wheel.Dodgy......
With fresh rubber i set off westwards to APPLECROSS via the famous, twisting, single-track mountain road, rising to 626 metres (2053 feet) in the Applecross peninsula.This is the view accross the bay from the beach to Raasay and Skye,where the famous pub is located with it`s fantastic seafood menu.Sadly,i didn`t partake in the delicious offerings available,i only bought a pint and some whisky supplies and headed back to the campsite for a bowl of tomato soup and bread knocked up on my camping stove.Nice.......
Wednesday morning and i set off and aimed to get down to Argyle and find a campsite to catch the ferry to Islay the following morning.My map above is a bit wrong at this point as i used Skye as a `short cut`,used the new(ish) bridge over to the island,nipped down to the ferry port and caught my first ferry crossing from Armadale to Mallaig on the mainland.
En route i passed through Fort William,bypassed Ben Nevis,then down to Oban. Fom there down the A816 and i found a campsite eventually at,i think Muasdale.
Didn`t know what times the boat sailed but a quick check with the campsite owne`s timetable and i had 45 minutes to get back up to Kennacraig where the ferry sailed from.Made it...
A trip to Scotland must include a distillery tour,and hee`s my first view of `Mecca` from the sea - the hallowed shores of Islay with the famous Lagavulin and Laphroaig buildings right there on the shoreline - i was looking forward to this.........
As soon as i left the ferry i had a decision to make - left or right? Right of course - straight to Laphroaig! After `checking in` and sampling a cask-strength complimentary dram (strong enough to make my eyeballs sweat!) i made initial explorations in the surrounding area until it was time to return 90 minutes or so later for the distillery tour,and located other places of interest.I became aware of an itch on my leg on Islay and on removing my bike trousers it became apparent that i had picked up an unwelcome hitch-hiker.I knew you`re not supposed to just pull them out because it leaves the ticks head still embedded,but i tried it anyway,and left its head embedded.No matter,i dug it out with a razor blade when i got back home..
The tour was very interesting,and i now think i understand the distillery process! Pic pic pic pic pic pic pic.What you can`t get from reading this is the wonderful aromas wafting around the site as you walk through the various buildings..
After the tour i left to explore a bit more of the island - it didn`t take long as it`s not that big and i (again) was getting tight on time before dusk.I intended to hop over to Jura but only got as far as the ferry and the view of `The Paps of Jura`.
I turned around and back through Bowmore and on to Port Ellen again where the campsite was located - right in the dunes of the beach.Soup for tea again....
Friday morning i was back on the ferry and having landed at Kennacraig there was just enough time to blat over to the other side of Argyle to catch the ferry to Arran.Pic of the waiting room and lost luggage department....Arran looked a great island to explore,but not on this trip - no time,i used it as a `short cut` to get back to the mainland. That ferry goes to the mainland atAndrossan,and from there i blatted down the motorway to the Lake district and found another campsite for my last overnight stay.Amazingly,i`d spent 10 days in Scotland without any rain! The nearest i got to donning full wet weather gear was leaving JOG on the Tuesday morning when light misty drizzle dampened the roads early in the morning.
The lake district probably supplied some of the most memorable scenes on this journey -from the sunset on the Fri night to the mist and low cloud swirling around the peaks - it made for some dramatic views...
So,on the final leg home i popped in to Bolton to take a look at a famous Boltonians home(know who`s it is?),visited some relatives in Manchester,popped in to see a fellow CXian in Staffs,and then home.The final pic of the trip sees the bike illuminated in the sodium pallor of a dismal Berkshire motorway services car park - it seemed a long way from the glorious sights of the previous weeks adventures,but i guess it had to end sometime...........
