Hebrides 25

Anti-clock circuit of North Uist, my bike dodgy-as rear bearings, a gardening guy, chopping and wazzing things, offered to pick us up if it fell off. Massive vistas which a phone cam cannot do justice so didn’t try. Look at a map to see why even 200m hills look really impressive towering over a virtually sea level waterscape.

Drummed to bed by the Snipe.

SAT: ADHD Starlings popped, cackled, whistled and postured on the gables (very amusing). Rode to Lochboisdale (abandon hope all ye who enter here) for tomorrow’s early ferry. Failed to find a wild site flat or sheltered before Jenny booked us into a B&B (very upsetting).

SUN: Ferry back to Oban

Tips:

• Prep your map, headtorch and access to appropriate clothing for riding off the ferry before you board in Oban – when you berth in Castlebay you birth into Barradice, slapped, blinking and confused
• Nato forces book all the island accomm every odd-year from May, to fire missiles into the sea and space. Before May or even-years are quieter
• You could travel light, plenty accomm options and food shops, use google maps but be prepared to self-cater
• £100 or so in cash is handy
• A windproof top is good
• Once off the mainland we didn’t lock the bikes
• From Castlebay ride south to Bhatersaigh and camp at the start of the causeway as mentioned in pic above
• Other road users were most courteous on Barra with many wavers; on the Uists single-track main road, bikes are generally treated like any other road user and given way to if already in the single track section; in a headwind you can’t hear traffic behind so always check before leaving passing places in case you should yield, some 4×4 trucks were a bit less considerate
• Returning to Oban via the mainland and/or Skye is difficult logistically so we opted to ride back south through the Hebrides, the return view being different and even in a headwind worthwhile – you can get a ferry from Lochboisdale negating the need to ferry back to Barraigh from Eirisgeigh
• Book ahead for the Lochboisdale Ferry (36 years old) as at the time of writing passenger numbers (45) are a fraction of its actual capacity (900) due to restricted serviceable life-rafts
• Make sure your backside is already seasoned to multiple days in the saddle, cycling is the activity, despite taking light hill kit the only walking we did was a half-arsed beach stroll
• Prepare to be redefined – ‘Are you The Cyclist(s)?’
• Early island life was brutal – one writer thought workers in the field had sheets of glass in their backs, to find it was reflections from the wings of thousands of midges; children walked miles to school barefoot carying a piece of peat for the school fire; the only luxury early sod houses had was that the door faced east away from the Atlantic gales – as told in these which would be good for down-time on the trip:

Before our trip:

High pressure for the foreseeable coincided with Jenny’s Easter break so hit the Heb. Shit prep saw me riding around Oban getting meths and innertube cos i forgot at Penrith – also had to pay £25 to get my brake bled at Whinlatter because i didn’t pack the stoopid little funnel from the bleed kit.

On way to Hebrides; I ran 27km + 1,500m Skiddaw, Blencathra, Halls Fell descent with Gary and Steph Fri 4th Apr. Jenny did 45/60 miles + 2,500m of the Lakes Traverse with Emma on the Saturday, slept in van in Glenridding carpark as our hut was rammed. Ferry to Hebrides Monday 7th April.

After our trip:

Stayed at the hut Sunday night and got back wheel mostly sorted in Ghyll Cycles Ambleside Monday.

Tuesday: kack weather in west so bailed Wales for a 2 day walk to Whitby from home.