Sandown to Stornoway Cycle Ride......at last. By Mike Coleran

Monday 24 September 2012

Day Fourteen

Monday September 24th 2012

Leverburgh to Stornoway

Mileage today - 58

Total mileage so far - 951

After thirty seven years in the making, and fourteen days on the road, I've finally made it! I've reached the end of my journey from the Isle of Wight to the Isle of Lewis, Sandown to Stornoway. I rode into town at about 3-30 this afternoon after a very interesting, and challenging day. Up to today, the hardest day on this ride had been the first one, from Sandown to Salisbury, due to a strong headwind all the way. I suppose it was only fitting then that I should have a headwind on the last day too! And what a headwind it was! Yesterday it was a south westerly, helping me along, but today it had turned right round and was a north easterly, doing its damnedest to stop me getting to Stornoway. Anyway, in true cycling tradition, I got my head down and dug in. It wasn't long after leaving Leverburgh that I was seeing some of the most stunning scenery of the whole trip. The white sandy beaches, blue sea, and mountain views in that area must be some of the most beautiful vistas in the world. Absolutely stunning! Photos just cannot do it justice. I couldn't linger too long though, so plodded on to Tarbot where I arrived just in time for the teas hop opening at ten. Beans on toast (two eggs on top) revitalised me for the next leg, 37 miles of rolling country to Stornoway. Those miles seemed never ending, I was making such slow progress. However, more traffic, and more houses heralded the arrival of the biggest town I had seen in some time. After checking in at the Heb Hostel I went out to check out the town. Not a great deal to see in this gritty, working town, but I did pop into McNeil's bar to toast Finlay with a (large) Glenffidic! So that's it, mission accomplished. It's been an amazing trip and has opened my eyes to some parts of Britain that I've never seen before. I've also met some interesting people along the way, some of whom have kindly donated to the BHF. The best and worst bits? Well warm, sunny days riding through the Cotswolds and Herefordshire were bliss. And today on Harris I think I've seen some of the best scenery ever. The worst was the day riding from Sanquhar to Ardrossan, over on the ferry to Arran, and then over the hills to Lochranza. Normally it would have been a pleasant ride. But with .torrential rain from start to finish, it was not very nice (that's putting it mildly!). I only got wet on one other day,and that was just for a couple of hours from Southport to Garstang. So two soakings in fourteen days wasn't too bad. Now for some thank you's. I originally set my target for collecting for the BHF at just £500. That figure was soon passed and is now well over £1000. A great big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me for this very worthwhile cause. Thank you to everyone who has been following my blog every day, I hope you have found it interesting. I know who some of you are but there are a lot who I don't know. Total hits for the fourteen days is almost 3,000. And last, but definitely not least, thank you to my lovely wife, Joanna. She supports me and puts up with me clearing off on trips like this, as well as all the days training whilst at home. It really is appreciated! Inverness tomorrow, providing the ferry isn't cancelled (strong winds forecast). I have allowed myself an extra day just in case, so if I do get to Inverness tomorrow I will have two nights there before my train home on Thursday. Oh, I did say I would get the mileage up to 1000 didn't I, well at 951 I consider that near enough! Anybody want to buy a bike?

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Please go to my Virgin Money Giving page to donate to the British Heart Foundation, and please Gift Aid if you can, it means an extra 25% from the taxman to the BHF at no extra cost to you!

My Virgin Money Giving page is at:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelColeran

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Sunday 23 September 2012

Day Thirteen

Sunday September 23rd 2012

Lochboisdale to Leverburgh, Harris

Mileage today - 62

Total mileage so far - 893

Down the pub last night a couple sat near me asked if I was on holiday. When I started telling them what I was up to, the woman said "we read about you in the paper last week!" Fame at last! The Stornoway Gazette contacted me a couple of weeks ago, they had heard about my ride and wanted to know all about it to do an article. Another couple on the next table also heard what I was saying and bought me a drink. All in all, a good night! I didn't stay late though, back to the 'bunkhouse' and another early night. You could hardly call it a bunkhouse though, I had my own very comfortable ensuite room! I was on the road at 7-30 this morning, wanting to get the sixty or so miles up to Berneray done whilst the sun was shining. There was a strong southerly wind blowing which made things nice and easy for me, it was on my back most of the way up through South Uist, Benbecula, and North Uist. These are amazing islands, so remote and windswept but with some stunning scenery. The sun was still coming up over the mountains in the first few miles, promising a good day. I was passing lots of ruined crofts, evidence of the cruel land clearances of the nineteenth century. I had intended staying at the Gatliff Trust hostel at Berneray, a preserved, thatched crafters cottage on the waters edge in an idyllic spot looking put across Harris Sound. I changed my mind and decided to get across to Harris on the 4-30 ferry instead. The weather was deteriorating, and the wind getting up stronger so I didn't want to risk tomorrow's early ferry being cancelled. Besides, the morning ferry is at 7-15am and I would have had to be up and out in the dark. Saw the first seals of the trip today, two big Grey's lounging on rocks just offshore. I booked in at the Ambothan bunkhouse, just off the ferry at Leverburgh at the southern tip of Harris. I think I made the right choice, it's a fantastic hostel, full of character, and with amazing views from the front windows. And i have got the place to myself, nobody else booked in! A good day today, something completely different, and on the ferry crossing I got talking to two cyclists who, between them, gave me £15 for the British Heart Foundation. Last day tomorrow, 60 or so miles to Stornoway.

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Please go to my Virgin Money Giving page to donate to the British Heart Foundation, and please Gift Aid if you can, it means an extra 25% from the taxman to the BHF at no extra cost to you!

My Virgin Money Giving page is at:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelColeran

Scroll down the page for older posts about my ride

Saturday 22 September 2012

Day Twelve

Saturday September 22nd 2012

Oban to Lochboisdale, South Uist.

Mileage today - 34

Total mileage so far - 831

Well, what a stroke of luck! I've just come down to the local pub and they have let me log on to their Internet.

I shared a room last night in Oban Youth Hostel with two Swedes and a Canadian, although I didn't see very much of them. After a good seafood risotto at a local Italian restaurant I had an early night. I was up, breakfasted and gone before the others surfaced. The morning was perfect for late September, clear skies but very cold, just above freezing. The ferry slipped out of port at 8-30, leaving Oban behind and heading out towards the Sound of Mull. . With Mull on the left, or should that be 'starboard'? And the mainland to the right, the views were stunning. Mull is a big island but Tobermorey was soon in sight towards the western end of the island. From there the views got even better, with first Ardnurmurchan Point, the most westerly point on the British mainland, followed by Rhum and the magnificent Isle of Skye. Then it was out to sea proper with the Outer Hebrides in the far distance never seeming to get any closer. A pod of dolphins made a brief appearance on the port side, pity I was on the starboard side at the time! I was told they only popped up a couple of times but one man with a huge lens on his camera managed to get a good shot of them. I went inside for a while and treated myself to Caledonian Macbrane's 'malt of the month', Bunnahabhain. Never even heard of it, but at £3.95 for a double it went down very well indeed and one to remember, it was loverly! Well, it was getting cooler out on deck and I needed a warmer! After docking at 1.40pm it was just a ten minute ride to the Uist Bunkhouse. I've never seen a bunkhouse like it. Own ensuite room, clean and nicely furnished for £17 a night. A quick shopping trip to the Co-op to get provisions mainly for tomorrow. I've been warned that nothing opens on Sunday's here so can't risk not getting any food! Then, finally it was a short bike ride around the area, 34 miles in total today. I always intended this as a rest day, or at least a very easy one after three hard days in a row, and that's what it has been. Weather wise it's quite breezy and a fair nit of cloud has moved in, but the sun still keeps peeping through. Got myself a curry for tea then off to the pub up the road for a couple of hours. Back tomorrow!

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Please go to my Virgin Money Giving page to donate to the British Heart Foundation, and please Gift Aid if you can, it means an extra 25% from the taxman to the BHF at no extra cost to you!

My Virgin Money Giving page is at:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelColeran

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Friday 21 September 2012

Day Eleven

Friday September 21st September 2012

Lochranza to Oban

Mileage today - 94

Total mileage so far - 797

First a P.S. to yesterday's blog. I thought things were bad getting to the ferry in Ardrossan, but things got worse on Arran! The rain was absolutely torrential and the roads flooded, a foot deep in places. It was more like sailing than cycling. It was fifteen miles from the ferry to the hostel, and I knew there was a bit of a hill to go over. In the last four miles there was a mountain in the way, another Kirkstone Pass! Was I glad when I had made it to the hostel and got myself a hot shower.

If yesterday was cycling hell, today was definitely cycling heaven! Wow, what a day! From the start it was wall to wall sunshine. The short sail over to Kintyre was fantastic, and I shared the ferry with an Italian couple, just the three of us! The first ten miles to Tarbert were very scenic, but also very cold - gloves on, and almost every other bit of clothing that I had with me. A welcome bacon bitty at Tarbert set me up for the rest of the day. I had originally intended following the main road to Oban, but it was such a beautiful day I chose to follow the National Cycling Network route 78, quite a bit longer that my plan but I was steaming along and, despite lots of hills, I was making good time. A good flat stretch was along the Crinan Canal, a lovely scenic route from Loch Fyne to the sea. From there on it was hilly country keeping quite a way inland, but with occasional stunning vistas of the sea and the islands. Getting closer to Oban, Ben Nevis came into view as I soared down the final hills toward the sea. The heavy traffic of Oban came as a bit of a shock after so many miles of almost deserted lanes, but I was soon checked in at the hostel, showered, and now off for some grub! A five hour ferry tomorrow to South Uist, so a bit of a rest day.

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Please go to my Virgin Money Giving page to donate to the British Heart Foundation, and please Gift Aid if you can, it means an extra 25% from the taxman to the BHF at no extra cost to you!

My Virgin Money Giving page is at:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelColeran

Scroll down the page for older posts about my ride

Thursday 20 September 2012

Day Ten

Thursday September 20th 2012

Sanqhar to Lochranza

Mileage today - 67

Total mileage so far - 703

I doubt if I will get any wifi reception on Arran tonight so I am doing this blog whilst waiting for the ferry in Ardrossan. They say you have to take the rough with the smooth don't they? Well, today has been the rough! Setting off at 7 o'clock this morning to avoid heavy traffic on the ten miles of A road that I to get along, the rain was very light and bearable. As the morning went on it got heavier and heavier. Leaving the main road I headed to the hills. Not massive hills but very much like the Pennines around Teesdale. Driving rain riding over hills like that is no pleasure at all, but they had to be done, and done they were! I eventually made it without a stop to Irvine and a nice warm cafe to warm up in. Back out into the rain and it was only another nine miles to Ardrossan, along a nice, traffic free cycle path. The forecast said it was going to be bad today so it came as no surprise. I'm hoping the forecast for better weather over the next few days is correct. The ferry leaves at 3-15, Just over an hour off. Then it's a fourteen mile ride to Lochranza and the nice, warm Youth Hostel for this oldest youth in town.
The camera has not been out today due to the weather, but if it fines up on the ferry trip over, I will put some photos on tomorrow - or even tonight if I do get wifi over there.

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Please go to my Virgin Money Giving page to donate to the British Heart Foundation, and please Gift Aid if you can, it means an extra 25% from the taxman to the BHF at no extra cost to you!

My Virgin Money Giving page is at:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelColeran

Scroll down the page for older posts about my ride

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Day Nine

Wednesday September 19th 2012

Carlisle to Sanquhar

Mileage today - 86

Total mileage so far - 636

Last night's b&b was the best yet, absolutely unbeatable! After a top breakfast, and a £10 donation from the owners, Joanna set off for home whilst I set off to do battle with the Carlisle traffic. I needn't have worried, it was an easy twenty minutes through the city and out the other side. Riding alongside the motorway for a few miles I was soon in Gretna, resisting the temptation to go to the tacky blacksmith shop. Once out of Gretna I was riding into a very strong headwind that was to stay with me for the rest of the day
all the way around the Solway coastline and up to Dumfries and beyond. I stopped for an hour in Dumfries to get a bite to eat. Whilst there I thought I should go and see Robbie Burns' grave, but after asking three locals and a scouser, I gave up - not one of them knew where it was! I had to make do with his statue instead. After a very brief spell on the A76, it was all beautiful, deserted country lanes for the thirty or so miles up to tonight's stop at Sanquhar. This part of Scotland is so quiet and scenic. It doesn't have the grandeur of the Highlands, but on a sunny day like today it is idyllic . I stumbled across the old smithy that was owned by Kirkpatrick McMillan, all cyclists will know who that is won't you?.... Of course you do....he invented the pedal cycle! A few miles further on at the village of Penpont, I stumbled on something even better, a cafe! A good pot of tea and a generous slice of chocolate cake, for the princely sum of just £2-35! I like Scotland! Just been out in Sanquhar to see the sights - an ancient tollbooth and the oldest post office in the world. Trouble is the Post Office pulled out, it's no longer a post office! It' been a long day, more miles that planned but, apart from that headwind, it's been great! Time for some grub!