All good things come to an end and sadly my summer holiday is now just a memory. However it’s not all sad as there are so many good memories to take from it: the monster ride to Inverness, the many beach visits on Lewis, chilling out with family and board games, enjoying much fine food and drink and a beautiful ride back from Ullapool…
End of the Hols
The departure from Lewis was another opportunity for me to get back onto the bike. My lovely wife very kindly agreed to drive the family to Inverness and wait for me there.
I had been keeping an eye on the weather forecast for the past week and could see that Fri was going to be great: warm weather and dry. I had to make the most of it. Unfortunately, things were going to take a turn for the worse on Saturday which meant I did not fancy doing the onward journey by bike from Inverness to home. I decided to enjoy the ride on Friday, meet the family in the afternoon, then put the bike onto the roof of the car and drive back home on Fri evening.
When we arrived in Ullapool it was already getting warm: 9:30 am and 20C. Almost perfect conditions!
The ride out of Ullapool is simply stunning on a bike. I’ve done it once before and this was just as good if not even better than I remembered. A good tip if leaving the ferry though is to wait for all the vehicle traffic to disembark and let them all set off before starting. I stopped on the shorefront and enjoyed the scenery while taking a few photos…
For 10 miles or so the roads are gently undulating through lovely green, tree lined banks and the sea loch pokes out at you on the right hand side through any gaps. It’s a pretty good road surface too, certainly better than anything in and around our main cities.
There was one spectacular moment as I was cruising along this valley when I heard an almighty roar from behind. Seconds later a fighter jet blasted past just 100 feet above the sea, closely followed by a companion. As they banked off to the right, up and over a hill, 2 more shot past me. It was hugely impressive!
The 10 mile stretch continues in a SSW direction, after which the road turns left towards the East and heads inland. Almost immediately after turning you are hit with a bit of a monster climb. The road rises from sea level to over 1000 ft. It starts off with pretty steep gradients approaching 10% but very soon ramps up closer to a leg burning 15%. Around half way up it eases off a little but the climbing continues for about 5 miles in total. It’s really enjoyable though and definitely a challenge.
By the time I reached the top the temperature was now at 30C. Coupled with a bit of a stiff headwind I was finding my pace slowing. Also, my water bottles were being consumed at about twice the normal rate. On my ride up to Inverness I would drink one bottle approximately every 20 miles, this was now down to one every 10 miles. Thankfully after another 5 miles there is a cafe at the Aultguish Inn. They served me up a delicious cup of smooth black coffee and filled up my water bottles – with added ice!!!
From here to Inverness is another 40 miles and most of the 1000 ft already climbed needs to be lost. It meant that I could enjoy my day in the saddle in the sun and not worry too much about the headwind. Also, there was no deadline for arriving as we had agreed to stay for dinner and head back home in the evening. I arrived mid afternoon to the family relaxing in the sunshine in the garden. Having stopped I could now feel the heat so poured what remained of my water over my head. After cleaning up we spent a couple of hours chilling out before getting everything squeezed into the car for the drive home. As I loaded the bike onto the car roof, I thought the sign next to it was very appropriate…
Work Calls
The first day back at work is always hard but after 2 weeks away it can be a real struggle. Thankfully I’ve got the cycle commute at each end of the day so there is always that to look forward to. It really helps to clear the head and set you up for whatever lies in store.
Anyway, I’m now nearing the end of the first week back and glad to say that both my bike and I have survived fully intact!
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