Cycling UK Forum

I have much in common agewise with Grandad. I find that taking it easy for the first 2 or 3 miles is necessary to get over the pain barrier which besets me at first starting out. Hills at this stage are really painful.After this tho' things seem to ease up and it all comes together and the speed rises to more normal (for me at least) levels. Hills which I would have difficulty with in the early stages are now romped up. I have recently been consulting a whole range of medical opinion re rheumatic conditions but none of them seem willing to commit themselves to a positive stance on this particular problem.

When I lived in Helensburgh (many years ago) we used to do this trip to Fort William pretty regularly on ancient bikes. The Black Mount was the main hill and sometimes the wind was a problem. We once had to cycle hard downhill going south at the Black Mount the wind was so strong. The main difference today is that the volume of traffic is much higher.If you are happy with that there should be no problem.

Met someone who left his car at the leisure centre for a week ok but cars have been trashed here. As someone who reads the Oban Times and passes through Oban fairly often I would prefer to bite the bullet and use Hazelbank or similar for an extended period. Most people get off with street or leisure centre parking but this cannot be guaranteed anywhere. I have stayed overnight in my van many times in Oban but surprised at the level of night time activity which wakened me often. The only time I had an attempted burglary was in Largs on the Ayrshire coast.

Hi Bob. Electricity may be the answer for some. On principle I would prefer not to use this assistance.( just cussed). In practice the distance between charging points where I lve is not really a viable option.One large nationwide business removed spare wheels from all it's vehicles and driver had to phone for assistance.Here they had to stop this as not only were there large distances between landlines there were large areas with no mobile signal either.

It is all down to luck tho' perhaps lifestyle may have some influence. So long as your health holds up you can continue cycling. I got struck with polymyalgia rheumatica at age 76. While I can still cycle it has sapped my stamina considerably and it is taking a long time to build up any strength and any distance over 20 miles on my local roads is a problem. Mind you I reckon that is about half of what I could manage on mainland flatter roads.The message is so long as you can do it go for it.I am training now for a short camping trip at age 78.Time will tell but I keep hoping for " one last year".

Oh dear seem to have posted in the wrong place! Senility is definitely setting in.

Yes but remember you are talking about a woman(probably) who will be facing you with a needle and may have difficulty finding a vein. I am always polite to them and often share a joke. It all helps in a pain free experience.

For those doing a leisurely E to E the Falls of Shin Visitor Centre near Lairg may be a food stop. This has just burned down and is no longer available at least is the short term.

The Falls of Shin Visitor Centre was a place where I often stopped for lunch. Once you got past the kilted effigy of Mohammed and the slightly upmarket tourist tat there was a rather good cafeteria. Much better (tho' slightly expensive) than one would expect. Unfortunately it has just burned down and being a wooden building there is not much left. Tourists in this area may expect this facility to be open. Be warned it is not. Hopefully it will be rebuilt but this will take some time. It is not often that one gets a real apple pie made with real apples but also served with real cream from real cows. Come back Mohammed all is forgiven.

Flock of Sand Martins near Montrose Basin on April 30th and a cuckoo on May 1st near Benderloch in Argyll.

Just got a new chain cleaning kit from Aldi. First thing on the instructions 'quickly and easily cleans bike chains- no need to dismount'. Good trick if you can manage it. Further on in no 7 it suggests using rage or paper towel to catch excess fluid. Given my decreased tolerance (I blame the medication) I can empathise with that!

Sorry that should be next month not next week.

There are to be three salings per week from Ardrossan to Campbeltown with a call at Brodick on Saturdays. This is due to start next week for a three year trial period. This to be run by Calmac.I have no other details at the moment.

I use creosote and stand the wood in a tub and brush it on frequently for a couple of days. Has certainly worked for some years now -at least 15 I think. The stuff you are not allowed to use is proper creosote of course and not the substitute stuff you get nowadays which to be fair still seems to work. I use it for stobs(fence posts) and a deer fence I had to build as well as a myriad of posts around the garden.

There is a ferry Islay to Colonsay and then on to Oban only on Wednesdays in summer.All other days bar tuesday there is a return trip to or from Oban.