Cycling UK Forum

matt2matt2002 wrote:I'm just back from a south to north Hebridean Way trip.
Ferry from Oban to Castlebay then Stornoway to Ullapool.
Plenty of hostels. Flat in south. Couple of big hills on Harris.
Nice scenery/ beaches.

Huh, interesting - do you think that would be more interesting (and faster, perhaps?) than the route I had planned, from Oban to Skye?

- Tim

Hi all...

Last year I intended on doing a LEJOG, at a relaxed pace. My pace was so relaxed, however, that after 3 weeks I was only at Edinburgh.

This year I'm going to continue the trip; when I had got to Lancaster last year, I had intended on going through the Lakes, but it was a bank holiday and I couldn't find a single place to stay that wasn't outrageously priced. So, instead, I veered off east and went over the Yorkshire Dales.

This year I'm going to take the train up to Lancaster and start there, see some of the Scottish islands, then cross back over and go up to Tongue, and over to JOG.

I've planned a preliminary route, and wonder if you folks think this is a good one. Some of it is what I wanted to do, some of it is what Google tells me I should do (which, despite my not liking it, seems to sometimes be a reasonably good route).

Here 'tis - what do you think? You'll need a Google account to see it (still not sure how to make it available without that)...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uOiu2 ... sp=sharing

Also, I've scheduled this to be a couple of weeks starting in mid-June; I hear that's probably the worst as far as midges are concerned. If I have plenty of repellent and a head-net, do you think it'll be bearable?

- Tim

DaveP wrote:Glad you made it Tim. IIRC that's the end of your trip. Do try to let us know which where your best bits. I for one would be quite interested in a non native impression of the Green and Pleasant
PS. I suspect you'll get away with the traffic thing, but if you do hear anymore of it, just leave the country! lots of EU drivers do exactly the same...

I posted a starter thread, which I'll add to when I have more time.

- Tim

I was asked by @DaveP to post my thoughts and impressions from my (truncated - got to Edinburgh before my time ran out) LEJOG this year.

DaveP wrote:Glad you made it Tim. IIRC that's the end of your trip. Do try to let us know which where your best bits. I for one would be quite interested in a non native impression of the Green and Pleasant
PS. I suspect you'll get away with the traffic thing, but if you do hear anymore of it, just leave the country! lots of EU drivers do exactly the same...

I shall do that, but first I'll post a link to my whole route, and then continue later - when I have time - to each segment and thoughts about each, if I have any.

My route:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=13VWdN ... sp=sharing

Obligatory starting and ending photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/dd2gEZ7Ko8CeqwZ17

https://goo.gl/photos/Rg1X14yL6bkuMWS78

- Tim

Lilyf wrote:Glad you made it safely, and in one piece!

Almost all the drivers were very good at avoiding me, and there was about a 2 or 3 foot shoulder, and I wear a rear-view eyeglass mirror, so I felt pretty safe. I have nerves of steel in such conditions

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Thanks, Paulatic

Is that actually on the A1?

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

I took the A1 most of the way to Edinburgh today (from near Bamburgh)... But then I started noticing people honking at me, and one guy leaned out of his window and gestured wildly at me.

"Could the cycling rules be different in Scotland?" I wondered.

I found a Scottish government transportation agency website and called them. With all the cars zooming past me at 80mph, it was hard to have a conversation, but I told the lady who answered about what was happening, and asked if I shouldn't be on the A1. She wasn't very helpful, though tried to connect me to someone who could help, but they weren't there.

I persevered on the road, but getting the honking and gestures. I pulled over again into a layby, and tried to find a bicycle advocacy group who might know.

While fiddling with my phone, a car pulled up next to me in the layby. I thought "maybe I can ask them".

Then a cop got out of the car. I swear, it looked like a station wagon!

I said "Hi there. Can I ask you a question? Though you're probably here because of what I'm about to ask..."

He was very friendly, and informed me that I can't ride my bike on the motorway.

"Motorway?" I said. "Isn't this an A road?"

"It is, but this section is an expressway. The A1 has an 'M' in parentheses after it."

"Where does it start being a motorway?" I asked.

"Back at Dunbar" (many miles back).

OOPS!

I hadn't seen the sign showing the charge in designation or the one saying no cycles allowed... D'oh!

I asked "Am I in trouble?" "Oh, HEAPS of trouble" he said with a smile. I felt 5 years old.

He also said they'd been getting quite a few calls about me. Not the kind of notoriety I'd really been hoping for...

Luckily, we were right next to an exit that took me to the coastal path bike route. So - after he took down my name and phone number and address and such - he escorted me to and up the exit, before tooting his horn friendily and zooming off.

Quite embarrassing.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Not everyone talks like that luckily. Met a guy 25 years ago in France who did, though. I only understood about a quarter of what he said. You'd think, traveling around Europe, he'd modify his speech so people could understand him.

Service people (restaurants, etc) here have been saying "Hiya" to me.

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Not everyone talks like that luckily. Met a guy 25 years ago in France who did, though. I only understood about a quarter of what he said. You'd think, traveling around Europe, he'd modify his speech so people could understand him.

Service people (restaurants, etc) here have been saying "Hiya" to me.

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Mick - ha! So I'm not imagining it - good to know!

Speaking of amusing encounters...
I was told that folks in Newcastle are friendly and have a good sense of humor. As soon as I left the hotel to walk to a store, while waiting for a "walk" signal, a funny old man walking with his wife said to me "Shall we rush it as a crowd, then?" (i.e. go against the "don't walk" signal). I said "Power in numbers, eh?" And he said "They'll still get ye though". Ha!

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Paulatic wrote:"Alright" It's a greeting like Hello how are you? Just shortened from "Are you all right"?,
Some dialect up north it is "Ista fit"? Or shortened to "fit"

Are you enjoying your ride, and where have you got to ?

Thanks for explaining - I was a bit confused.

I'm in Newcastle, waiting 2 days as I couldn't find much weekend accommodation on the Northumberland Coastal Path. Just going to Edinburgh and staying there a couple of days to see a friend, then back South on the train. I'll do a separate highlands tour (with accompanying whiskey tasting) in a year or two.

Bringing 50 pounds of gear, and taking the scenic route, and visiting places I was curious about, has taken its toll. I purposefully went though Exmoor and the highest parts of the Yorkshire Dales, for example. Interesting, but slow.

Vorpal wrote:People in some parts of Essex say that. It often comes out sounding a bit like 'oight' or 'wight', there. It took me a while to figure it out when I first heard it.

Yeah, it's a funny sound. I thought it might be something like Yorkshire "et'up" etc. That is, a local dialect thing. Glad it's an actual word (though slightly modified)

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

As I've been doing this ride, I've acknowledged opposite direction riders by saying "Hey!" or "Hi!"

As I've gotten more northerly, though, I've gotten back something like "Oi" or "Ight" or "Aight" or "Alright".

What exactly do you suppose they're saying? We don't say anything like "alright" to each other when passing in the states, so I'm curious about the sense of what I'm hearing.

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

I just wondered, is there some reason to prefer Dent to other Dales villages? Will I be missing something if I don't go through it?

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

I ended up going from Chester to Southport, didn't spend any time in Liverpool (took the ferry). I'm in Lancaster today, though I'd wanted to stay in Kendal. Every single place I called or checked online was fully booked - why would Kendal be full on Tuesday in June? Who ARE these layabouts??

I'm only going to be going to Edinburgh on this trip and will do the rest in the future. Fastest way would be straight there via Carlisle, but I'm thinking of heading to the Dales and maybe checking out that town you mention, Dent. Anyway, across the Dales, to Newcastle (I've never been), then to Edinburgh.

Any opinions on route from here to Edinburgh?

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.