Cycling UK Forum

Keep an eye on the official NC500 website Cycling Blogs (look in the General Blog section) for some prosaic information - June 2016 blog about cycling on single track roads; July 2016 listing the cycle shops and mobile repair services along the route; Sept 2016 blog (to be posted soon) describing the first instalment (safer routes from Inverness to Garve) of Recommended NC500 Cycling Alternatives to the motoring route.

I am currently working on Recommended Alternatives for Garve to Kylesku and including information on local services including public toilets, shops etc for the October blog along the whole route, not just the alternative sections.

PS - May Bank Holiday week was seriously busy here on the west coast this year ... but the weather was glorious!! (when I say seriously busy, I speak as someone who is used to cycling on quiet Highland roads where you can go for miles and only see a few other vehicles, so 'seriously busy' to me may be quite acceptable to others!).

May/June usually has better weather but we often have a northerly airstream rather than the prevailing south westerlies so bear that in mind when planning the route. More information on the official NC500 website where I have written two NC500 cycling blogs so far; June 2016 giving road safety advice about level crossings and single track roads and August 2016 about the cycle shops and repair options on the route with some tips about the Bealach na Ba...and the next one will be detail a cyclist's NC500 route avoiding the A9. Hope this information will be useful to you! Please share to let it be more widely known that this information is out there and readily available to anyone thinking about cycling the NC500 or anywhere in the North Highlands. Thanks.

So far, I have written two NC500 cycling blogs on the official NC500 web site; June 2016 giving road safety advice about level crossings and single track roads and August 2016 about the cycle shops and repair options on the route with some tips about the Bealach na Ba...and more to come! Hope this information will be useful to you! Please share to let it be more widely known that this information is out there and readily available to anyone thinking about cycling the NC500 or anywhere in the North Highlands.

Ha! typo in my post above - the road from Contin to Garve should be winding (twisty) not windy (well it might be, but that's not unusual!)

You could also look to see if the Nigg to Cromarty ( on the Black Isle) ferry is running again this year - that would take you to within 3 miles of the Kessock bridge, cutting out the really nasty (for cyclists) part of the A9.

Lots of options and fun planning it as well as cycling it....or you could just go and explore...

I live on the west coast on the NC500 route and do a lot of road and mtn bike cycling on these roads. I also teach Bikeability locally so I have quite a lot of relevant experience here. This year, we are certain that there is more traffic on these roads; cars, cyclists and motor bikes. We have also had convoys of traffic, mostly 5-10 motorbikes or sports cars, but one recent convoy in support of Scottish independence was reported to be about 70 vehicles; I got stuck in it! So there are bound to be safety factors arising from the publicity of the NC500. Having said that, these roads are usually very quiet and safe and a pleasure to cycle, provided you like hills and don't mind some wind and weather (it is completely gorgeous this week though!). You won't find any NC500 signs but navigation is very easy, especially once you get beyond the network of minor roads out east between Tain, Inverness and Contin. A couple of pages from a road atlas will suffice to find your way beyond the minor network.

There are some sections I would avoid as they are really not suitable for cyclists.Use the more minor roads to get to get out of Inverness to Contin but then the A835 trunk road between Contin and Garve is very windy, up and down with poor sight lines and fast traffic including big lorries heading out west. I have never cycled it and wouldn't want to. For those with chunky wheels, use the good forest roads north of the river, re-joining the A road near Garve (OS map required or the local mountian biking map). The train or bike bus is an alternative. If you cycle it watch out for the level crossing at Garve and walk it as signed!! Same for the one south of Achnasheen at Balnacra - if you do cycle, weave to cross the rails at as close to 90deg as possible.

The Bealach na Ba over to Applecross and around the coast to Sheildaig is fabulous (my favourite ride). Most drivers are kind to cyclists ascending long steep climbs. Over the Bealach climb, hold your ground and try not to be intimidated by the occasional car trying to bully you out of the way. It is very narrow and gets quite steep just before the first left bend as you approach the head wall so you will be slow and wobbly and working hard - don't let cars try to force past you - there isn't room, but do use the passing places to let them pass - they are just long enough to let 2 cars past before you need to re-join the road! The descent to Applecross has some great fast sections but some blind bends as well. The cattle grid at the bottom is very smooth... Be ready for the roller-coaster of a road as you head South East around the coast back to Sheildaig - great fun on empty roads but narrow with poor sight lines when the trees are in full leaf.

Personally, I wouldn't take the A9 trunk road back from Thurso/Wick to Inverness - I would cut cross country from loch Hope, Tongue, Bettyhill or Melvich to join the A9 at Helmsdale or Lothbeg - some lovely quiet singletrack unclassified and B roads over the wild open flow country - not to be done into a strong southerly!! (The A897 may take some Dounreay commuting traffic on Sunday evenings/Monday mornings and Friday afternoons).

South of Brora, look at the map for detours to avoid the A9 if you want, but certainly use the minor road between Alness and Dingwall (and the cycle tack for chunkier bikes between Alness and Evanton) then train or the network of minor roads back to Inverness. There is also a cycle track most of the way which parallels the A835 after Dingwall and then parallels the A9 to the Kessock bridge. The A9 would be horrendous here - I certainly wouldn't cycle it!

Keep an eye on the NC500 website - there may be more for cyclist posted soon....