Cycling UK Forum

I have two other options that may be of interest:
Leave car in Oban then;
1 take ferry to Mull (http://www.isle-of-mull.net), cycle around the island, plenty of wild camping opportunities, fabulous cliffs, beaches, sea eagles, fishing.

or

2 ferry hop to the smaller islands of Coll (http://www.visitcoll.co.uk) then onto Tiree (http://www.isleoftiree.com).then back to Oban. Great pub on Coll with camping, fishing, beaches, more cycling and wild camping opportunities on Tiree with RSPB reserves.

We did a similar tour a couple of years ago, there is so much to see along the way I think a week will be a blur. (and a challenge). Depends if you want to stop and see things along the way or just cover the miles.
We took the ferry from Oban to Barra and gradually moved N through Uist, Bernaray to Harris eventually to Tarbert The east coast road on Harris is very special with amazing rocky scenery and the west is sand dunes and the machair. From Tarbert we took the ferry to Uig and rode to Armadale to catch the ferry to Mallaig then the train south.
The road through Skye has been "improved" and we found it unpleasant to ride on as a lot of the traffic is very fast.
The general advice is to ride from S-N and we followed this and had a strong headwind for a week!
If you only have a week you could consider shortening the itinerary and take a ferry back to Oban from Uist. The beaches on Uist are magnificent.
The Hebridean weather is generally good in May June but it can be wet and windy, you may wish to stay at the Gaitcliffe Hostel at Howmoor, great place, or the Bernard hostel - you just turn up.
Whatever you decide you will have a great trip, the Hebrides are a fantastic place to visit.

I am thinking of touring in Myanmar next winter, probably in January; has anyone else done this and have you any advice?
Thanks

Thank you for all the comments and recommendations. I think that the Etrex 30 looks to be the choice for our trips.
Any recommendations for a mount (preferably a stem mount)?
Thanks

We are going on an extended tour through France, Germany and Austria. I have read several Garmin GPS threads on here that have mixed reviews. I have also seen the Mio GPS advertised. I have contemplated using GPS for navigation on our tour and have no interest in the training functions. We are planning to follow a Eurovelo route so would want to upload this into the GPS. We do not plan on taking other electronic devices with us as we want to escape the emails etc and not be oblige to find charging points. Can anyone recommend a model that provides reliable navigation and is easy to use or should I continue with a paper map and one less charger in my pannier?

I have done it on a rigid mtb with Marathon 1.5 tyres from Avebury to Streatley, great views if you have a clear day.
Most of it is easily rideable track but there are several short rutted sections but it I think it has improved since the winter vehicle ban. You may have to dismount occasionally to get out of a rut but otherwise it is a good ride.
My main concern is if there has been a lot of rain; apart from mud the chalk can be very slippy and treacherous to ride on when wet.

We are planning to ride this route starting St Nazaire heading west maybe to Vienna depending how we feel.
We would like too have any useful info, recommendations from anyone who has ridden the route.
thanks

Getting back into touring so looking for recommendations for rear rack to support ortlieb panniers and lightweight tent. Is steel a better bet than alu?
thanks

The original brakes where OK with 27 wheels but have minimal vertical adjustment so with 700 wheels they are less effective. I fitted a a pair of Shimano canto's to the front and they work well.

I did not know there was a difference in the amount of cable pu;; between lever types. I found a couple of pairs of 'old' style levers that I could fit but the hoods have perished. My favoured choice would be to fit a pair by Galli if I can source replacement hoods. Does anyone know where you can buy replacement hoods?
thanks.

Thanks for sharing your detailed knowledge, I am sure the will be others who will use this info when renovating old tourers.
This afternoon I found a pair of Shimano canti brakes in the garage so fitted them as a front brake to the 65mm posts and a 700 wheel (original was 27"). Had a test ride and they work well. Just need some new brake levers, tyres and a decent rack and I will be set for our tour this summer.
Anyone recommend non STI brake levers?
cheers

Pete
I measured the distance between the post; it is 65mm. For comparison I measured a newer MTB with v-brakes and the posts were 80mm apart.
Will no modern v or canti's fit the 65mm posts?

Thanks for the suggestions.
I bought the bike in 1985, it is an Orbit Gold Medal frame. I will measure the distance between the posts.

My old tourer has cantilever brakes that need replacing, there are a lot of options to choose from so looking for recommendations.
Thanks

Thanks everyone for the helpful and informative advice, particularly regarding distances, terrain and drivers. We plan to use the small roads so maybe avoid the crazy drivers.