Northern wanderings, new van, sunny hillsides

As I seem to be bad at regular updates this one will be covering a trip from August up the North West coast of Scotland.

Poor Vangelina, the month began with me trying to sell her to fund a bigger van in order to create another custom camper, but bigger. Vangelina must have not wanted to be moved on so easily and her gearbox bearings gave up the ghost, so selling as a camper was not an option I chose to strip out everything I had put in and part-ex her as a plain van for a bigger van. I took a risk on a high-ish mileage MWB high top Movano - henceforth called Mo Farah - and bought a big white van that is a former fire brigade mechanics van. As we had a trip up north planned I took the van to be checked over at my local garage where they informed me that it was very well looked after and has a recent new engine and a brand new turbo, so high mileage worries be gone, I am fairly confident in Farah now.

Buying a van on Monday and leaving for a big trip on Thursday was always going to be a challenge, but I do enjoy testing my limits, so I got stuck in. A half day at work on Thursday was followed by a half day of labour, stripping out the greasy ply took ages, the screws were well chewed up and the grease made everything super slippery. Luckily the grease and oil also inhibited rust, so Farah is in great condition after I spent a few hours with some heavy duty degreaser breaking my back and ruining a big pile of old towels. She is going to make a nice home. Once clean I used the same stick on insulation as in Vangelina (some of it was recycled from the old van) and put back the side panels but the floor was too greasy to use, I got some ply from a mate and chucked that in for now but it will be cut to fit soon. Another friend kindly gave me some lino that is the perfect size for the floor of the van, for now it is just chucked in, so curls up at the sides and is a bit annoying but once the ply floor is cut I will cut that to measure and seal the edges. The panels from the old van were screwed on for extra storage and insulation and all my camping kit chucked in the back, we were ready to roll, this was 3pm on Friday, so 24 hours late but only having the van for 5 days I was happy enough with that!

Adventure time… The original plan was to drive the A82 up from Glasgow, through the beautiful scenery of Glen Coe and up to near Fort William on Thursday, but having our time cut short we decided to save that for another weekend and instead hotfooted it to the A9 and took the boring but faster route straight to Ullapool to start the northern tour on Friday. Arriving in Ullapool I was hungry from all the hard labour and driving so food was first port of call, having got recommendations from my bike forum we ended up in The Ferry Boat Inn, I had a really good steak, I felt a bit bad for not having seafood in a seaside town but this soon faded when I tucked in, steak and a pint was just what I needed. Being classy, late and skint we spent the first night sleeping in the van in a car park near the supermarket. I had transferred the bed from the old van, removed the legs and chucked it on the floor of the new van with the thinking that the slightly raised slats would still offer some flex and support, I was wrong, it was like sleeping on concrete only less comforting.

Waking with sore necks and backs, I was being cursed by my better half so we freshened up and hit the road to find a nice spot for breakfast. A quiet pebble bay caught our eyes and we pulled in and unloaded the cooking kit. I love outdoor cooking and eating and this location took that to another level, we had the sea before us, it was quiet and we had a day of adventuring ahead. After filling up on breakfast and skimming some stones (I lost) we loaded the van and headed north. The road that takes you north from Ullapool is lovely, there is nothing bad to be said about the scenery in Scotland, it was a beautiful start to the day, twisting through valleys and over hills, stopping for scenic photographs and looking for interesting things to see and do. Passing a funeral I questioned if everyone from the North West of Scotland was present, I was pretty much correct, we left the main road to head to the ferry for Handa Island, a beautiful spot known for wildlife, but once we got there discovered that the ferry was closed due to the local funeral. Ah well, it was nice to see it from afar and maybe we will re-visit when we take the A82 portion of the trip later on.

Driving on north we visited Sandwood Bay, parking in the John Muir Trust car park and taking the 4km walk to the beach is a must do, just go there and do it. The walk itself is pretty nice with a few sandy bays and some typically scenic Scottish hills to entertain your eyes, but breaking out around the last corner the view is spectacular. Go there, run in the dunes, walk on the beach, climb on the rocks. I want to go back and camp there to enjoy the sunset next time. This time we had to make do with running in the dunes, walking along the beach and lying in the sand for a short while before heading back to the van to carry on north to Durness for dinner.

Durness has a campsite and we were in need of real showers so that made our decision for us, arriving far too late for a clifftop spot with the amazing view we found a quiet spot to park and made a beeline for the pub and restaurant. Walking makes me hungry and thirsty, but after being fed and watered (beered?) my energy levels plummeted and I needed sleep, lots of sleep. This time the van was not as noticeably uncomfortable, I was either getting used to it or just so tired it no longer mattered, I think it was the latter.

Plans for Sunday were the Smoo Caves and Cape Wrath since I have no idea if or when I will be this far north again and who doesn't like an excuse for a trip on a boat?! A short drive back the way we had come in to Durness is the jetty from where you catch the Cape Wrath Ferry, a little wooden boat with capacity for about ten people. We shared our boat with a few people including a couple with bikes, I felt a bit jealous of their prospective adventuring on the other side. Thankfully it was a short and smooth crossing, I don't fancy that boat in rough water! After the short boat ride there is an hour long bus across the military road to the lighthouse and cairn at the very North West of Scotland, with lovely views there and back it was a worthwhile trip. I had been hoping to see some puffins or other wildlife but aside from a few seagulls there was nothing, but the view alone is worth the trip. We had an hour to spend before the return bus ride so had a bit of exploring over the peat bogs and cliffs, took some photos and tried not to get blown away. I think that sounds a bit boring but I enjoyed it and am certainly glad I made the trip, I don't think I will go again unless it is to stay at Cape Wrath for a bit, but it was a great experience.

Deposited back on the banks after our return ferry crossing we set off back through Durness to the Smoo Caves where Colin Coventry is stubbornly digging out caves and finding some great history behind the underground waterfall. If you go you should do the tour, for £4 it is fantastic, Colin is knowledgeable and enthusiastic and creates a brilliant atmosphere, plus it looks cool and you get to go in another little boat.

Following the cave tour we headed off for food, the cafe we were recommended was closed as it was Sunday but we found a nice pub just along the road and filled up on fish and chips before continuing the trip eastwards. Lots of driving was the call of the day as we had a goal of reaching the Moray Firth as we wanted to spend Monday at Culbin Forest near Findhorn as there is a brilliant walking trail with a fantastic lookout tower with stunning views for miles. We stayed the night in the woods at Clootie Well, hoping to investigate the area in the morning. I am so glad we didn't investigate in the dark, this place was thought to possess healing qualities so people used to tie a handkerchief of a sick relative to the trees to help heal them. These days is looks like a horrible post-apocalyptic laundry yard, it was creepy!

Culbin forest was beautiful though, we hope to go back and complete more of the walks there, as it was really peaceful and isolated, but for now we did the Hill 99 Trail to leave enough time to get home and ready to get back to work on Tuesday, boo! On the way in to Culbin Forest we spotted some happy looking free range chickens so stopped on the way out and bought a dozen extra large eggs from a funky vending machine next to their fenced area, and they were very good eggs, if you're passing (and not vegan) I highly recommend buying some, happy chickens do indeed make tasty eggs!

A final stop in Nairn for fish and chips before the drive home. Sunshine, salty chips, fish and sea air, what's not to love?! Homewards... that's what... Here's to more adventures, soon I hope!

Sunshine and upgrades

My last post was just before my holiday, so I am now back from Gibraltar with some dodgy tan marks and feeling well rested. It was really hot over there which was lovely during the day as long as I did nothing but sit and read, there was no way I could have ridden my bike in that though!

This is what summer looks like

Since arriving back I sorted my tubeless issues on my hardtail, namely being in too much of a rush to ride it I put in less than half the required sealant and got a rear flat, so on returning I bought more sealant and also made a tubeless tyre inflator from a fire extinguisher. For non bike mechanic nerds tubeless is when you run bike tyres like car tyres that is with no innertube, so we use sealant (liquid latex with granules in it to seal holes) which fixes small punctures as we ride. This set up allows us to run lower pressures in the tyres which gives more grip as well as reducing the times we need to stop to repair a puncture. It's something I love but can be a pain to set up as you're dealing with a wheel, a loose tyre which want's to let the air escape and some liquid latex that want's to run onto the floor, your clothes, pets, kids, or explode into your hair if you really get it wrong (or are a badger). The main issue with tubeless is getting enough air into the tyre quickly enough to 'seat' the edge of the tyre onto the edge of the wheel, thus locking in the air. Compressors and high volume pumps can help, but I am poor so made an inflator from a fire extinguisher for £2. I pump up the extinguisher, attach a tube to the valve on the wheel and pull the trigger, dispensing the air into the tyre in one go, pop, pop, pop, tyres seats perfectly and locks itself to the rim. Job done.

Ghettotastic

Once my tyre issues were sorted I was raring to ride again, a fun day up the local hill was the order of the day on Saturday, the trails are running brilliantly, damp enough to provide loads of grip but dry enough to not need scuba gear. The new forks, wheels and cranks were spot on, I am back in love with the Hornet, phew!

Just need my stem and she's done! 

Singletrack dreams

hiya Glasgow, possibly my favourite view

With bad weather at the start of the week I bailed on my Tuesday night ride as I lost my snorkel, so last night a group of us went to Carron Valley for some fun swoopy jumping. I have had an issue here since I crashed on the runway jump section in the ice a while back, and for some reason one non-serious crash had put me off 2 small sections here so much that I would come to a complete standstill. Not last night, I stayed off the brakes and kept my focus and rode that section like I used to before the monkey jumped on my back, then went round again just to be sure. The monkey is dead, long live the runway! 

This weekend is filled with riding once again so should be a good one, aside from that I am trying to sell my self built camper to fund a bigger build of a similar design, but more suitable for the 4 day trips I seem to end up doing, would be nice to have a shower in it too.. at least for those around me! 

Vangelina, soon to go to a new home

Happy trails all! 

Home sweet home!

After 4 weekends of living in the van I was happy to have a weekend at home, time for some local riding, hot showers and my proper bed! I love my van and am planning on converting a bigger one for future biger plans, this will have a fixed double bed rather than the foldable one this van has, as much as it is useful it would be nice to have a bed that is always ready and has a proper mattress if I am using it on a more regular basis. 

Home is Glasgow and with lots of local hills we have loads of trails, we really are spoiled rotten. The Kilpatrick Hills are my most frequent local haunt now but there are some official and unofficial trails in Pollok Park which is a short pedal from my front door so I will be investigating this more, Mugdock Country Park has lots of trails hidden in the trees, Cathkin Braes is home to the Commonwealth Games tracks and Carron Valley has some nice fun hardpack trails that are a blast in all conditions. Spoiled. Aside from this super local stuff there is a load of riding within short driving distance such as the 7 Stanes Glentress and Innerleithen, Laggan Wolftrax, Cambusbarron and Dumyat near Stirling and loads more. This is why I love Scotland and why I love living in Glasgow. 

Glasgow from the Kilpatrick Hills.

Bit of love for my big bike.

The Kilpatricks squad. 

The last few weeks have been great fun off the bikes too, my other half is also an outdoorsy type but not a mountain biker so we took the van and went away for a weekend to the Knapdale Beaver trial, where they have reintroduced beavers into Scotland as a trial which ends this year. Though we didn't see any beavers we saw lots of beautiful flowers and insects and some amazing views, including taking a walk to the end of a peninsular where it felt like we were at the end of the earth, it was so isolated it was wonderful. 

Red Damselfly - one of my favourite photos I have taken.

Sheep skull. 

Me at the end of the earth. 

Getting arty. 

Bluebells in abundance. 

Us off for a wander in the woods. 

My sister graduated from Glasgow University with an honours degree in Italian and English, so she has a degree in reading and I have a degree in colouring in! I got the chance to dress up in my new suit, full three piece job with matching tie and pocket square, brilliant fun! 

My special little sister.

Suited and booted.

Zap!

As our parents were visiting I wanted them to see more of Glasgow, the bits that I like, so we took them to Pollok Park for a nice walk and to see the Highland Coos, was a lovely sunny day, typical the day after Rebecca's graduation but at least there was some nice weather during their visit. After the Park we visited the Kelpies, two massive horse head sculptures a short drive from Glasgow, they are really awesome up close, full of character, well worth seeing. 

As an eternal bike tinkerer I rarely go more than a few weeks without getting the tools out, this time I was upgrading my Dartmoor Hornet hardtail bike. The bike was originally built on a jump bike frame using parts bought in various sales and from mates, the forks were old school heavy ones bought faulty and repaired by myself. Having seen a mate selling a much lighter fork I decided I may as well upgrade the Hornet to the new trendy wheel size to match my big bike and get the forks and some new wheels too. I still need to change the white cranks but am loving the new updated stealth hornet and it weighs loads less than before. No I did not weigh it before or after, I don’t care about numbers just how it rides and it rides amazingly and feels super light now and thats what matters to me. 

I have a friend, we all have one, who is a bit nuts. Stevie comes up with mad ideas and loves making things almost as much as I do. Having just bought a shed / manacle he asked me to make him a table for it, just for general use, a coffee table really but for a shed. I made the table from the cut out left from the sink in his new kitchen installation, some tongue and groove I had lying about and some wood left from the floor braces in Stevie’s house. Whilst I made this the madman used a bucket BBQ, some canes and foil and made a DIY smoker to cook a joint of beef, chicken and ribs. For the most part it worked, the beef was well smoked and very tasty. Funny enough the support structure for the ribs being made of canes was less of a success and burned to death once the fat from the meat started to create flames. oops. Still the ribs were almost cooked so a bit longer lying on the coals and they were perfect.

Ghetto smoker.

Stevie. 

Not bad for scraps.

Table.

Cabaret. Not something I have been particularly interested in, I always thought it was for old people and cruise ships, but a night a Wild Cabaret in Glasgow last weekend was great fun. Lovely food and great acts with plenty of drinks made for a fun and different night out. I can’t say I was keen on the host but the dancers, rope guy, bendy ladies and hula hooper were all brilliant fun to watch. Gratuitous photo from the night - check out my bike bow tie! 

After work on Wednesday was my first chance to try out my new and improved bike, needing to be back for 7.30 I set off just after 6 from my front door, cycled to Pollok Park and did a couple of laps of the red and blue loops. My second lap was pretty slow as my rear tyre was starting to go flat, I had set it up tubeless but was impatient and left the dodgy old tape on and only had half the sealant I should have used, so it was my own fault. I managed to complete the last lap and get halfway home before it was really too flat to ride on so walked the last mile. The wheels were my saviour, I have never had tubeless specific wheels before, only used ghetto systems, there is no way a non-specific wheel would have held up as long as these did and even though it is now totally flat.

New and improved Hornet.

Glorious mud! 

Now I am off on holiday to Gibraltar, bye!!

Missing link 3 - the final link

Hooray, the last part of my missing month, and as I have had fewer adventures in June I should soon be up to date, guess I should start riding, partying and doing more!

After the EWS weekend the DH World Cup was visiting Fort William as it does every year, and I had a road trip with the bikes planned as I do every year. This year was my seventh in a row and it may be the last one where I dedicate my whole weekend and take holidays from work for it, or at least that was my thinking before this year, now I am not so sure.

Laggan. I love the place, I wrote about it in depth recently so I won't talk too much about the slabs and trails aside from to say they are great fun, but this time I was able to sample a bacon butty and coffee at the cafe before setting off and they were both excellent, good quality bacon, cooked fresh to order, strong coffee in a mug. Perfick. This visit was with speed demon Gael and my sister Rebecca, I sit somewhere between them in riding skill so had a great time trying to keep up with Gael / not die and helping Rebecca progress her riding. It was a great day out, the weather was spot on after a damp climb and the people we bumped in to had good chat, it was a great start to the weekend.

Rebecca and I supporting Tahnee Seagrave and Copparide at the top of the red climb.

Gael smiling on a climb?!

Rain cleared and the blue skies appeared.

Rebecca riding some Laggan slabs. 

Enduro mode. 

Following Laggan we all loaded up the car and van and headed on to Fort William for the weekend of madness. As Gael is posh she and her boyfriend had a hotel booked whilst Rebecca and I were headed to the "Wild Camping" closer to the base of the Nevis Range where we were expecting parties, music, beer and fun. Arriving at the site it looked a bit muddy, and by a bit I mean it was a mudfest, but we found a spot, pitched Rebecca's tent and had a beer whilst waiting for Gael and John to pick us up for dinner. The campsite was a bit ropey, the showers required (expensive) tokens, but at least they existed and a food van was there. Music was in a barn, but as they had provided a bar we were not allowed to take our own drinks in, this would have been fine if we had known, but we had stocked up on cans (no glass on the campsite) especially, so we were kind of excluded from the barn.

In town we tried every food venue that was open until we found somewhere with space at last, an indian restaurant, yay for food! The guys from Singletrack mag had a table by the window, yep I spotted you. The food was ok, the service was odd, but we all needed food after a day on the bikes so it was wolfed down. On our mission to find an eatery we were stopped by staff from the bookies, asking if we wanted to bet on the DH racing, it's almost as if they knew us, out of my family I am the only one who does not work in gambling, my parents and little sister all work in the industry. Once food was ordered the two of us popped down the road to part with our cash. I bet my money on Bryceland (long shot after injury but I like the lad) and Manon Carpenter along with a little side on Tahnee Seagrave to place, Rebecca bet on an Atherton double and the same side of Seagrave. Fed and watered we were kindly delivered back to camp by Gael and John, so tired we just went to bed ready for a day up the mountain.

Saturday at Fort Bill is always a bit quieter than the Sunday as lots of people travel up or ride Laggan then, just coming to the World Cup for the race finals, but I love watching Four Cross so have always come up for both days. It's a shame but the 4x is not what it used to be, it was fun to watch the last few races but nowhere near the atmosphere of previous times, with fewer Brits racing and a very low turn out for the ladies it has really lost it's place and appeal in my opinion. The weather on Saturday was horrible, wet, windy, very Scottish. We got the gondola up the hill once, it didn't feel very safe, and the cold wind up the top was horrid so we didn't even get out, just carried on round back to the start, the first World Cup where I had not walked down the mountain, bit of a shame. Watching people walking down the track, being blown about I don't think I was missing much.

With qualifying cancelled there were quite a few pro riders at a loose end, so we managed to snag photos with Gee Atherton, who agreed it was pretty grim, Team Saracen hiding in a tent and I even got a pic with Rob Warner who was happy to have been spotted, his enduro beard seems to be a good disguise it seems.

Bad weather makes for nice double rainbows. 

Rebecca got to meet one of her idols, Gee. 

Me and Gee. 

A happy and soggy me meeting a happy and soggy Warner. 

Heading back down the hill at dinner time there was a nice double rainbow over the mountains, the view from the campsite was decent, we grabbed chips from the van and had a few beers. A nice chilled evening, with a walk around the campsite to see if we could see any familiar faces, but aside from some absolute lunatics it was a fruitless endeavour and we ended back at the van and tent for an earlyish night. 

Sunday was a much nicer day, starting a bit wet but drying up and even resulting in us 'catching the sun' which is novel in Scotland. The racing was brilliant, with carnage and crashes, Rachel and Tahnee both came through for us on our bets, thanks girls! Rebecca even snagged a pair of Seagrave's special limited edition pink socks as consolation for not winning her awesome DH bike. Racing done we watched the podiums before collecting our bikes for the final run down the hill, I always love that last ride down on a Sunday, everyone is amped on the day and yelling "pedal" at me, as I am easily persuaded it does make me fly down the hill grinning, thinking I am Manon, but riding on a tarmac road, idiot. 

Camp, showers, beers, time to take a walk into town to see our mates for some drinks. It's about six miles from the camp to town so I amused myself by trying to get the trucks to honk their horns for us. Danny Macaskill, you need a better horn in your van, it's a bit squeaky! Arriving in town we ran into the promo guys for the RedBull Jeep after party and were easily persuaded by the offer of free food and free bar. Deal. Walking into the Nevis Centre it was a bit quiet so we got food and beers and found a spot to sit next to a couple of guys, one of whom was Neil Donoghue, I got a bit excited but hid it well, of course. By the end of the night we had chatted to Rachel and Gee Atherton, hung out with Fionn Griffiths (and been photobombed by her) and Siegenthaller, watched Bryceland and his mates do some bad dancing and taken far too much advantage of the free bar. What a night. Now I am torn about my plan of not going back next year, I might go up just for finals and the after party! 

Nice night for a walk.

Distillery in the sun. 

Meeting my idols. 

And being photobombed by them. 

Monday morning. Today is the day we set aside for riding the Nevis tracks. Oh dear. On the Nevis Range there are a few cross country tracks and some downhill, there is the main DH track used by the pros for the racing, which is open to the public with a few features removed, and the red dh which is still pushing the limits of my riding but a bit more achievable for us mere mortals. Shame about the free bar last night though, I was feeling ROUGH. Arriving at the car park I made a beeline for the cafe, ordered a full breakfast and black coffee and tried to resemble a human, it was a tough call. Gael and co arrived all smiles and consent forms, I duly completed my life-waiver whilst trying to hold down my bacon and eggs, drinking more coffee and wishing I had taken better advantage of the free food last night and not just the bar. 

Go time. Bikes loaded on the back we got in the gondola for the trip up the hill, yuck, not fun with a hangover, but at least the view was nice and unlike Saturday the whole thing was not swinging about in the gale force wind. Getting out of the lift at the top was pretty nice, it was cool up there with a nice breeze, the view was stunning as ever, and I had started to feel like a person at last. I hate boardwalk. Even if it is 6 inches off the ground I hate it, I like to leave riding on fences to trials riders, I like the ground beneath my wheels, not chicken wire and slippy planks. The top of the Nevis Red DH if all that though, seemingly miles of boardwalk, often with a 6ft plus drop to one side, not my favourite, and certainly not today, I was so wibbly I kept riding off the boardwalk at the top (before it gains a massive drop to one side), so I had to get off and walk / run with my poor bike until I found terra firma again.

The last time I rode this track was two years ago and it was hard but I mostly enjoyed it, this year I was hoping to slay all my demons here and shred the trail, but it was not to be. I minced it all, walked too much and generally had a mediocre day of it, I only managed two runs as I felt so awful and both of those were terrible. I blame the beer. I will go back some point this year and try again, no free bar the night before and hopefully a lot more sleep!

Next time - Beaver hunting, bike upgrades and learning curves.