Island Hopping

Another couple of outstanding weeks on a bicycle and an an adventure or two along the way. Last we left off Ty and I were waiting out a windstorm on the Outer Hebrides. Since we were both crazy enough to be cycling the island chain right into the predominant wind direction we teamed up and have spent the last couple of weeks traveling together.

The advantages of traveling with another person became immediately evident as we set out the next morning with the winds still quite strong. It was nice to have someone to share the misery of fighting the wind with. The scenery continued to be amazing with the treeless wind swept hills and ocean providing the backdrop to our ride. We did catch an amazingly lucky break when we reached the wall of hills that we needed to climb up and over. The road miraculously switchbacked so that we were perfectly aligned to have the wind push us up the hill. With my rain jacket acting as a sail I barely had to pedal as we were propelled half way up the climb.

After another day of cycling and a short ferry ride we reached a tiny island called Berneray. It is so small that you can walk around it in a day. Here we found one of the most incredible hostels I have ever stayed at. We rode our bikes along a beautiful coastline away from civilization and eventually ended up at a secluded stone cottage with a traditional thatched roof perched right on the edge of the ocean. You couldn't ask for a more perfect location. We were immediately greeted by Ian a friendly Brit who comes to stay on a regular basis. He had a basket of freshly caught crabs which he graciously shared with us. That night with a few bottles of whiskey making the rounds we listened to ghost stories while a coal fire kept us nice and toasty warm. A perfect ending to an already incredible day.

The next morning the winds returned and blew unabated all day and night. We spent the day exploring the island by foot and discovered the uninhabited western side of the island which contains miles of untouched perfect white sand beach. Another night spent staying warm while listening to the winds howl outside. Before heading to bed we packed up our gear sad to be leaving such an incredible place in the morning. When we awoke in the morning to even more ferocious winds we realized the weather had granted us the perfect excuse not to leave. As we were relaxing and enjoying some down time in the early afternoon all of the sudden something seemed not right. It took a few moments to realize that the sound of the wind had completely stopped. It was like someone had suddenly hit the Off switch. A very eerie feeling when after two days of the wind providing a constant soundtrack everything suddenly goes silent.

One more night and we awoke to a glassy ocean that 24 hours previously had been filled with angry whitecaps. We wasted no time taking advantage of the break in the weather and continued south through flat, but still beautiful landscapes. We also learned an important lesson about taking the advice of kind old ladies in Tourist Offices. We had an afternoon to kill waiting for a ferry so on her advice we headed further south to see some sites. She told us there was an old road that followed the main highway that we could ride on so we set off and found the old road. All was well at first, but then the condition of the road slowly began to deteriorate. We eventually ended up trapped by some sort of construction site and a farm fence. Not wanting to have to backtrack we unloaded all of our gear tossed it over the fence, lifted the bikes over and then climbed over ourselves. After loading back up we negotiated a steep grassy slope to finally reach the main highway. It was well worth the effort though as we visited a smoked seafood store where we bought this incredible peat smoked salmon.

The ferry took us over to Isle of Skye, an island that is so close to the mainland of Scotland that it is connected by a bridge. This is the place you constantly get told to go see when you visit Scotland. It became immediately obvious that we were back in the land of tourists as it became more common to hear North American accents than Scottish ones. After the remoteness of the Outer Hebrides where you get a friendly wave from the very few cars that do pass you the shock of buses filled with tourists and busy highway traffic detracted from the beauty of the giant mountain peaks which are the main highlight.

After taking three days to cycle down the length of the island we finally set foot back on the mainland. Since I have a couple of nagging injuries I can't seem to cure I opted to take the train to Glasgow where I am currently hanging out and resting up for my next excursion to Northern Ireland. It is strange being back in a big city, but Glasgow has a good vibe and interesting old buildings to check out. I am excited to back on the road soon with a few more stories to tell.