Trigger warning: this post contains descriptions of travel plans that do NOT include a bicycle, which some readers may find upsetting (or at least shocking).
Karen and I leave for Scotland in under 48 hours. Which means we are scrambling to get everything done. Speaking for myself here, I am stressed and excited. At the moment, probably more the former. The latter will come.
I’ll be brief. Or try to.
Glasgow
We’ll be spending 4 days in Glasgow, the city of Karen’s origin. Her Aunt Ann lives there so Karen will get to spend these days being my interpreter since these Glaswegian accents are out of my range. I haven’t seen Ann for a long time, so that will be nice.
Walking the West Highland Way
Bright and early Friday morning, we will take a short train ride to Milngavie where we will start a 160 km walk to Fort William. We will average 22 km and >400 meters of elevation gain per day for seven days. A day in a car is a week on a bike, and a day on a bike is a week on your feet.
Based on our 16 km test walk two weeks ago, I can tell you that walking employs very different muscles than cycling! Yikes.
Most of our stuff will be delivered from place to place for us, so we will only need to carry what we will need along the trail day by day. Theoretically that includes clothing for all seasons as the weather in the highlands is apparently wildly unpredictable and volatile, but the forecast is looking amazing right now! Mid teens celsius (~60 fahrenheit) highs and lows above freezing. Plus more sun than I thought possible in that part of the world.
We will spend a final day together in Fort William before Karen heads back to Glasgow and a flight home. She thinks we will spend that day climbing Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK. I’m not going to suggest otherwise, publicly at least. 🤐
Riding the Highlands
The same service that will move our bags from place to place will deliver my bike to Fort William. From there, I’ve got a 1,000 km ride planned and 11 days to do it.
Annoyingly, I can’t figure out how to hide the POI markers
This route is a combination of a few existing ones:
- HT 550 – for a minute there, I had planned to *ride* this completely. Then I did some research and watched some videos, in particular an overview of the route for the racers that were doing it a few years back. In it, the presenter used descriptors like ‘brutal’, ‘it sucks’, ‘so hard’, ‘painful’ A LOT. In another video of a guy actually doing it, he went on and on about the hours long hike-a-bike sections, and eventually he just gave up and starting riding the roads instead of the *trails*. All to say, my Colombia PTSD kicked in and so I am doing only a little of this route and a very easy part at that. Call me what you will, but I do bike trips to ride my damn bike, not push it.
- NC500 – this in the same neck of the woods as the HT 550, nearly parallel in fact, but more sane. Looks lovely as long as the roads are quiet. I imagine something along the lines of the Cabot Trail ride I did some years back, but better. Short but tough mountains, rugged coastlines, sparsely populated, that kind of thing.
- An Turas Mor (the northern leg of the Great North Trail) – this is primarily an off road route, but an achievable one I think. I am most excited about this section. Remote and a little rough, which sounds perfect for me.
- The Badger Divide – an off road route between Inverness and Glasgow, has some overlap with the West Highland Way.
Some things I am looking forward to
- Sausage rolls galore and various fried things
- Doing the walk with Karen in the place she is from
- Wide open, dramatic, empty spaces
- Lots of off road riding (40%)
- Bothies (small, uninhabited, enclosed structures in remote places where anyone can stay for free) and legal wild camping
- A break from regular life
Some things I fret
- Cold and wet weather (I may get lucky?)
- >1,250 meters of climbing on average a day, plenty of it off road (hence the highlands?)
- Flying with my bike, oh how I loathe this part
May not post every day on this trip, and I expect very spotty coverage for a decent part of the ride. But we shall see.
couldn’t resist ^
Your writing is so entertaining. Looking forward to reading your tales. This sounds like a wonderful trip although I could do with not hearing about some of the bike trails. Now I have to worry for the next month. Ride safe, have a fantastic time. I’ll be sending positive weather vibes your way. Love ya, Ma
Testing 123. Let me know if you get an email saying you have a reply.
Yeehaw, my favourite people on an adventure!
Ahhhhh I’m So excited for you! This is one adventure I wish I was doing right with you. Can’t wait to read your updates. Enjoy this amazing trip.
What a Wonderful adventure for you and Karen, the walk….. then your bike ride.
When Elizabeth and Jeremy were there we visited, Martha and I drove through the Highlands, the Cairngorms are so rugged… yet beautiful.
Enjoy your travels!!
Bob Z
There’s a cycling route through the Cairngorms I looked at but it didn’t make the final cut. Maybe someday.
True on the walking. No wheels? What a notion! Over 10 years ago I took on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and even though I only hiked for two weeks, I struggled mightily. I was younger and felt in decent shape, but the wear and tear of trudging for 10 hours a day with a pack hits hard. I made some poor boot and gear choices, and wound up unable to continue due to an inflammed or strained achilles tendon. Walk lightly, friend!
😬
Love your interesting posts and great photos Chaddo. But my feet hurt just from reading along. Enjoy your next two days hiking with Karen. Love, Pop