You didn’t think there wouldn’t be bicycles on this trip, eh!?!
Dick Venes, who I’ve cycled with more than a few times in various parts of the world in the last couple of decades, lives in Manchester, U.K. I contacted him some months before our trip to Scotland and wondered if he could organize a day bike ride for a small group.
And organize he did. He gathered a few others and drove up from Manchester (about a 4 hour drive) and we toured the Isle of Arran on Monday. Dick was gracious enough to bring an extra bike for me so I didn’t have to rent. Since we’re about the same height and build his bike worked wonderfully.
I brought along my pedals, helmet, and other bits of cycling gear so we made a nice day of it on Arran.
Early Monday morning we drove from downtown Scotland to Ardrossan along the coast, boarded a ferry, and sailed to Brodick on Arran. We only brought our bicycles – no sag vehicle. Consequently, we had to bring everything we needed for the day cycling trip. The weather on Arran is, shall we say, variable…
We started on the east coast of Arran, which was rather wet and rainy. Our route took us clockwise so we traveled south along the coast, then around the west side of the island, up over the northern hills, and back to Brodick. All told it was about 60 miles. The western side of the island is rather dry – and windy.
I wasn’t racing in 2010 so I wasn’t in tip-top shape, but I could keep up with the rest of the group pretty easily. I had the camera so I made sure to ride ahead of the group a bit, take some pics and then chase back on after they passed.
It was an excellent ride! We only had one mechanical – a flat tire.