I've written up an account of our 2011 cycle touring escapade, though really (as far as cycle touring goes) it was a bit unsatisfactory. The initial aim of touring the very north of Scotland came apart quickly when the tandem's freehub body shattered a few miles north of Scourie.
These photos were taken during our 2005 cycle tour of Uist, Harris and Skye. Visit the tour description to see the context of these images.
The first day of our tour began sunny and bright, though a little cool at first. We left Tayport at about 8.30 am. Because this was the first day riding with full panniers, we decided to detour via St Michael’s crossroads, for a bit of bike practice, which turned out to be a good idea. Unfortunately the roads were quite busy at times as rush hour approached. Rather than traverse Dundee’s new traffic system, after crossing the Tay Bridge, we headed out along Riverside, and out through Invergowrie, Kingoodie and Longforgan, where we crossed the main A90 at the Longforgan underpass.
In 2006, we decided to have as change from touring, and rented a cottage in Lochcarron (View Map) on the west coast of Scotland, taking the tandem and one of my solo bikes. A chief attraction (for me, at least) was that the famous climb over to Applecross (Bealach-na-Ba) was a short ride away. This worked out more social, as our friends Will and Cath were staying within reasonable range for a walking trip. Additionally, the weather turned out on some days to be completely disgraceful!
Stage 1: Tuesday 27th May Ullapool to Lochinver
Stage 2: Wednesday 28th May Lochinver to Durness
Stage 3: Thursday 29th May Durness to Altnaharra
Stage 4: Friday 30th May Altnaharra to Ullapool
Stage 5: Saturday 31st May Drumbeg coastal circuit
Stage 6: Sunday 1st June Ullapool to Poolewe
Stage 7: Monday 2nd June Poolewe to Shieldaig