Well, a bit of a change from the weekend's racing - a lovely sunny and warm evening greeted us as we gathered for the NBRC's club event on the Astwood circuit.  In actual fact it was the sort of evening that would have been rather pleasant to spend sitting in a pub garden sipping beer...but that was not to be as I lined up, yawning, to ride as #13 in this evening's event.We had a good turnout of 18 riders plus a tandem pair - we even had a visiting rider, Emma from Gillingham & District Wheelers, who'd enquired about the event via the NBRC website.  Emma turned out on her mountain bike.  Other notable riders included the "legendary" Karlo Porter.  I say legendary because people where he and I work keep saying "You must know Karlo", and because his club hill climb record for the Bow Brickhill course will be 20 years old next year.The light wind was enough to take the edge of my speed as I headed off towards Chicheley, but once round the corner the speed picked up substantially and before I knew it I was approaching North Crawley. I was riding without speed most of the time as the GPS kept dropping connection. By this time I was feeling a little "dry", but decided to hold off on drinking until the finish.Once through Crawley, it was the usual scramble to get back up to speed, but I felt pretty much OK other than being a bit thirsty!  The final push up the climb to the finish was really tough as I was determined to catch #12 (Darren) - unfortunately I failed!Tony took the honours, despite suffering a broken spoke on his from Zipp.  I was pretty pleased - according to Tony F.'s records, this is my fastest ride at Astwood since May 2006.

								Pos. on
Pos	No	Name	Club	Time	Cat	Vets Std	.+ / -	Vets Std
1	10	Tony Parks	NBRC	22.42	V45	26.30	.+ 3.48	4
2	19	Aaron McCaffrey	AW Cycles.co.uk	22.49	V40	25.30	.+ 2.41	6
3	15	Will Hilton	Virgin Active	23.06	S
4	13	Robert Saunders	NBRC	23.21	V50	27.33	.+4.12	2
5	16	Chris Dunwoodie	TeamMK	23.37	S
6	6	Brian Primett	NBRC	24.01	V43	26.06	.+ 2.05	7
7	12	Darren Haydon	NBRC	24.20	S
8	7	John Buchanan	TeamMK	24.58	V40	25.30	.+ 0.32	11
9	8	Trevor Hook	TeamMK	25.15	V52	27.59	.+ 2.44	5
10	14	Karlo Porter- Price	Private	25.46	V46	26.42	.+ 0.56	9
11	4	Clive Faine	TeamMK	26.12	V63	30.30	.+ 4.18	1
12	18	Richard Pratt	Beds Roads CC	26.43	V51	27.46	.+ 1.03	8
13	17	Gilbert Wheelwright	NBRC	27.26	V67	31.30	.+ 4.04	3
14	1	Alan Lawson	NBRC	28.02	V42	25.54	.- 2.08	12
15	2	Eddy Page	NBRC	28.36	S
16	9	Nick Crook	NBRC	28.41	V59	29.34	.+ 0.53	10
17	5	Emma Bradley	Gillingham & Dist. Whls.	31.38	L	MTB
DNF	3	Chris White	NBRC	Off course	L
	Tandem Event :-
	11	Kevin Stokes	TeamMK	21.21	V47
		Geoff Perry	TeamMK		V50
Time Keepers :- Steph Cousins & Tony Farmborough NBRC

Somewhat to my surprise, the other half of Team Grumpy volunteered to organise the 2010 British Time Trial Championship.  This meant of course that I felt duty bound to offer a spot of web support.  We ended up deciding to use the Team Grumpy website to host the course description and other contact information.Now riders are beginning to think about entering, Team Grumpy has swung into action to add information to the site.You can see a listing of BTTC pages.Entry forms are available on this page.You can follow website updates on Twitter or by our RSS feed.An outline of the course.

Checking the BBC weather forecast before setting off with my North Bucks Road Club team mate Tony, I was a little worried.  While the forecast was for white clouds and light showers, the wind was straight from the north and about 21-22mph.  It should also be evident from the weather icon to the left that the BBC turned out to be rather economical with the truth!As we drove over to Newmarket, Tony and I got increasingly worried about the weather.  The wind was certainly as forecast, the trees and foliage were bending alarmingly.  More bothersome were the heavy showers that were cruising along.  Some of the showers were really very heavy.  Reaching Newmarket, we found the race HQ rather more easily that in the past (cf the API-Metrow event last summer) - it was in a modern and rather swanky leisure centre.  We grabbed our numbers and waited for a particularly heavy shower to pass before going back to the car and driving over to a wide-verged lane near the start.We sat in the car while more heavy showers came over.  I got ready, but sat in the car.  At some point Tony realised that he'd forgotten a crucial bit of kit - his skin suit!  This gave him a pretty good excuse not to ride in vile conditions...  I waited in the car until the rain eased, then rode over to the start.  So - no warmup! I realised pretty quickly that my GPS unit was on the blink, so I ended up riding with only the timer and heart rate to inform me of my effort.Down the sliproad and onto the course.  I wished at this point that I knew what speed I was cruising at - it seemed fairly easy (despite pushing a very big gear) and I quickly raised my HR to respectable levels.  The outward leg clearly benefitted from the stiff wind, which was something of a diagonal tailwind.  A map of the E2/25 can be seen in my report on my previous outing on this course, the Lea Valley CC '25' on 10th April.  I reached the turn in around 25 minutes, had a bit of interference from traffic at the turn, and set out on the return leg somewhat worried about how tough it would be.In the event, the return leg was a fair bit easier, with some shelter from the wind provided by the hedgerow, particularly on the later section on the A14.  At places the broken nature of the hedgerow made for very gusty and buffeting conditions.  Overall, though, I didn't suffer particularly from rain - indeed the far end of the turn seemed bone dry.As I got closer to the finish, I became increasingly optimistic that I might pull off a decent time.  I was momentarily flummoxed by the cones up the finish sliproad as at first I couldn't see the timekeeper.  I checked my computer as I crossed the line and figured I'd done 55:29 (confirmed later in the race HQ).  This is 9 seconds faster than I did in the Lea Valley event, and this now becomes my fastest '25' since 2004, so my form continues to pick up.More to the point, what a horrible day it was - not what one would expect from mid-June!Results

Pos	No	Rider	Club	Group	Standard	TIME	+/-	std	Pos Std
1	120	Peter Balls	West Suffolk Wheelers	EA	01:07:60	50:12	+	17:47	15
2	15	Mick Hodson	St Ives CC	EA	01:06:00	51:15	+	14:45	28
3	110	Ian Cammish	Planet X	EA	01:12:43	51:26	+	21:17	9
4	105	Stuart Walker	Walsall RCC			51:36
5	60	Neil Dowie	Shorter Rochford RT	EA	01:07:30	53:15	+	14:15	29
6	75	André Dyson	St Ives CC	EA	01:11:07	53:33	+	17:33	18
7	100	Ken Platts	Cambridge CC	EA	01:15:29	53:47	+	21:41	8
8	45	Tony May	North Road CC	EA	01:12:11	54:14	+	17:57	14
9	70	Stephen Wilkins	Walsall RCC	Mids	01:12:43	54:40	+	18:03	13
10	90	Michael Wills	Hinkley CRC			54:44
11	61	Ron Keeble	34th Nomads CC	Kent	01:18:55	55:10	+	23:44	2
12	111	John Golder	Chelmer CC	EA	01:14:55	55:12	+	19:42	10
13	30	Robert Saunders	North Bucks RC			55:29
14	40	John Iszatt	API Metro - Silverhook	EA	01:11:39	55:53	+	15:45	24
15	46	Colin Bunnett	Kings Lynn CC	EA	01:20:41	55:59	+	24:41	1
16	106	Neil Colvin	7 Oaks Tri	Kent	01:12:43	56:04	+	16:38	19
17	35	Malcolm Jeffries	VC Elan	Kent	01:06:30	56:27	+	10:03	38
18	107	Carmelo Luggeri	CC Ashwell	EA	01:12:43	56:46	+	15:57	22
19	16	Clive Nye	San Fairy Ann CC	Kent	01:12:43	56:58	+	15:44	25
20	11	Geoff Bunyan	Spirit Racing			57:04
21	124	Graham Painter	Chelmer CC			57:11
22	5	Tony Boardman	Team Swift	Man & NW	01:13:16	57:24	+	15:51	23
23	80	Simon Best	North Road CC	EA	01:07:30	58:05	+	09:24	42
24	31	Christopher York	Maldon & District CC			58:17
25	87	Mike Shean	Ford CC			58:20
26	41	Ralph Richardson	Hinkley CRC	Mids	01:08:31	58:33	+	09:57	39
27	56	David Rogers	Hemel Hempstead CC	L & HC	01:12:11	58:34	+	13:36	31
28	12	Clayton Knight	Easterley RC	EA	01:10:35	58:52	+	11:43	35
28	126	Peter Thomas	West Kent RC			58:52
30	125	Simon Boyle	Stowmarket & Dist CC			58:53
31	43	Bill Broadfield	Flitch Crono	EA	01:21:53	58:54	+	22:58	5
32	67	Andrew Bright	Team Sanjan Design	EA	01:07:00	59:05	+	07:54	46
33	72	Alan Crane	Team Sanjan Design			59:09
34	12	Peter Hardiman	Maldon & District CC	EA	01:14:55	59:12	+	15:42	26
35	6	Richard Moule	Bossard Wheelers CC			59:27
36	1	Jeremy Temple	VC Elan			59:28
37	11	Michael Coulter	Gravesend CC	Kent	01:17:45	59:34	+	18:10	12
38	96	Steve Peck	Newmarket Cycling & Tri	EA	01:12:11	59:52	+	12:18	34
39	26	Peter Anderson	Kingston Wheelers	EA	01:16:03	01:00:04	+	15:59	21
40	6	Corinna Francis	Chelmer CC			01:00:12
41	17	Peter Walton	Herfordshire Wheelers	EA	01:13:49	01:00:23	+	13:25	32
42	64	Roger Selmes	Wolsey RC	EA	01:18:20	01:00:41	+	17:39	17
43	57	Andrew Gibson	Gravesend CC			01:00:51
44	58	John Parkes	Wolsey RC	EA	01:19:30	01:00:58	+	18:31	11
45	113	Brian Martin	PCA Ciclos Uno	EA	01:17:11	01:01:33	+	15:38	27
46	73	Michael Fry	Glendene CC	EA	01:10:35	01:01:38	+	08:57	44
47	29	Peter Lock	Victoria CC	EA	01:07:30	01:01:44	+	05:45	49
48	32	Geoffrey Martin	Glendene CC	EA	01:13:16	01:01:46	+	11:30	36
49	8	Ann Shuttleworth	Chelmer CC	EA	01:11:39	01:01:48	+	09:51	40
50	33	Brian Lusk	45 Road Club	EA	01:09:02	01:02:00	+	07:01	48
51	77	Stewart Kirk	CC Sudbury	EA	01:14:55	01:02:05	+	12:49	33
52	53	Dominic Whitehead	29th Wheelers CC	EA	01:11:39	01:02:10	+	09:28	41
53	38	David Mellor	Chelmer CC			01:02:48
54	2	Keith Dalton	Southend Wheelers	EA	01:12:11	01:02:55	+	09:15	43
55	102	Merv Player	Herfordshire Wheelers	EA	01:26:56	01:03:30	+	23:26	3
55	9	John Dupen (T)	Godric CC	EA	01:20:05	01:03:30	+	16:34	20
57	23	Brian Foran	Lampard RC	EA	01:11:07	01:03:32	+	07:34	47
58	118	Peter Baumber	Cambridge CC	EA	01:28:14	01:04:57	+	23:17	4
59	3	Trevor Parrish	A5 Rangers CC			01:04:59
60	18	Adrian Perkin (T)	Godric CC	EA	01:27:35	01:05:37	+	21:58	7
61	7	Angela Nye	San Fairy Ann CC	Kent	01:16:37	01:05:40	+	10:56	37
62	13	John Baines	Yorkshire RC	Yorks	01:23:44	01:06:00	+	17:43	16
63	104	Peter Horsnell	Chelmer CC	EA	01:28:54	01:06:54	+	22:00	6
64	84	Andrew Porter	Welwyn Wheelers	EA	01:10:04	01:09:09	+	00:54	54
65	36	Karl Read	North Norfolk Whlrs CC	EA	01:07:30	01:11:51	–	04:21	56
66	9	Jeanette Degiorgio	Victoria CC	EA	01:17:45	01:12:54	+	04:50	51
67	4	Bob Loader	Sydenham Wheelers	Kent	01:26:56	01:13:03	+	13:53	30
68	2	Lynda George	Maldon & District CC	EA	01:19:30	01:14:23	+	05:06	50
69	19	Ray Legg	West Suffolk Wheelers	EA	01:18:55	01:14:55	+	04:00	52
70	114	Brian Foster	Norwich ABC	EA	01:24:22	01:15:45	+	08:36	45
71	69	Phil Paffey	Chelmer CC	EA	01:11:07	01:20:47	–	09:39	55
72	3	Barbara Law	CC Sudbury	EA	01:25:00	01:21:04	+	03:56	53
	59	Chris Hutchinson	Redbridge CC	EA	01:14:55	DNF
	22	Geoff Bores	Ford CC	EA	01:13:49	DNF

Having opted out from having my medical records exposed to an astounding number of people via the NHS Summary Care Record (SCR) scheme, I'm always interested in seeing opinions on the SCR. There are a couple of open access opinion piece articles in the British Medical Journal. In the first, Mark Walport (Director of the Wellcome Trust) offers the view that the SCR will do more good than harm (Do summary care records have the potential to do more harm than good? No -- Walport).  Walport takes the view that the SCR represents an excellent opportunity to benefit medical research - I have to confess that the usage of the SCR as a research tool had escaped me, and it occurs to me that this isn't one of the original functions intended for it.  I'd also worry that this would represent a further extension of the already large group of people with access rights to the data.  As Walport says:

The primary purpose of electronic patient records is to improve patient care. As a patient I expect the following: that my records will be accurate and that I can work with my carers to improve their accuracy; that they will be treated confidentially; that they will be shared between the members of the healthcare team that collectively look after me in primary care and in hospital; and that they will provide a basis for accountability for the quality of my health care. In addition I would hope that my records could be linked to "expert systems" that would minimise the chance of treatment errors and maximise the chance of my being prescribed the best treatment.

^{Of course the expected benefits depend on quality data being entered in the system, and this is one issue that's been highlighted as a potential problem (though it's been noted that GPs and other medical practitioners make informed judgement on the information held).  As an aside, how accessible will these data be to a practitioner attending to someone who's unconscious on the roadside?  How quickly can unambiguous identification be made?In a counter opinion, Ross Anderson (Professor of Security Engineering, Cambridge University) takes an opposing view (Do summary care records have the potential to do more harm than good? Yes -- Anderson), principally taking into account the security of the data, the potential for misuse, and indeed the illegality of the means of enrolling patients into the scheme.  As one might expect, Anderson approaches the issue from a very different perspective than Walport - that of data integrity and security.  Anderson points out:}

The showstopper though is privacy. In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights decided the case I v Finland. Ms "I" was a nurse in Helsinki, and HIV positive; the systems at her hospital let her managers find out about her status, and they hounded her out of her job. The court awarded her compensation, finding that we have a right to restrict our personal health information to the clinicians involved directly in our care. Other staff must be unable to access records, not just "not allowed." In 2009, colleagues and I wrote a report for the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, examining the impact of this and other cases on UK central government systems and concluded that the summary care record had serious legal problems. With the additional data being added, it is now clearly unlawful.

There is always a great worry about "function creep" in large-scale database systems - for example, it may well be that Walport's view of the SCR as a research tool is an example - but the real issues for me are in data integrity and security.  Both relate to individual privacy, and the letter I received explaining I was in "by default", and giving a very one-sided and over-optimistic opinion of the benefits of SCR raised my ire.  That, and the hoops one has to jump through to avoid being included.  Recall that once your data are in, they are there for good.As I write this, Neil Bhatia (who maintains a website providing an opposing view of the SCR) has written a "rapid response" comment.

More (albeit relatively small scale) data losses by the NHS (NHS still rubbish at caring for data • The Register), but once again the totally toothless Information Commissioner's Office response appears to be "Don't do it again".So, does anyone really think the Summary Care Record is a good idea?  I mean other that the datacrats in the NHS...

This year's tour visited the Hebridean islands of Barra, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Skye and Mull, with a bit of mainland cycling too! I did attempt blogging as we travelled, but this was problematic due to patchy mobile broadband coverage (Vodafone). I've now updated the reports and included maps and photographs.You can access the list of reports through this link - 2010 cycle tour - or via the Cycling menu (select Cycle Tours, then select the desired tour).I'm having one or two problems with the website just now (I fear a major restructuring is imminent).  If you have problems accessing these reports, please leave a comment to this article,

The forecast for today's time trial was for "white cloud", with quite gentle winds. And so it turned out (though there was a little. The event was held on the F1/50, which covers the A1 between the Sandy and Buckden roundabouts at the southern and northern points of the course (see map at the end of this report). I was feeling a little nervous - this was the first '50' in a couple of years, and I think the first time I'd ridden the northern section of the A1 that comprises the F1 courses since the unfortunate death of a time triallist a year ago.The course heads south, starting on the minor road running parallel to the A1 - I started at a reasonably steady pace southbound, and joined the A1. Once on the A1, I settled into a pretty good rhythm, but pretty soon found I has a "masculine discomfort situation". As it turned out, I put up with this for about 30 miles - but more later. After turning at the Sandy roundabout, the northbound leg seemed a bit tougher. I passed through the Black Cat roundabout with no problems, then at about 11 miles started catching riders.At the Buckden roundabout, the course retraces to the Sandy roundabout, which comes just after the halfway point. At around 26 miles, I decided to have drink of energy drink, and shortly after was caught and passed by Ross Clarke (who eventually finished in 3rd place). Once round the Sandy turn, I stupidly tried to rearrange my skinsuit (as a consequence of the aforementioned "masculine discomfort situation"), which nearly ended in disaster when I snagged the skinsuit on the saddle and came horribly close to crashing. I imagined the headlines: "Timetriallist crashes while massaging goolies!", grinned and settled back into a rhythm. As before, the northbound leg was a little easier, and the final turn is at about 39 miles (at least on my bike computer). heading south once more, it was mostly a case of hanging in against mounting fatigue. Once across the Black cat for the final time, the going gets unexpectedly tough, particularly (and annoyingly) when in sight of the race HQ in the Stuart Memorial Hall!At last! a car parked in a layby! Surely this must be the finish. I switched the computer to show elapsed time. Unfortunately this was a false alarm, and it was the photographer on the course a second time. Rats! Had to dig deeper to keep it rolling to the real finish.As far as I can tell, this is probably my fastest '50' for some years, and after searching the CTT website, possibly since 2004, when I won the North Middx & Herts CA '50' in 1:55:35. So far this season, I've improved my times at 10, 25 and 50 miles to speeds not seen for several years. So why is this? While it's undoubtedly contributed to by the new bike (which allows me to ride in a very aero position), I like to think that the new training regime in which I train BEFORE work, rather than AFTER work (which was becoming increasingly difficult) is at least partly responsible. I've also been monitoring my turbo sessions closely, using the Polar CS600X power meter.Preliminary results:1. Brian Walker, Team Swift. 1.47.532. Antony Stapleton, Chelmer CC 1.47.55.3. Ross Clarke Team M Keynes. 1.48.064. Dave Kendall. Finsbury Park CC 1.49.04.5. Chris Birch East Street Cycles. 1.50.45.6. J Moffatt. Team Spirit. 1.51.20.7. Tim Davies, Icknield RC. 1.51.23.Then some way further down the results, me with 1:57:45
View Finsbury Park '50' 13/6/10 in a larger map

Over the last few years, I've pretty much migrated my computing usage from Windows to GNU/Linux. This has been a somewhat halting process, moving from Red Hat Linux to Mandrake, before finally settling on Ubuntu some years ago. I've found Ubuntu to be a Linux distro worth sticking with. It fills all my needs, with a diminishing number of exceptions.The most significant has been the difficulty in persuading Evolution to work reliably with my work's Exchange 2007 system for handling email and calendars.  This more or less works, but requires a vpn connection from home, and occasionally the Exchange server locks me out.  I've ended up mostly relying on Outlook Web Access, which is far from perfect.I've recently upgraded to Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

I'd entered this event before I left for our tandem cycle tour in the Highlands and Islands.  In my experience, tandem touring's reasonably good endurance training, but does damn all for one's time trialling speed.  And so it proved!A pretty good morning - warm but slightly misty.  When we got to Tempsford there was not much in the way of wind, but a very gentle breeze sprung up later, offering some return assistance from the turn.  There had been a last minute change from the F1/25 course to the F1B/25 (see map below)  It didn't do much to alleviate my suffering on the drags that characterise the southern end of the course!  From the start I felt a bit slow, as if something was dragging on the bike.  Hopefully I'll regain some speed in time for next weekend's '50'.I finished with 58:55, which was at least a minute slower than I'd have hoped for.   When I left the race HQ, the fastest time on the board was Jason Gurney's very excellent 52:51, but Ian Cammish and Sam Barker were yet to finish.  My club mate Tony Parks did a short 55.
View Hitchin Nomads '25' in a larger map

As reported over the last few days (Cyclist Alejandro Valverde banned two years for doping - USATODAY.com; Valverde suspended for two years world-wide, keeps results - Cyclingnews.com), Alejandro Valverde, aka Valv. (Piti) has been banned for two years effective 1/1/10 over the Operacion Puerto blood doping affair.  Not before time.  As I've said before, the ridiculous length of time it's taken to deal with the fallout of the Fuentes blood-doping ring has been bad for justice, not just for those who have been punished, and for those accused (mistakenly or otherwise) but for the non-dopers whose careers will have been affected by those who've doped.Of course, the Valverde supporters are now out.  Valverde's team mate Guitierrez has written an open letter (see Gutiérrez responds to Valverde ban - Cyclingnews.com) in which it would seem he takes the usual head in the sand approach to doping issues.  Let's not forget, there's DNA evidence that the blood bags labelled Valv. (Piti) did contain Valverde's blood.The bigger injustice is that the remaining cyclists involved in the Fuentes blood doping ring have not so far been punished.  And that other sports seem to have gone silent.

22 milesAn easy day, as we cycled down to the Craignure ferry terminal to return to Oban. We had shelved plans to cycle round the north of Mull, spending a second night in Tobermory partly because of the difficulty in finding accommodation, and partly because of the weather forecast. In the event, this was probably a good decision, as the cloud was very low, and for much of the morning we h drizzly showers.The first half of the day's cycling, as far as Salen, was quite tough with many climbs on singletrack road, made harder by vying with motor traffic while avoiding potholes. After Salen, the road's wider and flatter. Not much to report, with the only notable nature points being a pair of seals who took a great deal of interest watching us watching them watch us watch them...The ferry crossing to Oban is quite quick, taking only 45 minutes. Then we had to tackle the hurlyburly of Oban traffic (a bit of a shock after the last few days of relatively quiet roads) as we returned to pick up the car.
View 2010 Tour Day 9 Tobermory to Oban in a larger map

32 miles (but the hardest miles of the trip!)Today was the best weather of the trip so far, and we spent the cycling the length of Ardnamurchan. The eastern part of Ardnaurchan has some of the most glorious native broadleaf woodland - and is pretty tough cycling as the road rises and dips repeatedly from the shores of Loch Sunart. We stopped to talk to a couple of girls packing up camp to head back to Glasgow (train from Fort William), then carried on, to stop at a tearoom/wildlife centre with an RSPB person - tea and icecream, enlivened by the aerobatic antics of swallows.Shortly after, the landscape becomes quite bare, and the road climbs up - a long but steady climb that eventually descends to Kilchoan. In this section we saw numerous red deer.From Kilchoan we rode onwards to visit Ardnamurchan Point, which is the westernmost place on the mainland. This was 6 of the toughest miles of the trip, and we still had to ride back to Kilchoan! After walking up to the lighthouse, we rode back down the road a short distance and stopped to heat up some lunch. Checking our watches, we wondered whether we'd make the 15.15 ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory. In the event the ferry men saw us whizzing down to the ferry and waited for us! The crossing was terrific, warm enough to sit outdoors.Once in Tobermory, we finally found a B&B - most had no vacancies (something of a pattern on this trip). This involved cycling the loaded tandem up some of the steepest streets we've ever ridden up. After a hot shower, we wandered around Tobermory, stopping for scallops and chips and then a beer.
View 2010 Tour Day 8 - Salen to Tobermory in a larger map

40 milesAt last we woke to no rain! As we ate breakfast at the Western Isles guest house, we could look over the harbour and saw various boats and ferries. It was Sunday morning, so not much activity - though the CalMac ferry sneaked out for Armadale while we were loading up the bike. We rolled out of Mallaig along the recently upgraded Fort William road. This set the tone for much of the rest of the day, with a succession of uphill and downhill sections, but as with all new roads is a bit soulless with wide and bare verges. Accordingly, we waited until we were on the banks of Loch Ailort before we stopped for a teabreak. This part of the west coast is rather pleasant, in no small part due to the broadleaf woodland. However there's abundant house building along the lochside.A long climb took us over to Loch Moidart. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Loch Moidart, watching herons fly by, and sea kayaks in the distance.Another succession of climbs and descents took us to Acharacle, where the shop was unfortunately shut, this being Sunday! A few more miles saw us reach our destination, the Salen Hotel, on the edge of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, tomorrow's route. After a very welcome hot shower, we wandered down to the bar for a beer and to make a reservation for dinner. Then a brief wander around Salen before returning to the hotel for dinner - warm goat's cheese salad with aubergine chutney, followed by roast venison with a rather good fruity sauce. Dessert was Dutch apple crumble.
View 2010 Tour Day 7 - Mallaig to Salen in a larger map

45 milesThis was a second wet day, but not seriously so until the afternoon.  We set out from Portree shortly after 9 am, and pretty quickly got fed up with the traffic on the main road south from Portree - this road isn't very nice (except for the splendid scenery wreathed in  misty cloud) and seems to be a succession of long drags and descents, perhaps the most notable being that to the Sligachan Hotel and campsite.At Sconser we decided to evade the traffic by turning left at the golf club and quarry, taking a rickety little road round Moll.  No traffic, no rain so we stopped for a drum up.  This brought out our first midgies!  A little further on we rejoined the main road for Broadford.  The rain started up again, and about the only thing that kept us going was the sight of the prolific bluebells.  In Broadford we stopped for tea and scones, and met three mountain bikers who we'd last seen on Barra.  Also a couple planning to camp, and who seemed to have an optimistic weather forecast.On to the Coop, where we bough bananas, banana flavoured milk (at last!) and a huge bar of chocolate.  Shortly after leaving Broadford, the rain came on with a vengeance, making the 17 miles to Armadale very soggy.  Still, while parts of the new road to Armadale are a bit dull, this is made up for by the woodland in Sleat, with many many bluebells (and wild garlic).We arrived a the ferry terminal with an hour to go, and found it packed.  It turned out to be pasengers awaiting the Waverley paddles steamer, and once that had departed the waiting room was ours, along with a large number of motorcyclists dripping everywhere.We found the B&B with little difficulty, and quickly unpacked.  A hot shower and we were ready to explore Mallaig!Dinner was very good - excellent moules mariniere followed by hake with a mixed shellfish sauce and braised fennel. C had no starter and had scallops on lentils.
View 2010 Tour Day 6 - Portree to Mallaig in a larger map

A day of short mileage mostly due to the ferry times. When I woke it was still sunny, but by the time we loaded up and trundled down to the ferry terminal, it was raining quite significantly.The rain persisted on and off all day. At the start we still hoped to ride over the Quiraing, but the low cloud and rain dissuaded us.So on through the rain to Portree, along a regular double track road, which after a few days in the Outer Hebrides seemed vast and busy. Most of the B&Bs we passed seemed to have rooms available, so it came as something of a shock to find most of the B&Bs in Portree full. We did find one at last, then strolled down to the Tourist Information office to book accommodation in Mallaig for Saturday.Then to a bar for a beer or two before going to a restaurant in the harbour. We both had cullen skink for starter; I had scallops on lightly spiced lentils while C had cod mornay.Then back to the B&B.
View 2010 Tour Day 5 - Lochmaddy to Portree in a larger map

37.3 milesAfter seeing the weather forecast for today, we weren't optimistic, but after overnight rain, we awoke to another very sunny morning. After a vast and excellent breakfast, we set out to ride round North Uist anticlockwise. The biggest climbs were between Lochmaddy and the Berneray road, and even these weren't particularly tough. However, we decided after looking at the map that we wouldn't investigate Berneray, and we continued towards Solas. After a bit, vast sandy beaches came into view, and it was with some chagrin that we discovered that the batteries in the camera had run down.However, as we approached Solas we could see the familiar Coop green and sure enough there was a rather good Coop in Solas. Not only did we buy batteries, but we got a couple of bottles of chocolate milk as a substitute for banana milk.Pressing on, we paused for a drink as we eased round to the western coast of North Uist. Here B&Bs become more plentiful. It also got very much sunnier, and we were able to see St Kilda in the distance.We took a detour up the C83 Solas road to look for a standing stone indicated on our tourist map. As usual this was not signposted, but was visible from the road. Retracing back to the main road, we paused at an excellent tearoom for a cup of tea and a slice of cake (lunch still out of the question as we were still full of breakfast).At Clachan we turned towards Lochmaddy, pausing only to stop at the ruins of a chambered cairn. Once back at the hotel, we changed and popped out to buy a paper and stroll about. A highlight was a visit to an art installation in the form of a camera obscura buily inside a cairn. Then back to the hotel for beers and dinner.We are apprehensive about tomorrow's weather, and may not ride over the Quirang as originally planned. Still, we'll make it to either Portree or Broadford.
View 2010 Tour Day 4 - North Uist in a largermap

57.1 miles
Another glorious start, though we did see some rain. We left the B&B in what we felt was good time to catch the 9.25 ferry crossing from Ardmhor to Eriskay. Ofcourse, we hadn't figured on the stonking climb out of Castlebay, which had us huffing and puffing like Ivor the Engine. But not before we'd had to stop to persuade the front derailleur to shift the chain onto the small ring. Then to add further insult, the chain dropped up a gear when we were on the steepest part of the climb - I suggest this as one of the unwritten rules of cycling.
Still, we made it to the ferry with time to spare (though we did worry, and my usually cautious stoker exhorted me to not only go as fast as possible downhill, but to face down oncoming motorists on the singletrack!). The ferry crossing was very smooth, and we saw a variety ofseabirds and quite a few seals lying on rocks. Eriskay's a small island, with another beach. It's mostly famous for the wreck of the SS Politician, which was the basis of the film Whisky Galore. Apparently the wreck can still be seen at low tide. Eriskay's now connected to South Uist by a causeway.
South Uist doesn't offer much in the way of hilly roads, which was rather fortunate, as we were facing a rather stiff northwesterly wind. At around noon, we stopped to cook up some food (chili con carne and rice) on the trusty Trangia, and shortly after this, we encountered a light shower that lasted for about half an hour. This wasn't a major problem - we soon dried off!
By the time we reached Benbecula I'd acquired an irrational need for banana-flavoured milk. At Clachan (where the road to Lochmaddy splits off), there's a shop - but unfortunately no banana milk!
We rode on over a changed landscape. Rather than riding between small lochans and over causeways, we rode up over peat moors, with small lochans shining deep blue under the sunny blue skies, Finally we arrived at Lochmaddy, where we'd booked two nights in the Tigh Dearg Hotel.Lo and behold, the (very smart) room had a bath, and sfter getting cleaned up, we retired to the bar for a couple of pints and a bar meal. I had fish cakes for starters and baked langoustines on egg noodles for main course. C had fish pie, Desserts were Eton mess for me and sticky toffee pudding for C. Then to bed after watching the rather alarming weather forecasat for Thursday.It looked as though we'd be stuck indoors watching heavy rain...
View 2010 Tour Day 3 - Castlebay to Lochmaddy in alarger map

35.6 milesWe woke to beautiful sunny morning. The breakfast room looked out twards Kisimul Castle in the bay. We got set up, planning to spend the day exploring Barra and Vatersay - we took the Trangia and the bits'n'bobs for a drum up and lunch. Fortunately we also packed some extra clothing, as the temperature dropped steadily through the morning, as the cloud grew ominously (consistent with the last weather forecast we'd seen which was for light rain). We'd hoped to have a brewup on the beach at Vatersay, but contented ourselves with a stroll - something repeated during the other beach visits today!The beaches on Barra and Vatersay are nothing short of splendid, as are the dunes behind, with displays of primroses and many other flowers, though the yellow flag irises had yet to bloom.From Vatersay we retraced our path back to the B&B, then on to the main circular road round Barra. This proved delightful, if still quite cold and windy - the clouds seemed to be breaking up. We stopped occasionally to admire views and beaches, but still felt too cold for lunch. At the north of this loop, weturned north, investigating where the Ardmhor ferry terminal was, then on to the Barra airport - the landing strip is thehuge Cockle Strand beach - where we stopped for soup and tea. This was most welcome as we were pretty cold by then.Further north to Eoligarry, where we walked onto arocky beach with terrific rock pools. From there we retraced to the circular road and headed back to Castlebay, pausing occasionally to admire the views. The Cuillins in Skye were clearly visible.Back in Castlebay, we changed, had a cup of tea, then wanered into Castlebay. We photographed Kisimul Castle from a number of vantage points (apparently Castelbay was the model for Kiltoch and Kisimul for the Black Island in Tintin and the Black Island). A fabulous pint of McEwans 80/- in the Castlebay Hotel bar was followed by dinner at the Cafe Kisimul, which specialises in Indian, Italian and seafood. I had scallop pakora and spaghetti marinara (combining all the specialities, I thought) washed down with a bottle ofHebridean Breweries' Islander ale. Carol had the same starter and followed with Jaipuri prawns.Then back to the B&B.We saw loads of birds, including many we couldn't identify - skylarks, herons, hooded crows. Many starlings. Heard a cuckoo.
View 2010 Tour Day 2 - Barra in a larger map

After a staged journey via Leeds and two nights in Edinburgh (and along the way buying and replacing the tandem's chainset, we departed first thing in the morning for Oban. As per usual, we transported then tandem by car on the roof rack. The journey was pretty easy, with no delays and rather pleasant and sunny weather (but a little cooler than over the last few days).
We arrived in Oban about 3.5h before the ferry was due to depart - even after leaving the car in the tender care of Hazelbank Motors, buying tickets (Island Hopscotch tickets 15 and 21), and having coffee we ended up hanging around. Despite the brilliant sunshine, the temperature was falling by the time we queued up with a surprising number of cyclists to board the ferry. On this occasion, cyclists were boarded first.The ferry departed on schedule, and after a voyage of 4:50 that took us along the Sound of Mull (Tobermory clearly seen in the afternoon sunshine) and beyond. We arrived in Castlebay on schedule. We were a bit surprised by how cold it was as we rolled off to find our B&B (Ravenscroft).
From our window, we had a great view across the bay, with Kisimul Castle lit by rays of sunshine.
Pretty soon, though, we turned in - looking forward to exploring Barra tomorrow. But not optimistic about the weather!

So, I refurbished the transmission on the tandem before our cycling holiday, and on the evening before we're due to head north, I discover a serious problem with the chainset, and the thing needs to be replaced...the main (right hand) drive crank is seriously mangled and isn't in line with left hand crank. The granny ring also now strikes the chain stay.Cue phone conversation with the excellent Spa Cycles of Harrogate, and I've arranged to collect a Stronglight Impact tandem chainset en route to Edinburgh tomorrow.