Scotland at 45mph

[kwakbiker]

Heres a few pics, first a couple at Loch lomond as the rain eased to drizzle and no wind.....cue midges



The run in near Fort william......summed up the weather then


And finally 3 of the pics from about halfway up Nevis(basically a pan left to right using my 5mp phone camera)

[charlie264]

Great post, just stumble in here. Some fantastic photos Matt, you certainly have the eye and for someone like me who never takes any pics, thanks for sharing.

I’d like to say well done and goes to prove a point, you don’t need to spend 14k on metal panniers to enjoy the world on a bike. I have fond memories of the first bike trip myself and a friend from school did when we were 16 on 50cc’s, it was daunting to be travelling on our own, one tent two sleeping bags. At 35mph we didn’t get that far over that bank holiday weekend but it was great experience.

[Matt 82]

Originally Posted by kwakbiker

Photos

Nice pics man. Shame you didn't get the weather. I bet you get a great view from the top of Ben Nevis on a clear day. Next time when you're on your bike I'm positive you'll get some sunshine.

Originally Posted by charlie264

Great post, just stumble in here. Some fantastic photos Matt, you certainly have the eye and for someone like me who never takes any pics, thanks for sharing.

I’d like to say well done and goes to prove a point, you don’t need to spend 14k on metal panniers to enjoy the world on a bike. I have fond memories of the first bike trip myself and a friend from school did when we were 16 on 50cc’s, it was daunting to be travelling on our own, one tent two sleeping bags. At 35mph we didn’t get that far over that bank holiday weekend but it was great experience.

Thanks man. Right now I'm looking for my first big bike (I have my Mod 1 on Sunday). I'll be buying second hand so rather than getting my heart set on one bike and then finding that there's none for sale, I have a shortlist. The chances of me ever taking the bike offroad are minimal so while an Africa Twin or GS with aluminium panniers would be cool (and would look good in the photos) there's just no need right now. Not to rule it out in the future or anything but I'm likely to get a road bike. Probably a Deauville and just put up with the disdain from fellow bikers!

Your trip sounds a good one. Pity we didn't have ride reports then, as that would've made for a good read!

[kwakbiker]

Why not something like a Versys Matt, having ridden both that and a Dullville I know what Id take(and its got nowt to do with my username)......and good luck with Mod 1

[Irishrover63]

Don't rule out a maxi scoot, great mpg, just twist and go, no more gear clunking. I was on the verge of selling my Honda SH300 last week and had my heart was set on a 650 Versys, then my head ruled my heart and I thought why am I going back to bikes again when I pay £35 per year road tax, £80 fully comp insurance, I get 90 plus mpg and my top speed is around 85mph. Just didn't add up so have decided to keep it for a while. Good luck with your choice.

[Harvey Krumpet]

Great thread. I lived & rode around Scotland for 12 years & you have brought back a few memories. Thank you.

Maxi Scoots? Yup, last time I was in Scotland there were packs of European riders, mainly on Beemers & always accompanied by a few maxi's. I was particularly impressed with the comfort & weather protection they afford, far more important than outright performance most of the time. They seemed to go well too, up to the speed limit.
A smart choice for those genuinely touring in the GT sense of the word.
I also saw quite a few on the roads in Europe, it's embarrassing hanging onto your bike in full atgatt, sweating your jewels off at 90mph & a scoot comes past ridden by some dude in shorts, texting. A great leveler. Fortunately we wasted him in the twisties...

[Matt 82]

Originally Posted by kwakbiker

Why not something like a Versys Matt, having ridden both that and a Dullville I know what Id take(and its got nowt to do with my username)......and good luck with Mod 1

For a few reasons really. The Honda would be more reliable, there's a dealer/garage less than a mile away etc. Biggest one is price. I'd be looking to spend 2 grand maximum and I haven't seen any Versys going for under that. Most Deauvilles are over that too but there are a few out there within my budget. I do realise it's considered dull but then so am I by most people who know me! Plus if I buy one, I won't need to change the name of this thread.

Thanks man. I was really struggling with the U-turn and slow control. With the Marauder if I'm moving slowly and steering I tend to just put my feet down and 'walk' it. So I've no practice at that kind of thing at all since my CBT. Half an hour with my instructor in a car park had me doing them without too much issue. We'll get a few warm up attempts before the actual test as well so if I have forgotten everything already that should get me sorted again.

Originally Posted by Irishrover63

Don't rule out a maxi scoot, great mpg, just twist and go, no more gear clunking. I was on the verge of selling my Honda SH300 last week and had my heart was set on a 650 Versys, then my head ruled my heart and I thought why am I going back to bikes again when I pay £35 per year road tax, £80 fully comp insurance, I get 90 plus mpg and my top speed is around 85mph. Just didn't add up so have decided to keep it for a while. Good luck with your choice.

When I first looked into getting a bike, it was because I wanted cheap, short range transportation. Once my Dad bought his bike, I started looking at something that would be more suited to the type of day trips I'm doing now. So I moved on from the idea of a scooter and never looked back. I'm certainly not against the idea but not sure I'd want one as my only bike. Touring is my goal, so I'll go with a tourer.

Originally Posted by Harvey Krumpet

Great thread. I lived & rode around Scotland for 12 years & you have brought back a few memories. Thank you.

Maxi Scoots? Yup, last time I was in Scotland there were packs of European riders, mainly on Beemers & always accompanied by a few maxi's. I was particularly impressed with the comfort & weather protection they afford, far more important than outright performance most of the time. They seemed to go well too, up to the speed limit.
A smart choice for those genuinely touring in the GT sense of the word.
I also saw quite a few on the roads in Europe, it's embarrassing hanging onto your bike in full atgatt, sweating your jewels off at 90mph & a scoot comes past ridden by some dude in shorts, texting. A great leveler. Fortunately we wasted him in the twisties...

I'd never have thought of a scooter as a tourer. Would have thought they would have been like a fish out of water away from the city. You learn something new etc. I would still choose something more suited to touring mind you.

[Irishrover63]

My scoot is a Honda SH300 with 17 inch wheels can top 85mph is very rapid, returns 90mpg. I have heard of others who own the same on other forums that have toured Europe on these. It can do everything a bike can do and I have had a few. My next scoot will be a Yamaha T Max 500, but I will have to sacrifice on fuel economy and higher insurance.

[kwakbiker]

Fair one on the dealer comment but have you seen what the guys do with Versys' on this site Theyre bullet proof as well so if you find one then dont worry about that(same for the ER6 obviously). Nowt wrong with the deauville(besides a very clunky 'box), you go with what suits you

[Matt 82]

I was meant to be sitting my Mod 1 today. However I got a message yesterday saying that it had been cancelled. They'll phone me tomorrow and give me a new date. This is frustrating obviously. Even more so because my CBT is about to run out. If I don't get my test passed before that happens it'll be £100 wasted as I have to sit that again.

The weather here has been truly awful the last couple of weeks. The best weather we've had was today when it only rained twice in the day. I've noticed more bikers out in rain than I do normally. My guess is that they're so fed up of waiting for the sunshine that they're just heading out regardless.

Today wasn't too bad. It was bright and any rain that appeared was light and didn't last long. I decided to use my unexpected day off to visit my dear old granny. The road through to hers is dull though so I was taking the scenic route. And by scenic route I mean I was riding in the opposite direction for 2 hours then heading back.


First stop was Callander. There was a fish jumping about in the river but I wasn't lucky enough to get a photo of it. I wasn't prepared to hang about to get one either.

Callander:




After Callander but before you reach Loch Lubnaig, sits the Falls of Lenny. It's a waterfall that while not high at all, is pretty powerful. There's a stretch of road that runs along side it that I like to think of as the best 50ft of road in Scotland. You go over a small hill before swooping down to the left once you get over it. It would be an enjoyable enough stretch of road anyway, but the view you get of the waterfalls is fantastic. And for a split second it feels like you're about to fly off the road into the water. I always want to get a photo of it but it'd be quite tricky to get one due to the traffic an whatnot.

Since photos from the road were going to be tricky, I decided to go for a walk along the path that takes you right to the Waterfall. What I didn't know when I set off was that the path was officially shut. What this meant in practice was that the path had not been looked after so I'd be climbing over and under fallen trees. I'd also have to scale a fence. Not easy in biking gear. Fun though.

The barrier on the left hand side of these pictures is about elbow high, to give you an idea of scale.

The path:







I'll need to finish the rest of this tomorrow as I'm heading out the door. It's 20:40 and I thought it was 19:40 haha!. Woops.

[kwakbiker]

Had a few tests down here cancelled as well, least you got a phonecall, we had to get to the test centre to have it cancelled. Hope you get it in before the CBT runs out, had a few guys lately in your situation, good luck again

[Matt 82]

So to continue where I left off.......

I was walking down this forgotten path towards the waterfall. I was sure I had Taken a picture of the walkway but apparently I didn't.

I had to scale a fence to get a decent view of the waterfall. It was awkward as all hell. It wasn't particularly high but the bars on the fence were vertical so I had nothing to get my foot onto and it was wobbly. Plus I'm mega unfit and was wearing my biking gear.

The path on the other side of the gate was dilapidated. It was concrete and had a barrier to stop you falling in but the concrete was completely worn away in places, exposing pipes underneath the walkway. You can see a picture of it that someone else took here. I'm normally quite the goody two shoes so ignoring a 'no entry' and climbing a fence to get to an area that I'm clearly not meant to be in was fun. It felt a bit like being one of those 'urban explorer' type folk. But instead of walking about the deserted ruins of Chernobyl, I was hopping over a fence. A bit of the safety barrier was missing though so I really was risking life and limb here.

I was in two minds about the neglected walkway. On one hand, I was on my own looking at a waterfall that most people I've spoken to have never heard of. People tend to bug me. No group pf people bug me more than tourists and most of the beauty spots in Scotland have plenty of them.. So being by myself was a welcomed change.

On the other hand it's the kind of thing that could be made into a (small) attraction with only a few thousand quid being spent on a replaced safety rail and walkway/viewing platform. It's on the main road anyway so it wouldn't be infringing on the wilderness or anything. Ah well I should probably be happy there's still stuff to discover by oneself less than 50 miles from home.

The waterfall itself isn't all that impressive tbh, though it's certainly the most powerful I've seen in my time on my bike. My first thought was that it'd be cool to go down on a raft or kayak.

The Falls of Leny:
















So I hacked and climbed my way back to the bike and continued on my way.

Next stop, as it usually is, was Loch Lubnaig. The lay-bys and carparks were full so I decided to find somewhere to stop where the parking wasn't provided. This turned out to require more effort than I had hoped and I couldn't be bothered with it. So I squeezed myself into a lay-by.

I grabbed a few photos of the loch and the woods around it. I also saw something that I'd never seen before: A Jakey in a Kayak. Kayaking and other watersports are seen as activities for the posh folk. A bit like horse riding. Listening to a guy who sounds like he's crawled out of a Glasgow drug den shouting to his pals on the shore while he paddles away took a bit of getting used to. I didn't take photos of him.

Loch Lubnaig:













Since I'd need to cut across to the East to visit my gran, I took a right at Lochearnhead. The loch had that glass like quality that never fails to impress. There were also 2 fisherman that didn't take their eyes off me the entire time I was by the loch. Either they'd never seen a man on a bike before or they were fishing without a permit. Weirdos.

Loch Earn:


















From here I was heading to Alloa to visit my dear old gran. Alloa is a dump. Since I'm not familiar with the roads towards the east side of the country* I missed a few turns and got slightly lost. Rather than consult my map (I have on on my tank bag) I just kept heading down roads that looked promising. Scotland is only wee, so you can't get lost for long and before I knew it I was back on familiar roads and heading to my destination. I think the detour was my subconscious trying to delay my visit to Alloa as long as possible. Thanks, Jimminy Cricket.

* Alloa is further east than my own hometown by zero miles.

[Matt 82]

Originally Posted by kwakbiker

Had a few tests down here cancelled as well, least you got a phonecall, we had to get to the test centre to have it cancelled. Hope you get it in before the CBT runs out, had a few guys lately in your situation, good luck again

That's not good at all. If I'd travelled an hour to the test centre to find it was cancelled there would be blood spilled!

I'll be cutting it close. I don't think I'll make it tbh. I was meant to get a call from the dealer/instructor this morning to reschedule but got nothing. Several phonecalls and a visit to the shop in person got me nothing as well, as the instructors were all away out and no-one else could deal with that sort of thing apparently. So that's another day less.

[The Guru]

Originally Posted by Matt 82

That's not good at all. If I'd travelled an hour to the test centre to find it was cancelled there would be blood spilled!

I'll be cutting it close. I don't think I'll make it tbh. I was meant to get a call from the dealer/instructor this morning to reschedule but got nothing. Several phonecalls and a visit to the shop in person got me nothing as well, as the instructors were all away out and no-one else could deal with that sort of thing apparently. So that's another day less.

That dealer/instructor in Falkirk by any chance?

[Matt 82]

Originally Posted by The Guru

That dealer/instructor in Falkirk by any chance?

It is, aye. To be fair I spoke to the fella after and it turns out the other guy who was due to work that day, and could have got me sorted was ill. Things like that can't be helped.

Anyway turns out that the earliest I can get a date is 11 days after my CBT runs out so unless I get a cancellation (and maybe a small miracle) I'll need to do that again. It also meant that the guy being ill was inconsequential which makes it slightly less infuriating but more infuriating in a different way.

These things happen I guess. Will make the first ride out minus the L plates all the more sweet.