Really good weather
the last week, unseasonably hot and sunny – just right for riding
the bike.
The Triumph Owners
Motorcycle Club (TOMCC) had arranged a weekend rally in Kyleakin on
the Isle of Skye, a really good ride to a very scenic part of the
country. I would have gone, but the TOMCC insist that entertainment
at rallies is provided by rock/heavy metal bands, so not for me.
A group from the Glasgow section of the club had arranged to meet at Dumbarton and
ride up to the rally, so I decided to join them for part of the route
then return home. I got up on Friday morning and couldn't see across
my street due to thick fog! I hadn't got any better by the time I
left, and traffic was down to 40 mph/60km/h due to poor visibility
and I was struggling to keep my visor clear.
Just after the Erskine
Bridge I saw a couple of heavily laden bikes at the side of the road,
and as one was a Triumph Tiger, I stopped to see if they were heading
to the rally. They weren't, but asked if they were on the right road
for Loch Lomond (they were) and if there was a café
nearby. They had Lancashire accents and were shaking with the cold.
If they'd left Lancashire that morning, they would have been on the
road for 3 or 4 hours by that point. Luckily there's a service
station a couple of miles further on with a Starbucks that I could
direct them to.
I
headed on to the service station at Dumbarton, went into the café
for some coffee and waited for the others to arrive. Eventually about
20 other Triumph owners turned up and the fog had lifted a bit.
The
group headed off towards Loch Lomond and it became clear that the
Triumph Club doesn't do group riding – everyone just rode off at
their own pace and would see the others at the next stop. One rider
had gone into the shop at the services just before we left and the
others had left without them. I rode slowly to see if they would
catch me up, eventually stopping and waiting for them. From there we
had a good clear ride (fog had lifted), albeit a bit slow due to
touring coaches. Next stop was the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum where
we met with other riders.
From there we rode through Glencoe where I managed to shoot some video. As normal of these roads, I was stuck behind a touring coach driving unreasonably slowly.
I'd
completely lost sight of the other Triumph riders, some were in
front, some behind by the time I got to Ballachulish where they would
head north towards Fort William and I would head round the coast to
Oban.
I love Art Deco buildings
I
was unlocking my bike to leave when I was approached by an elderly
American tourist. He asked, incredulously 'how to you manage to ride
on these roads with so many curves? He must come from somewhere
where the roads are dead straight!
From
Oban I headed towards Lochgilphead, where I stopped for something to
eat, I'd worked in Lochgilphead at one time, but hadn't been there
for a long time.
Worked on an alarm system in this building. Think it was Social Work Department at the time
From there it was an easy ride back throught Inverary to Rest and be Thankful.
*****
The following day I did some jobs around the house and garage, then in mid afternoon I decided to go for a run. I had the scooter (Honda Forza 300) out of the garage to wash it, so went on that. Had a pleasant couple of hours riding backroads of Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, no real plan, just taking roads as they came.
I stopped at the Harelaw Dam above the village of Neilston. When I was a teenager me and my friends used to cycle here. It was mostly uphill, so it was fun freewheeling for miles on the way back! Back then it was 'the middle of nowhere', but now there's a carpark, an angling club, a trout hatchery, boats, etc. Changed days!
The road after that becomes rougher and narrower, eventually becoming little more than a farm track with grass up the middle. This showed a limitation of the scooter - its small wheels and limited travel suspension make this kind of road a bit of a challenge! On surfaced roads it's fine, but this was taking it a bit out of its depth. Once back on surfaced roads it was a pleasant ride home.
One thing today's trip showed was how good a touring bike the scooter would be. I normally only use it for commuting on a journey that is 99% motorway and dual carriageway. However, it's perfectly at home on winding country roads (as long as they are surfaced!) It has enough power to cruise at 70 mph/115 km/h, has good fuel range (150+miles/240+km), is comfortable, and has luggage carrying capacity under the saddle. You could comfortably ride one from here to the South of France and back without any problems. A single you could tour on!
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