Early March, Scotland and Gear
Early March
I have said in our book that we much prefer to travel light and stay in B&Bs or hotels than to camp.
However, our intention is to go to the north of Scotland, where the population density is quite low, and I was concerned that we might get stuck, like we nearly did in Sweden. When I looked at a possible route up the east coast of Scotland, there appeared to be quite a lot of accommodation.
The problem occurs over a few hundred kilometers down the west coast. It does appear that there is accommodation, but not a lot.
We will be away for six weeks, so as it is likely that we could have a problem for just one night; we breathed a sigh of relief and decided to leave the tent and sleeping bags at home.
A friend rang, and said that it is possible to travel by ferry between the islands off the west coast, and she seems to be right.
Check here: http://www.scotlandinfo.eu/scotland-island-hopping.
Some time ago I bought a pair of dark glasses with a two-times magnification bifocal built in. I use them for flying so I can read the instruments. I find it gives my passengers confidence.
It is a good idea on bike trips like this to wear glasses, not only for the glare but also to keep the bugs and dust out. Bicycle shops do not sell anything appropriate but I found some DeWalt glasses on Amazon.
Check here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dewalt+bifocal&x=0&y=0
They haven’t turned up yet, so I will have to wait and see. They are a lot cheaper than normal bicycle glasses, and I will be able to read a map or TomTom on my Iphone without changing glasses. That will be nice.
I use Cannondale Roam bike shoes. These are very comfortable, and have recessed cleats for walking about, so you don’t have to hobble. I need a new pair. So they have been taken off the market. I hate it when I find a product that just works and for some inexplicable reason the company that makes them decides to do something else. They deserve to go broke.