“Oh Jean” Hebridean Way 2022 Day 1 - A very long way with Jean & Frankie!
Well after a 5 year hiatus, it’s back! Between us, Covid, a hip replacement, illness and general apathy has stopped the world tour of the now late middle aged mens get together in a far flung place to wheeze up hills, cock about and generally mess up the scenic pictures! I had devised the route across to the Outer Hebrides and along the Hebridean Way after watching a Mark Beaumont film (fastest man to cycle round the world) in 2018 when he did it in 1 day. Obviously bollocks to that, but a pleasant route taking 3 days was devised and planned to take place in 2019. Frankie then decided to not like his first hip replacement very much, or liked it so much he had it done again ( I forget which it was…) scuppering that. We all know what happened in 2020, and in 2021 it was my turn to be old when the old Colitis decided to return with a vengeance. One new hip and me now full of mouse hormones, at last 2022 would be the time to get it done!
Along with me and Frankie, you’ll be unsurprised to find my old foe Declan has come along for the beating, I mean ride ( more of this presently) and with Kieran taking it so seriously he quit his job to come, there was a perfect 4 to share the load and accommodation costs. Disappointingly Conleth decided that teaching the next generation of our nurses is more important than pissing about for a week or at least that’s his version, the reality is that the UCI have now banned his famous “red bag” or battery pack as we like to call it, and the race for the King of the mountains is well and truly open!
The first challenge is obviously getting there and planning how to get back. We’ll come to getting back in the days to come, but it made sense for Kieran and Dec to get the train up to Oban, with me and Frankie driving up. With the big car going back to the lease company this week, it was obvious that Jean would have to step into the breech. A quick service of both the bike and Jean on Saturday and Making sure I could get to bikes in the back by taking the rear seat out and breaking them into their constituent parts, it was off to Frankie’s at 7.05am with a small matter of 360 miles ahead of us. At a similar time Kieran was setting of from Brighton on the train and the first race of the trip was on! To steal Dec’s joke, who would win between a clapped out 20th century mode of transport and a 2CV?!
Picking Frankie up at 8.30 we were locked and loaded and on the road for 9, Kieran & Dec waiting for the 10.19 from Euston to Glasgow. In what is bound to be a similar story for the rest of the week (!) it wasn’t even close. Stopping at Carlisle for petrol, charging through to Glasgow by 2pm there was time for a coffee and to take the roof of as the weather had brightened up, and there was even time for a bit of showboating, taking the long way to Oban over the beautiful A83 and Rest & Be Thankful pass. By 4.30 we were pulling into Oban while Dec and KC had decided that the 2 hour wait for the train to Oban would be better spent cycling out to have a look at Parkhead!
I just need to know point out that Dec has pulled a psychological blinder on the trip by coming on his Brompton! ( for those of you that don’t know, it’s the bikes you can fold up, I use mine loads but it’s not the quickest of bikes!) I now cannot win. If I trash him on each stage, it’s because he’s on his little bike and it’s unfair, and if he wins, even once, I can never show my face in public ever again…personally I think it’s a sign of weakness as he knows he’d get spanked…However with Kieran and Frankie both showing form, it’s anyones race!
Anyway with the bags in the rooms (very small doubles, there will be some Eric and Ernie action later) and the bikes assembled (a nervy 10 mins for me as I’d lost a spacer on the back wheel and couldn’t work out why the wheel was catching) me and Frankie took Jean to the beech for a paddle and a few photos in the harbour, drove back to the B&B and walked into town for our tea. The View had a very nice view and the food was adequate, made more palatable by dining opposite Weird Al Jankovic and the Dundee United Captain but a lovely post meal stroll up to McCaig’s tower, the folly on the hill, gave us a spectacular sunset while we waited for the other 2 to roll into Oban train station 14 hours after they set off! With time for a quick pint in the Oban Arms with the most officious barman I’ve ever met combined with the worst pub singer I’ve ever heard, it was back to the B&B to prep for tomorrow. I’ll tell you what though Oban in the sunshine is something to behold…
I know it’s been a whole day already, but we’ve pretty much got another one tomorrow before we really get going.on Tuesday as the ferry doesn’t go until 1pm. We might have a spin out in the morning, I’ve a 20 mile route planned but KC isn’t keen. We’ll see! It also looks a bit windy tomorrow so we might be seeing our £7 B&B breakfast at some time in the afternoon! Anyway whatever, we’ll be in the Outer Hebrides tomorrow!
Comments
Post a Comment