Highlands

I've done the NC500 on bike this week, I think the best riding roads were john o goats to Kylesku, also A949/A839 off A9. Just amazing corner after corner and barely any traffic, also blazing hot weather this week, really couldn't have had it better. Don't have anything like that in the Midlands, nothings gonna hit now.

Get out the car and wander quietly - so many places you are falling over wildlife.

Are ticks those things where massive white fibreglass beetle things attach themselves to your carpark and you can't get them off without a special tool (you aren't supposed to burn them I think???)?

Just FYI, Ticks are found all over the UK. Richmond Park in London is a fave place for them.

The difference in the Highlands is that so much of the landscape is not tarmac (like 99.9%), so there are many more per square mile.

ETA... learn how to get them out... it's not just a question of pulling. You need to twist!

Following on from GC’s advice. I’d really recommend buying a tick remover of a couple of sizes for a few quid. Tweezers don’t hack it. The remover allows you to easily twist them out with the head intact and it’s never failed me. Also, pack a magnifying glass because they can be tiny.

I remove quite a few every week.

Ticks are a real nuisance and a bit of a danger. I've been picking them off every day I've been either gardening or in the hills since the turn of the month. Tick card (like a credit card with a strategic notch cut in it) or tick twisters are your answer for easy removal. I do live in one of the worst patches of the Highlands for them though!

And just to put off some visitors to the Highlands here's a few of the locations I've had to remove ticks from patients in my day job (GP) -
ear canal
scrotum
under foreskin
labia
anal verge

Reads like a set list from the Peel Sessions. "That's the latest mix from Ear Canal, lovely bunch of lads; and now Anal Verge's newly released EP, "Under Foreskin"."

Songs are like little time capsules preserving moments and memories forever , here's the new song from tick under foreskin !

It is isn’t it! I flip between it and Tarmachan round the corner every other week or so. Both are excellent.

If Goodbrand and Ross did a better coffee I’d head up towards Corgarff / Lecht more frequently. Despite my moan, we all enjoy driving the roads around here

I am planning a two day bike trip in Scotland, sailing into and out of Cairnryan.

The route on day 1 is up the coast to Ayr, boring motorway to Glasgow, A82 as far as Alexandria, then up the East of Lough Lomond on A811 then A81 to Aberfoyle, through Dukes Pass. Then A821 and A84 to Lough Earn, and A85 back onto the A82.

When we get as far as the Green Welly Stop, would we be better to head onto Oban, via the A85, and stay there for the night.... Or would staying in Glencoe, going via the A82, be a better ride?

Day 2 is down via Lochgilphead, back up to Inverary, Tarbet, and down the West side of Lough Lomond to Glasgow. Then, if we're feeling up for the mileage, down the M74 as far as Elvanfoot, and through Galloway to Newtown Stewart, then back to Cairnryan.


I've never done a bike trip like this before, so I'd love some advise / critique. I am working my way through all the pages on this thread, so apologies if something similar has already been answered, but I would really appreciate any advice on the following concerns:

1) Mileage - day 1 is 200 miles, and day 2 is 250 miles. Is that too much to do in a day (on Scottish roads, with two guys on sports bikes)
2) Cairnryan to Glasgow - is there anyway to avoid the motorway, or is it a necessary evil to get North quickly?
3) Route from The Green Welly Stop - should we head to Oban via A85, or Glencoe via A82?