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Magic Circle Ride
Deserted single-track roads, two ferries, and the second
largest Hebridean island. A
superb sixty-three mile circular road ride through Ardnamurchan, Mull and
Morvern. I may
have done this ride the wrong way around. Of course I wasnÕt sitting on the handlebars and steering
with the saddle, itÕs just that I canÕt decide whether itÕs best to tackle
this ride clock-wise or anti-clock-wise. But I wonÕt waste much time wondering which is best because,
regardless of direction, with two different ferry crossings, this is simply
one of the best day cycles IÕve done.
STRONTIAN-SALEN 10ml
Just
after 8am Easter Saturday I sped down the hill from my girlfriends house and
onto the main road from Strontian to Acharacle. For a change IÕd borrowed her Specialised road bike,
rather than use my Dawes Super Galaxy touring bike, and the rough road made
me wonder whether the slender tyres would be up to the task. Despite the forecast, there was a
slight frost on the ground, and I stopped to pull on my gloves against the
morning chill. Almost
all of this route is single-track road, with passing places, so the run to
Salen gets you used to the protocol.
Rarely do you have to pull over on a bike, as most roads are wide
enough for cars to pass in either direction. However, by riding a commanding line (i.e. not in the
gutter) you force them to slow down so the air blast doesnÕt knock you from
your bike. When I
want to spend a couple of hours pushing pedals I like to ride along Loch
Sunart to Acharacle and back, so IÕve come to know this road well. There are a couple of hills, but
nothing sustained and nothing too steep. ItÕs just enough to get the legs and lungs working
again. For the
first time this year, there were tents and touring caravans staying at the
campsite at Resipol. The tourist
season had clearly started.
However, it was still too early in the day for holidaymakers to be on
the road, and while several cars came towards me, nothing overtook me for the
whole of the first forty-five minutes, and I turned into Salen in time to see
the guests at the Inn enjoying breakfast in the conservatory. SALEN-KILCHOAN 18ml
As
single-track roads go, this one is wonderful. Loch Sunart takes a southward bend at Salen, and this
route does the same, undulating and winding close to the loch all the way to
Glenborrodale. ThereÕs an
excellent cafˇ in the Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre, and I arrived just
as they were opening up. The sun
did too, so I sat outside with my tea and enjoyed the warmth outside and in.
IÕd
decided to ride the route this way around, because I wasnÕt sure how far IÕd
manage. Liz had planned to take
her nephew Chris, who was visiting us, out to Ardnamurchan point and to Sanna
bay. So weÕd arranged that, if I
could pedal no further than Kilchoan I could ride back with them. If, however, I was feeling strong IÕd
cross to Mull, ride down the island then take the ferry back to Lochaline,
and Liz would drive around and collect me from there. The thought that I could ride the whole
circuit seemed a long shot. Fortified
by the tea, I started the long climb above Camus nan Gael, a magical bay, and
kept going all the way to the Kilmory crossroads. The ride down through Kilchoan was fast and furious, and I
was glad the road was in fairly good condition. I reached the ferry slipway about 10.50, thatÕs about
two-and-a-half hours after leaving LizÕs house in Strontian including the
stop for tea. Just
before the ferry was due at 11.45, Liz and Chris arrived and I was able to
quickly share my plans before wheeling the bike onto the CalMac to
Tobermory. A harbour porpoise
played alongside the boat as it cuts its way through the silk-like calm. TOBERMORY-FISHNISH ?ml I donÕt know how far this is because I donÕt have a
computer on my bike! At the end
of the high street I suddenly remembered the steepness of the climb out of
Tobermory.
IÕd been here about ten years ago when cycle touring
with my Dawes and had stayed in a B&B in Tobermory. IÕd planned to take the ferry across
to Kilchoan for a dayÕs pedalling, but had to cut the trip short when work
called me back to fly off to Korea.
This felt like unfinished business, and I left the harbour about 12.30
although I confess I had to walk the big hill. At the top I came across the first ŅproperÓ road of the
ride, a new, wide two lane thing on which I made good time. It seemed to get bored of being quite
so obliging and returned to single Štrack, but not the narrow roads IÕd
become used to. Mull
single-track seems to be wide and fast, and the vehicles are much the same,
feeling they can pass a cyclist flat-out.
Half way
down the road I came across the second town called ŅSalenÓ that IÕd been
through today. Previously I
stayed in a guesthouse here, and remember that when I ate dinner in the
nearby hotel, IÕd shared the dining room with lots of pilots. TheyÕd had some sort of gathering on
Mull, and theyÕd all flown their private aircraft over to the small airfield
for the long weekend. No sign of
them today, and Salen was soon behind me. Nearing Fishnish, I pulled over at a garden centre, which
advertised ŅHot Food Served All DayÓ in CynthiaÕs cafˇ, and tucked into baked
potato and beans. It was exactly
what I needed to put some energy back into my legs, and while I waited for
the CalMac at the ferry terminal I rang Liz and told her IÕd try to ride all
the way home. After a good half
hour stop I reached the ferry by 14.10.
LOCHALINE-STRONTIAN 22ml Whereas
the first ferry carried mainly foot passengers, this one carried mainly
people in vehicles. A couple of
weeks earlier, weÕd kayaked around here, and sheltering in the bay had
watched the ferry arrive, load and leave, following it back across the Sound
of Mull to Lochaline. The hill out of Lochaline is another sustained climb,
and I was glad IÕd recently eaten.
ThereÕs nothing undulating about this section of the route. Until now, this ride has always
followed a coastline, Loch Sunart on the mainland and then the coast of
Mull. However, this section cuts
through the heart of Morvern, a wild, lonely place and road seems to climb
almost constantly. At times, the
climbs are steep, but always they are sustained. And itÕs narrow single track again. I had my closest call of the day here
when a bus, which I thought was going to pull over in a passing place,
barrelled towards me at full tilt and forced me off the road. Shiel Busses Š look out for them,
they take no prisoners. DonÕt be
tempted to take the spur road to Kinlgairloch on a road bike, since it has
been extensively excavated in the process of building a new dam, although the
resulting rough track is fun on a mountain bike.
ItÕs the
sustained nature of this section which made me wonder if this ride would best
be tackled in the other direction.
Perhaps it would be better to get this over with first when the legs
were fresh. It would also mean
youÕd pedal Mull with the wind behind you. I only did it this way around because I could organise a
ride from the end if I couldnÕt make it all the way Š IÕll leave it to you to
make your own decision. But if
you do reverse the route, be warned that the climb from Loch Sunart on this
road is a killer! However,
in the direction I was travelling it was just reward for all this
effort. A long, swooping
descent during which I had to pull over and rest my hands, such were the
vibrations coming through the bars from the rough road. ItÕs then an easy pedal around the
head of Loch Sunart and back to Strontian. In all, the sixty five miles (as measured on the map) had
taken nine hours, of which IÕd been pedalling less than 5hrs 30 mins. |
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