A Matter Of Perspective (July 6th)

My last night in Oban ended up being a night of luxury as the room with six beds had but one occupant. Me. Yes, I realize I likely didn’t need to mention that it was me.

There was probably a bit of eagerness to my mood today as I would finally be back on the road. As such, I found myself waking up pretty early and organizing all my gear. I probably should’ve done that last night but, well … I didn’t. And, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, I also had to make a few tweaks to my new bike including lowering the seat and installing the trip computer. From there the lone remaining task was to simply book the courier for my old bike and I’d be ready to roll. Of course, nothing seems simple these days.

After much deliberation, I decided to ship my entire bike back. What can I say, I just couldn’t leave it behind. The final decision was also made based on the size of the box. I had done an estimate online which was based on the size (and volume) of the box to be shipped. Having not measured the box yesterday I could only use an estimate. The dimensions I used for said estimate were about the maximum allowable size to avoid oversize surcharges (which are significant). On the flipside, I wasn’t sure if those dimensions were actually accurate. It turns out they were. As such, I opted to stick with the current packaging and return everything to Canada. No bike left behind!

Now, in case you’re wondering, shipping a bike (or anything else, apparently) to Canada is more than a bit of nuisance.

I went to the Oban library to print up the necessary shipping labels only to find out that new regulations have been put in place (as of June 2016) regarding self-declared duty free goods. In addition to other hoops that have to be jumped through, I also had to include a photo of my passport. Of course, I didn’t have my passport with me. Sigh. Back to Oban Cycles yet again.

With my passport in hand, I returned to the library to get all of the documents printed. After reading all the fine print and regulations regarding shipments to Canada I’m think there’s about a 50-50 chance I’ll ever see my bike again. That’s not to say I don’t think the box will make it to Canada. I do. I’m just not sure it will ever clear Canadian Customs.

The big issue is that I won’t be there to receive it and if it’s not claimed within 40 days then Customs considers it abandoned. There’s a possibility a family member could claim it in my absence but that’s only up to the discretion of Canada Customs. Oh well. I’ve done what I can. I’m not going to worry about that which I cannot control.

What I can control is my gratitude. I can’t say thank you enough to Mark and Christina at Oban Cycles. They were SO incredibly great. Did I mention that they even gave me some homemade chocolate last night? Between that and all their help, the tools, their restaurant recommendations, their patience, and of course my new bike. I can honestly say I don’t know what the status of my tour would be without them. Thank you again Mark and Christina.

Unrelated side note: If you’re ever in Oban, I recommend avoiding W.H. Smith. The store is just weird. Maybe not so much the store, but the staff. I needed to get some packing tape (I essentially used all of Mark and Christina’s and I wanted to replace it) and W.H. Smith was the only place I found it. When I went to the counter to pay, the guy behind the counter instructed me to use the automated checkout. Ok. It’s certainly not the first time I’ve used said checkout services. The weird thing was how the guy basically stood there watching me use said device. At one point he tapped the screen and said, “Follow the directions on the screen.” Again, I have no issue with self-checkout, but this guy was essentially standing there watching his job disappear. And the whole checkout would’ve been faster had he just done it himself.

That guy could REALLY take some customer service advice from Mark and Christina. When I returned to Oban Cycles, Christina noticed the “W.H. Smith” branded packing tape. She and Mark then proceeded to rant about said store for the exact same reason I just explained. They now boycott the store. Apparently, my experience was standard operating procedure.

After five days in Oban, it came down to a photo and a final goodbye to finally send me down the road again. The time: 1:10 PM.

With the exception of the dry morning while I loaded up my bike, the rain came early and often once I got back in the saddle. That said, I was so happy to be on the move again that I didn’t really mind. Really. As per usual (whatever “usual” is on this tour), the ride was beautiful – even with all the rain. And there was a lot of rain.

I really didn’t know how far I was going to go today or what route I was going to take to get there. I just headed out in a general direction and decided to make things up as I went along.

“As I went along” resulted in me stumbling into Route 78 of the Sustrans bicycle network. For those who read the comments on some of these postings, Sustrans was mentioned favourably by Anne (of the tiny house in Victoria) a few days ago. And I have to say, Route 78 was really good. It followed a winding path which was completely off the highway so there was no traffic to avoid. Well, sometimes the route rejoined the highway but most of it was separated. The only minor downside to the route was that there were often fences or barricades in between sections which required either slowing down significantly or, in the case of “livestock fences” having to stop completely.

Along the route were lots of sheep, the Falls at Lora, and Stalker Castle which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

As a result of the combination of a winding route, the barricades, the photo opportunities, and the constant rain, I certainly wasn’t setting any records in terms of progress. At one point I noticed it took more than four hours to travel a mere 60 km – with a little over three hours of that actually spent pedalling.

As I approached Fort William I was still undecided as to my route. My general route was to catch a ferry in Mallaig but that wasn’t going to happen today. The question was, “Which route would I take to Mallaig?” My options were either Corran or Fort William. For reasons I’m not really sure of, I opted to make my final resting place for the night in Fort William. There’s a bike shop in town and I’m considering going there tomorrow morning to get some adjustments done to my new bike – adjustments to a new bike are to be expected. The brakes are working but they’re squealing like crazy. Oh, and they’re backwards. The latter I won’t get changed but apparently in the UK the front brake is controlled by the right brake lever. I hadn’t even considered that. Either that or my old bike was backwards!

My initial plan was to wild camp and I was going to do so beside a really cool castle but I’m still not REALLY clear on the limitations to the “unlimited” wild camping rules here. Seriously, there’s no way you’d be allowed to camp near a castle back home – you know, if there were castles back home. Anyway, the castle in question was Inverlochy Castle and it would’ve made one of the best wild camping spots to date. That said, I made my way to one of the local campgrounds and checked in. I was more than a little soaked and I just didn’t want to hunt for a good wild camping spot (you know, that wasn’t a castle).

The campground was probably about as busy a campground at which I’ve ever stayed. At least, from a number of tents perspective. Side note: For what I paid and for what I’m getting I don’t plan on staying at many more campgrounds. Of course, I know full well how quickly plans can change.

I quickly scanned the area for an unoccupied area and moved in. There was even a picnic table. And as an even bigger bonus, the hard rain turned into a slight rain as I set up my tent.

For the first time ever, I left all my gear in the tent vestibules overnight. Everything was soaked and I didn’t think bringing that into the tent was a good idea. Either way, I figured they’d still be soaked in the morning.

Despite my best wishes (and having the luxury of a picnic table), it was far too wet and windy for my alcohol stove which meant there was no cooking of pasta – or anything else – tonight. Instead supper was a couple of bagels with peanut butter, a CLIF bar, and an orange. Yup, I’m still living the dream.

It essentially rained for about ten hours straight today. Sure there were minor reprieves during the day but they were very minor. Fortunately, some of the hardest rain of the day waited until I was finally relaxing in my tent – which, as I mentioned, I was able to set up during one of those aforementioned reprieves. Not a total reprieve, but a minor one.

I’m not going to lie, I’m dreading tomorrow morning a bit. The cold and wet riding clothes that I have since changed out of are still going to be cold and wet in the morning. Ugh. That’s just going to be more than a wee bit unpleasant. That said, today was a completely miserable day from a weather perspective. Truly miserable. And yet I would be lying if I called today anything other than a great day. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. And from my perspective, I was very happy to be on the road again.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 82.84 km
Ride time: 4:27:58
Average speed: 18.54 km/h
Maximum speed: 43.02 km/h
Hours of rain: 10
Wrecked bikes: 0
Sheep: A lot