Crash and Burn … Or Just Crash (June 27th Update)

After a very windy night, this morning came with an unexpectedly clear sunrise. Today was off to a great start.

Today’s plan was rather simple – check out a couple of whisky distilleries on opposite sides of the island. The first of which was to be Kilchoman (still pronounced Kil-ho-man). Not only would it be my first distillery tour of the day but also of my life. Truth be told, while I’ve had a very occasional glass of whisky in my life, I had absolutely no idea as to how said spirit was created. That would change today.

Despite the clear sunrise, most of the ride to Kilchoman was under the cover of cloud but fortunately not rain. Kilchoman is a bit different than many of the other distilleries in that it is very small and it actually does the entire process on site – from growing the barley to bottling the whisky. Side note: Not ALL of their products are done 100% on site but about 20%.

There wasn’t much activity in the way of tours when I arrived. In fact, I was the only one there for the 10:00 AM tour. That said, the show must go on. My tour guide was Nicole and, I’m not going to lie, she was pretty great … and her accent was, well … I could’ve listened to her forever. Or a long time anyway.

As mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of Kilchoman being my first tour was that I was able to see the entire process because it’s all done on site. They also don’t have any restrictions as to what you can and can’t take photos of. That said, I didn’t take many photos.

As expected, the tour ended with a dram of whisky. Actually, the tour ended with two drams of whisky. And, unexpectedly, as part of the £6 cost of the tour I was able to take the glass home with me. Normally this would seem like a great souvenir – especially considering they sell the same glass for about £4. However, given my space limitations, I figured it wouldn’t be very practical to carry a glass souvenir for the next several weeks. Reluctantly, I left the glass behind.

With my first tour officially behind me, I set course for Lagavulin and my next tour. The Lagavulin distillery is located at the southern point of the island but only about 35 km away – most of which was on a lightly travelled single track road.

Along the way I stopped at a SPAR for some food basics. Admittedly, my eating habits haven’t been particularly great thus far but I’m working on it.

Much like my ride to Kilchoman, the rain started just as I stopped at SPAR. Once again, I took cover in a similar shelter to yesterday’s oatmeal stop. Side note: I think I’ve somewhat discovered the pattern to Scotland weather. It rains long enough to get you wet. Then it stops long enough for you to dry off. The cycle repeats. In all honesty, I’ve already seen more sun in these first few days than I expected so I’ll be thankful for that.

I’m also growing accustomed to (and even fond of) the single track roads on which I’ve been spending a fair amount of time. No, they aren’t always in the best condition for a bicycle and as a result I can’t travel as quickly as I would prefer. But since I’m trying to go at a more relaxed pace this year, that’s not a bad thing. The biggest challenge is getting out of the way when another vehicle comes along. So far, that hasn’t been much of a challenge. Again, it just means that my pace is slowed by brief stops to let vehicles pass. Seriously, some of these roads are more narrow than cycle paths I’ve been on.

Speaking of cycle paths, I regret to say there’s been a bit of an incident. Potentially more than a “BIT” of an incident. While cycling along the cycle/pedestrian path on the way to the Lagavulin distillery, one of my front panniers rubbed the wall of a bridge. This has happened in the past, from time to time. Unfortunately, this wasn’t like those other times. The wall in this case was wood, with gaps, and thus not smooth nor conducive to sliding. Instead, the pannier got caught which forced my bike to turn sharply into the bridge, subsequently stopping the bike in its tracks. As you might expect, 110 pounds of gear plus 170 pounds of cyclist doesn’t exactly stop in its tracks. They get flung. Rather rapidly I might add. On the upside, my reflexes still seem to be working as I managed to land on my feet. My bike did not fare as well and sustained a fair bit of damage – primarily the bending of the front forks and a buckling of the frame. I’m not going to lie, it pains me every time I think of it.

With the assistance of a couple on a passing tandem bike, we managed to reassemble the bike – minus the fender – to the point where it was rideable again. I won’t get into specifics but there are certain issues with riding the bike in its current state; however, the nearest bicycle shop appears to be in Oban so my options are somewhat limited. As a reminder, Oban is the destination of the ferry for which I’ve been waiting and said ferry still doesn’t leave until Wednesday. Since I couldn’t think of any alternatives I decided to put faith in the durability of the 40 year old steel frame of my beloved bicycle that has guided me safely for so many kilometres to date.

Despite the damage to my bike I still proceeded to the Lagavulin distillery – after all, it was a mere 10 minutes from the site of the incident. Plus, there was no need to rush my return. That said, I was more than a little distracted when I signed up for the tour. So much so that I almost forgot that I had registered at Malts.com to become a member of their “Friends of the Classic Malts” program. It turns out the free program is a pretty good deal. I had to pay for my tour as usual but there are 11 other distilleries associated with the program and all subsequent tours are free. So, in theory I could tour 12 distilleries for £6. It also turns out that Kilchoman’s policy of allowing you to keep the glass at the end of the tour is not unique to Kilchoman. With the prospect of completing the collection of all 12 distilleries, I decided to keep the Lagavulin glass. In hindsight I should’ve kept the glass from Kilchoman too.

With the tour finished I set my sights on getting back on the road. The ferry terminal was 35 km away and, despite the damage to my bike, I proceeded to guide said bike along yet another long, windy, sometimes rough, but lightly travelled, single track road. There was actually one 15 km stretch where I didn’t see a single car – sheep and cows were plentiful though. Actually, there was one cow (with her calf) right next to the road that didn’t seem at all impressed with my presence. And yet she didn’t move. I opted not to take a picture of said cow as I really didn’t know if she was going to let me pass without incident. Normally the cows and sheep run off. This one just gave me a not-at-all-friendly stare down as I passed. Did I mention the roads are narrow?

Fast-forward a couple of hours (and over many hills) and I arrived back at Port Askaig. Looking back, I’m not exactly sure why I decided to come all the way to ferry terminal as it is completely devoid of any sort of wild camping options – plus it’s at the bottom of significant hill (i.e. 14% grade).

I won’t go into detail as to how many times I ended up traversing that hill in search of a plan for the evening – but it was several. On the upside, I was climbing said hill without using my granny gear. I say that’s an upside because I was doing so by choice and my legs were okay with the challenge.

Eventually I found a small patch of green space that I decided would be home for the night. Not the most scenic camping location ever but it was nearing 10:00 PM and I just wanted to get off the road. More than usual, I was very happy for how long the daylight lasts in Scotland at this time of year.

There is still one more day to fill before the ferry leaves for Oban but at least I know I’m within striking distance of the ferry terminal. Plus there’s a distillery very close by so I think I’ll take a tour tomorrow to help to take my mind off my bicycle dilemma.

At the risk of sounding obvious, I really hope I’m able to continue my ride. Even though I’ve only been on the road for a few days, I’m loving Scotland. It’s absolutely beautiful and I love the remote roads and quiet isolation that goes with it. And while it’s not my preferred climate, the wind, rain, and cool temperatures haven’t dampened my view.

To say that this was my worst day on the road would be a gross understatement. Sigh.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 87.00 km
Ride time: 5:49:00
Average speed: 15.86 km/h
Maximum speed: 44.16 km/h
Distillery tours: 2
Wrecked bikes: 1
Sad cyclists: 1