Simply Soaked (July 7th)

I don’t know what time I drifted off to sleep last night but clearly yesterday’s day in the rain wore me out a bit as I slept uninterrupted through the night – something that rarely happens. Although, one could argue that waking up at 6:00 AM is still pretty early to be waking up. That said, that’s when I woke up. I actually think I woke up to the sound of rain NOT hitting my tent. Such an odd sound.

I don’t particularly enjoy getting up early but given the potential opportunity to get packed up before the rain started again (I figured it was inevitable) was too much to pass up. Of course, between last night’s heavy rain and this morning’s race to get packed up, I failed to get a photo of last night’s camping setup so you’ll have to use your imagination – it’s not like you don’t know what my tent looks like.

I wasn’t on the road long before the rain started. As I said, it was inevitable. That said, I say with a high degree of confidence that cycling in the rain is better than camping in the rain. Even with all the rain that I rode through yesterday, I was grateful that the rain eased up a bit while I set up camp last night. I’ve really only ever had to set up camp in a downpour once and it wasn’t particularly enjoyable – actually, it was awful.

Today’s plan was another somewhat vague one. The first part of the plan was to get to Mallaig where I would take a ferry over to the Isle of Skye. Once there, I would let the situation dictate how far I would go. The end goal on Skye was to get to Dunvegan Castle with a stop at the Talisker distillery along the way. Neither of which were going to happen today.

The ride to Mallaig was about 65 km and it was a pretty easy ride with only light to moderate showers along the way. All things considered, pretty good conditions. Just to be clear though, by the time I arrived at the ferry terminal I was soaked … ah, the joys of the “squish squish squish” of walking in soaked shoes.

Having learned from past oversights, I had checked the ferry schedule a few days ago to confirm the ferry’s departure times. That said, either the ferry schedule changed or there was a delay, but I ended up with about an hour longer wait than expected for the next ferry. Considering my sogginess factor (on a scale of 1-5, I was a S4), I didn’t mind waiting inside the warm and dry terminal.

The ferry crossing from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye is only a 20 minute crossing and went quickly. Almost too quickly. I was just starting to warm up when it was time to return to the elements.

As I mentioned, I really didn’t have a plan for how far I would go once I arrived on Skye. In ideal weather conditions I would’ve considered pushing on and powering through to the Talisker distillery. However, it would be closed by the time I arrived so there didn’t seem to be much point in rushing.

The first town of note along the way to Dunvegan is Broadford (15 km from the ferry) and I was fortunate to be guided there by a not-insignificant tailwind and no notable run ins with precipitation. I didn’t expect to find much in Broadford but I was pleasantly surprised to find a well stocked grocery store. The store in question was “The Cooperative” and it was a welcome sight.

Today was another weak day in terms of my eating habits so when the opportunity came to stock up on some groceries I was pretty happy. Of course, I know better than to go shopping while hungry (and tired) because you tend to end up with Doritos and Orange/Pineapple juice for supper. Uh, hypothetically speaking. Okay, there was nothing hypothetical about that statement. For what it’s worth, I also bought some bananas, apples, milk, and sliced chicken.

I was enjoying my power lunch of Doritos and juice when the rain started to fall. Lightly at first but I thought it best to seek shelter under the gas bar on the other side of the The Cooperative. Moments after doing so the skies opened and the downpour began.

I’m not sure how long I stayed under the gas bar’s shelter but it was a while. The main issue being I had no idea where I was going. And doing so in a downpour didn’t seem like a good idea. Based on last night’s limited value campground experience I was committed to wild camping for tonight. The problem with that being that I had no idea how far I might have to go to find a suitable location. Did I mention it was pouring? Optimistically, I saw on a map that there was a car park about 3 km up the road. Beyond that was a big unknown. With the weather clearly showing no sign of relenting I pressed on. My hope was that the car park would yield favourable results. It did. Sort of.

The car park was great. There was small green space where I could pitch my tent. And there was even a picnic table. Plus, it had a nice view. Well, I’m sure it was nice if one could see through all the rain and clouds. But while the car park was a great location, the weather was relentlessly nasty. Seriously nasty. Heavy rain and very strong winds made setting up camp more than a little unpleasant. Last year, I set up my tent in very high winds in California and it went surprisingly well – the wind was almost helping me. The same can’t be said today. Did I mention the rain was relentless? Well, the wind was too.

After perhaps a few expletives, I finally got everything set up only to realize that in my haste I had the tent fly on backwards. I didn’t fix it. It wasn’t critical, it just meant getting in the door was a bit more of an effort. Of course, once I got under the shelter of the fly I noticed the next problem. My tent had a new amenity I’d not seen before. An indoor pool. This was going to be a long night.

I ended up using the small sponge that I use for washing dishes (i.e. the only dish I have) to soak up the bulk of the water which still left me with a very wet floor. From there I used the previously unused shower curtain I purchased the other day in Oban. I bought it on a hunch – not sure exactly why (I’m sure all the rain had something to do with it … plus all the extra time I had in Oban). Anyway, I used the curtain to give a little bit of protection from the wet floor – we’ll see how well it works. So far so good.

Needless to say, a hot dinner around the picnic table wasn’t an option. Instead, dinner was aforementioned sliced chicken in a wrap – with mayonnaise packets acquired on the ferry. On a tour, it’s wise to be opportunistic. I also grabbed some salt packets and brown sugar too.

As I enjoyed my not-so-gourmet dinner for one, the rain and wind continued to assault my tent. Fortunately, my tent was doing an admirable job of defending itself. And me.

I guess I can now say I’ve had to set up camp twice in a downpour … and neither have been particularly enjoyable. I’d have taken photos but I don’t have an underwater camera.

Somewhat unrelated, now would be a good time to again mention the Jag Bag sleeping bag liner courtesy of Paul at Terrevista Trails. I’m not going to lie, I think it was a huge advantage having said liner during the past two nights. With my sleeping bag a little bit damp (hard to believe, I know), and the air being a little bit cool, I definitely noticed a difference in temperature. The bag may be thin. It may be light. It may pack up really small. But it also made me feel a few degrees warmer and given how chilly I’ve been the past two days, well … every degree counts.

Of course, the continued lack of WiFi means a backlog of updates is forming again. First world problems.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 98.48 km
Ride time: 5:04:50
Average speed: 19.38 km/h
Maximum speed: 59.67 km/h
Maximum climb: 10%
Maximum descent: 9%