Waiting For Wednesday Redux (June 26th Update)

It seems like it was only a week ago that I was waiting for Wednesday so that I could begin my first European cycling tour. Oh, right. It was a week ago. Given the events of the past week, it seems like is ancient history.

After yesterday’s scheduling faux pas, I started today with the realization that I now had three full days of free time to spend on the small Isle of Islay (pronounced EYE-la, by the way). Last night’s wild camping experience was a complete success, which is good because something HAD to go right yesterday, right? No, I’m not that naive. Nothing ever HAS to go right … it’s just really nice when it does.

With no real plan and plenty of time, I decided today’s goal would be to pedal to the town of Port Charlotte. It seemed like a good goal (and more than reasonable) as it would put me in close proximity to the Kilchoman Distillery which had been recommended to me yesterday.

With a goal set, I went through the usual routine of packing up all my gear and loading up the bike. Fortunately, the rain that had christened my tent throughout the night and into the morning stopped just long enough for me to pack up. It resumed moments after getting on my bike. It turns out that reports of it always being sunny in Scotland may have been a bit premature. Today was not sunny. At all. Side note: Even with all the rain and wind, I can’t get over how beautiful Scotland is. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of it.

In actual fact, this morning’s precipitation was initially more of a mist than rain. Of course, this is Scotland so within moments it became rain. With wind. And then misty again. I mean, who doesn’t love a little variety?

The first town I reached was Bruichladdich and, while it wasn’t far from where I started (did I mention it’s a small island?), I could really feel the lack of nutrition in my system from yesterday and today. Conveniently enough, there was a shelter (complete with washrooms) right in town. I took shelter from the elements, fired up my alcohol stove and proceeded to make some oatmeal. I’m not going to lie, it could be the best oatmeal I’ve ever had. Given my cooking “skills” and the fact that we’re talking about oatmeal, I think it’s safe to say that hunger was having quite an effect on my taste buds. That said, the brown sugar packages which I acquired on the ferry yesterday were, simply put, a glorious luxury. I nearly wept. Okay, no I didn’t. But it was really good.

Did I mention that Islay is a small island? Well, I’ll mention it again. It’s a small island. Proof of that would be the fact that it only took about 40 minutes to reach Port Charlotte. Normally such a nominal ride wouldn’t even be worthy of mention, but on this particular day I didn’t really mind cycling such a short distance.

Despite the option for wild camping I opted to stay at a campground again today. The Port Mor campground to be specific. I’ve been here since about 10:00 AM – by far the earliest I’ve ever arrived at a campground. There’s WiFi. A place to work on these updates. And, as an unexpected bonus, the guy manning the office just gave me some fresh quiche which his dad had dropped off for him. And when I say “fresh” quiche, I mean VERY fresh. As in, everything (except the bacon) was home grown. Given my diet over the past couple of days, it’s hardly a surprise that I consumed said quiche in about 12 seconds. And yes, it was delicious.

The rest of the day was spent writing updates, even though I have no way of actually posting anything to my blog. Needless to say, that’s becoming an ongoing source of frustration. I’m in contact with my hosting provider but as yet a solution eludes them. Of course, if you’re reading this then obviously a solution has been found. But as the time of typing this, not so much.

The Port Mor campground is in a scenic location overlooking Loch Ardaal – at least I think it’s Loch Ardaal – and it’s high up along the coast so it’s also very windy – then again, I’m not sure there’s anywhere that isn’t windy here. Side note: There’s also a flock of sheep that apparently passes along the fence line which borders the campground. Needless to say, I didn’t realize that when I set up my tent. I’m not going to lie, when a VERY vocal group of sheep went parading past my tent I thought they were going to run right through it. Spoiler Alert: They didn’t.

Despite the wind and the sheep (the latter really weren’t an issue), my tent placement was rather fortuitous as I managed to be on the very edge of the WiFi signal so I actually had limited access to the internet from the “comforts” of my tent without having to brave the chilly wind and rain that was between me and the main building of the campground. Sometimes it’s all about the small pleasures.

Today’s (hardly notable) totals:
Distance travelled: 13.12 km
Ride time: 53:08
Average speed: 14.81 km/h
Maximum speed: 36.82 km/h