Troon to Larne to Ballycastle

Monday October 4, 2010
It was an unusually early start this morning, woke up at 7:45 am and it was a struggle I must say. I ate breakfast and rode to the port. Actually I was camped right next to the port so it only took a minute. I bought a ferry ticket to Ireland and waited. They actually let me get on first, before all the cars, that was pretty cool.

My bike, Florey, secured to the railing in the ferry for the trip from Troon (Scotland) to Larne (Ireland).

I haven't caught a ferry since the Spirit of Tasmania a few years ago when Shane, Oliver and I did a 3 week bike tour around Tasmania in the middle of Winter, the only other real bike tour I've done actually. That one was a great experience; interestingly I haven't mentioned it yet in my blog here. But I have certainly been thinking about it during this trip, remembering how we did it then, comparing differences, etc. That trip was much more extreme than this one so far, and also drier and colder. The big difference with that trip though is that I had company, and this one I am obviously on my own. This makes a big difference to the touring experience. There are pros and cons each way as you can imagine, the obvious ones being that you have complete freedom on your own, you can go where you want, when you want and at your own pace but at the expense of company, someone to share the experience, someone to talk to, to bounce ideas off, to plan with, to help set up and pack up with each day, and as a result it can be lonely at times as I've experienced.
It would be good to run into some other tourers doing the same thing as me and tour with them for a bit, but there don't seem to be many at all here at this time of year. I'd say the wet weather at this time of year would discourage people.

I forgot to photography my campsite again, but it was somewhere in the shore in the distance in this shot taken from the ferry.

Here you can see why the ferry stops running in October after the end of the tourist season and doesn't run right through the year.

Inside the ferry, not many passengers as you can see. It was the final ferry run of the season.

There was barely anyone on there - heaps of spare seats. So I'm assuming I won't need to book for the ferry to Cherbourg, France.
The "tourist season" seems to be a big thing here, everyone talks about it. Apparently it's just finished, the weather is getting colder, the hostels have more spare rooms, all the tourist attractions are much less busy, fish and chip kiosks in the coastal towns are closed, etc.
Anyway, once I settled into the ferry, I started planning what I was going to do once I got to Ireland.
Planning. It's a big part of traveling. I decided on a rough plan to stay in Belfast that night, then spend two days riding south to Dublin and stay there the night, then another two days to ride south to Rosslare and catch the ferry to Cherbourg, France, on the Friday night. This wouldn't give me much time to look around in Ireland, really just traveling through from A to B, as opposed to exploring or getting a feel for a place by staying there a little while. I would like to do this but at the same time I'm conscious that I'm running out of time on the trip and am keen to see the rest of Europe (yes I've mentioned this a few times in my blog already).
My favourite band, Porcupine Tree, are on tour around Europe at the moment, and I had the vague plan of seeing them in Germany on October 6, because I thought I'd be around about there a month into the trip. I was only planning to be in the UK for two or three weeks you see, because I thought that's how long it would take me to do a round trip of the UK. However, I was quite mistaken. I always seem to be overly optimistic and as I've discovered, distances are further and riding is slower than I had expected, probably because I didn't do any planning or researching beforehand. I barely even looked at a map of the UK before I left.
So now that I'm here and can see how long it takes to tour on a bike, and how big the place actually is, I think I'm being slightly ambitious with all the places I want to go in Europe: clockwise through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain and back through France to catch a ferry to England, and then the plane from Heathrow on December 23.
Knowing me I'll probably be in Spain a week before I have to catch the plane from London and will have to ride 2000 km in a week, which can't be done, unless one rides for 14 hours per day at an average speed of 20 km/h (just did some quick arithmetic in my head). So I don't know what I'll do...probably start by trying to ride long distances every day but then discover I'm progressing slower than anticipated, then end up having to cut chunks out of my planned loop of Europe and catch trains here and there.
Both before I left for the trip and since I've been here, a lot of people have asked me about my plans, and I've only been able to give a rough plan as described above. Some people are surprised when I tell them I don't know where I'll be going tomorrow, or the next day. I'll be like "hmm, good question...I've gotta look at the map and work that out". Other people are like "yeah that's the way to do it man, take it as it comes, plans are useless because they always change".
And, as I'll explain, even the rough plan I had just made for the week was about to change.
So I looked up the dates to see where else and when Porcupine Tree were playing, and discovered they were playing in Dublin on October 11 and Belfast on October 12. I thought "damn, that's too late, it's tempting but I can't hang around in the UK for that long."
Once I got to Larne, I dropped into the tourist information centre for some ideas on a good route to Belfast. The woman there was very helpful, and was a regular cyclist herself. And also being there to promote tourism in Northern Ireland, she sold me the idea of cycling up the east coast and the north coast, she showed me a heap of maps, attractions and scenic bike routes. This, combined with the prospect of staying longer in Ireland and therefore being able to see Porcupine Tree and the fact that it was a beautiful sunny day with a strong southerly wind had me sold on this new plan of heading north up the coast. So that's what I did.
I stopped at the first spot that was good to stop at on the coast for lunch.

The spot I stopped for lunch, beside the Coast Road, just north of Larne.

I tried to book my Porcupine Tree ticket too, but unsuccessfully. It was taking too long on the iPhone and I was wasting the favourable weather, so I kept going.

On the Coast Road in Northern Ireland, just north of Larne.

It was certainly enjoyable cycling, with the sun out and the tail wind pushing me along. It was a bit like the Great Ocean road, but flatter and less windy (windy as in the road had less curves in the road, not less wind, there was more wind!). A brochure or something else I read said "probably the best coastal road you'll ever cycle", or something along those lines.

The Coast Road in Northern Ireland.

The coast in Northern Ireland near Ballygalley.

A watercourse in Glenarm, Northern Ireland.

A diversion on Garron Road, north of Carnlough.

Some rocky hills on the coast on Garron Road, near Waterfoot.

Unfortunately the sun didn't stay out for long, the weather changed dramatically in just a few minutes. All of a sudden it was raining, and I had to retrieve my coat from the pannier, which I had wrongfully assumed I wouldn't be needing that day. I guess I should be checking the weather forecasts.

The weather suddenly turned nasty. On Garron Road, near Waterfoot, Northern Ireland.

I considered turning back, riding to Belfast and following my original plan, but I didn't, I pushed on. As did the wet weather.
I came to a section of the route called "Torr Road", a narrow, windy very steep coastal road which is an optional part of the route, the alternative being a more tame inland route. The map back at the Tourist Information Centre had read "this section of the route is very steep and should only be attempted if you have a high level of fitness". So of course I had to take that route, didn't even consider taking the alternative. You've gotta live!
The road turned uphill quite suddenly, and was indeed quite steep, but certainly do-able. I thought to myself "is that it? It's not as bad as it's made out to be"...however that was only the first part.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

There turned out to be another three ascents that were steeper and longer than the first. I wasn't thinking "is that it?" after them. It was quite a challenge on the touring bike, it would have been on any bike I guess. My road bike wouldn't have had low enough gears for it. It was good cycling though, with some rolling hills in between the major climbs, no traffic and good scenery. Even the rain was kind enough to ease up.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Me on Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

Torr Road, Northern Ireland.

This was the most exciting part of my day, afterwards I got to a town called Ballycastle, just before dusk. It was really windy and I didn't fancy camping in that weather. I spotted a hostel called Castle Hostel and enquired within. It was £15 pounds for the night, done.
The woman running it was a good egg: young, friendly, pleasant and hospitable (which of course is what you want when you go to a hostel). She and her husband also ran a B & B beside the hostel (same building actually). The hostel had been a B & B as well until six months ago, when they decided to make it a hostel instead, so they were new to running a hostel. The place was great though, had a distinctly good vibe and I was the only guest so I had a whole three story house to myself, including a well equipped kitchen.
I was keen to take advantage of this so I bought some groceries and cooked up a mean stir-fry.

The kitchen in the hostel, which I had all to myself.

Stir-fry for dinner.

I also used the free Wi-Fi for twitter, facebook and some blogging, drank about eight cups of tea (free tea bags were provided and I was making up for all the days I haven't had a cup of tea) and I took a much needed shower. "Ah this is the life, so much easier than camping," I thought.
Also the young bloke running the place (husband of the woman also running the place) was kind enough to give me some good advice on where I should go the next few days. He knew the area well, and it sounded like he'd cycled most of the roads too.
So I now had a plan for the next day.

Ride stats
Distance: 80.98 km
Average: 19.7 km/h
Maximum: 103.6 km/h (that's what the speedo said, I don't trust this reading of course, it's been playing up lately)
Time: 4:06:19

Kilsyth to Troon

Sunday October 3, 2010

My campsite for the night, on the Forth and Clyde Canal near Kilsyth.

I had told myself I was going to wake up early but it's hard when I love sleeping so much and when it's raining outside, because I had the prospect of eating breakfast, packing up and the riding in the rain. It was becoming difficult to sleep though, with the day getting brighter and the cox commanding rowing crews going past on the canal.

The Forth and Clyde Canal near Kilsyth with a rowing crew on the canal.

And also my bed was not comfortable, I think my self-inflating mat (think Thermarest, but a cheaper Kathmandu branded one) has a hole in it because it was quite flat. This is not good since I have two and a half months left of this trip!
The first thing I did upon waking up was read my twitter feed which was filled with tweets about the cycling world championships. This was one thing I was disappointed not to be in Australia for; I would have been down in Geelong watching it for sure! It's the first time it's ever been held in Australia, and happens to be the first time I'm not in Australia :( Thor Hushovd won, I'm quite a fan of him.
After that, I got up, ate breakfast in the rain and packed up in the rain. Then an old bloke out on a morning stroll stopped by for a chat. He was quite friendly. We just talked about the usual: the weather, where I was from, where I'd been, where I was going, etc. This bloke also had a connection to Australia - his grand-daughter I think he said is married to an Australian and they live in Surfers Paradise.
He said "I" a lot, whenever he was in agreement with what I was saying, I love it how the Scots do this. A peculiarity to them I guess.
After that I was on my way, the rain had mostly stopped but the path, which was still following alongside the canal, was covered in puddles the whole way, which makes the bike and panniers really dirty, and covers the drive train in grit. I have actually been having to oil the chain a couple of times each day, because it starts getting dry and squeaky really quickly once the weather dries out.
The sun had come out when I got to Glasgow. I had to find a bike shop to get a new cable to replace the one I left in Edinburgh. The first shop I went to didn't have any, the second didn't have the one I wanted, the third was closed, finally the fourth one, which was the biggest, had the one I wanted, and I bought another set of brake pads, the same as the set I got in Ambleside which I've been using on the front. They perform so much better than the original pads!
Glasgow seemed an alright city, it's hard to really say what it's like with only the brief passing through I had.

The City Chambers in George Square in the centre of Glasgow.

A column with author Walter Scott in George Square in the centre of Glasgow.

 The sun had come out. I saw some mountain bike circuits not too far from the city centre so the city has at least one thing going for it. The cycle path on the way out was also good.

Following a pleasant bike path out of Glasgow, near the Pollok Golf Course.

Actually there didn't seem to be too much traffic at all in the city, I guess partly because it was a Sunday afternoon.
I was thinking about the movie "Trainspotting" as I rode through too, I guess that's how many foreigners think of Glasgow, although Trainspotting was actually set in Edinburgh, but interestingly almost all of the film was filmed in Glasgow.
I was trying to get to Troon by 8 pm to catch the ferry to Ireland.
I stopped at a supermarket in a town called Johnstone at about 6 pm and bought food for lunch. I was having a chat to a bloke while locking up my bike, he was my age rather than the old guys I usually talk to when I'm out on the bike. He reckoned he wanted to do some touring in the future, and reckoned I was "living the dream."
The riding was fairly flat, with a few short steep hills. I passed through a number of towns along the way with nothing notable to mention, except that I have a really sore saddle sore. And I can't even wear padded shorts (knicks) because I posted all four pairs I had home. I'll just have to grin and bear it, and hope it gets better.
So after the lunch break at dusk, I didn't end up getting to Troon until just after 10 pm. I'd missed the ferry by two hours!
At the port, a security guard approached me. Before he could say anything, I fired a few questions at him regarding catching the ferry. After responding and explaining about catching the next ferry in the morning, he asked me where I was going tonight, quite a good question I thought. "Not sure, do you know if there are any camping grounds around?"
"Nah, there's none around here...but there is a spot over there by the beach, if it's just for tonight you should be alright..." and he proceeded to give me directions. I love it when people give me useful advice! I set the tent up where he suggested, great spot it was too.
Tomorrow I have to wake up early to catch the ferry, better set the alarm.

Ride stats
Distance: 109.50 km
Average: 17.2 km/h
Maximum: 46.1 km/h
Time: 6:21:32

Edinburgh to Kilsyth

Saturday October 2, 2012
This is a great hostel, the Caledonian Backpackers. I took advantage of the free breakfast again and ate my fill (which is a lot). Breakfast goes until 12 noon, and check out isn't until 12 noon.
I missed the AFL grand final because I thought it was tonight not last night. Getting confused with the time zone difference again, it was on at 5:30 am in the UK. Just as well I didn't get up (or stay up) for it, nobody wants to see Collingwood win, do they? I was so disappointed they beat St Kilda, half my family barracks for St Kilda (the other half, including myself, barracks for Essendon).
Before checking out, I rode to the post office to post some un-needed stuff home, stuff that I'd been carrying around for the last month and which I'd come to realise I didn't really need. I packed into two boxes: two pairs of shoes, two pairs of bib knicks, two pairs of knicks (I don't seem to need knicks with the brooks saddle), un-needed camera charger pieces, receipts, a jersey, Australian coins that were in my wallet, occi straps and a tea towel. All up it cost £32 for just under 4 kg (over this weight the cost would have gone up so I had to keep my sunscreen, a jersey and an acrylic jumper). I also found my missing nail clippers; I'd left them in a shoe in my rush to pack for the airport. Good timing, because my nails really needed a trim! Especially my toe nails.
Why am I always running behind schedule? Always! Even with the late check-out time, I just got back to the hostel at mid-day, so I had to get my card extended so I could get into the bedroom and pack up all my stuff. Then I did a bit of planning, looked at the maps and decided where I was going to go. Then serviced the bike quickly (adjusted rear brake pads and oiled chain), and finally headed off at 3 pm.

The Forth Road Bridge, in front of the historic Forth Bridge which carries the railway. Both bridges are over 2.5 km in length.

I followed route 754 which ran alongside the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde canal, which is a canal that crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The path which is 106 km in length was off-road (on gravel) but completely flat the whole way, so I could just cruise along without needing to exert much effort, quite pleasant really...until it started raining and got dark.

Riding alongside the Union Canal on the Forth to Firth Canal Pathway, near Winchburgh.

Riding alongside the Union Canal on the Forth to Firth Canal Pathway.

Scottish countryside with some power stations, looking towards Grangemouth.

I wanted to get to Tarbet on Loch Lomond to see some of that scenic area of Scotland before heading south through Glasgow, but of course I ran out if time.
Just before dark I stopped at a supermarket and went to lock up my bike, which was when I realised I'd left my cable lock at the hostel :( I couldn't ride all the way back to Edinburgh to get it, so I rode to the nearest bike shop 3 km away in a town called Grangemouth, but of course being 6 o'clock on a Saturday night it was closed. I rode back to the canal path through Falkirk and stumbled upon the famous Falkirk Wheel.

The Falkirk Wheel, which is a rotating boat lift built in 2002, and connects the  Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Roy from Colwyn Bay had told me about this but I didn't know where exactly in Scotland it was.
What it does is lift boats up from the lower canal to the higher canal, or boats from the higher canal to the lower canal. It's the only one of it's kind in the world. It would have been good to see it in action.
I stopped in Bonnybridge and bought fish and chips for tea, continued on until I found a patch of grass beside the canal, near Kilsyth to set up the tent. Yep back in the good old tent again, after a week in hostels. It smelled a bit mouldy actually, because it would have been wet when I packed it up last time. It always seems to be wet when I pack it up.
Before sleeping I tried to do some more trip planning, and looked online on my iPhone to see what the go was with the ferries I wanted to catch. It turned out the ferry from Troon, which is South of Glasgow where I wanted to catch it from, only runs between March 10 and October 4 - that's two days away! Luckily I wanted to catch the ferry the next night though anyway, which would be October 3, but wasn't sure if I'd make it there in time.
The ferry from Rosslare in Ireland to Cherbourg in France is a bit longer and more expensive than I thought: €90 and 19 hours. I don't have much choice though; catching the plane is not much of an option with the bike.

Ride stats
Distance: 69.62 km
Average: 17.2 km/h
Maximum: 40.5 km/h
Time: 4:02:33

Edinburgh Part 2

Friday October 1, 2010
I had a very good sleep last night and woke up at about 10:45 am. I ate another big free breakfast and did some more blogging. Then I headed along to the free walking tour that I wanted to get on yesterday. In my typical fashion though, I was being overly optimistic in the amount of time it would take to get there (read: I was running late), and I got to the meeting point 20 minutes after the tour had started. However I managed to find them just up the road, and joined on.

My tour group for the Sandemans free walking tour of Edinburgh. The tour guide is on  the left.

It was good, I learnt a few things about the city that I would otherwise not have known about. Quite a lot of history in the town hey?
We walked up the Royal Mile, there was a heart in the pavement, called the Heart of Midlothian, that was in front of the tax office where people went to pay their taxes.

The Heard of Midlothian

People would spit on the heart, because it represented them not wanting to pay taxes. It was also a site where people were executed, so the spitting also represented peoples dislike for the people being executed. People still spit on the heart to this day. The locals don't walk on it, because obviously it would be quite dirty, but you'll see tourists walk straight over it, not knowing what it is. Apparently one time there was a man who proposed to his wife-to-be on it.
We saw an old church called St Giles Cathedral, lots of history behind that one regarding kings trying to gain power by taking over the churches.

St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.

We saw an old building, built in 1520 I think she said.

And old building built in about 1520.

The poorer people would live up in the higher floors, because there was no fire escape. So those that had more money would live in the floors closer to the ground, because they had more chance of escaping a fire.
We saw the impressive Edinburgh Castle, which must be one of the most visited attractions in Europe.

Edinburgh Castle.

The tour also covered Old and New Towns, the Mercat Cross, Scott Monument, the National Museum, the Princes Street Gardens, the Site of Witch Burnings, the original 'Hogwarts', the Scottish Enlightenment, the real Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, William Wallace and the Stone of Destiny, Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery) Burke & Hare the Body Snatchers, Edinburgh University, Covenanters' Prison, Martyrs' Memorial, The Mound, Grassmarket, Tron Kirk. Admittedly I don't remember the tour covering all these things, but it was all interesting nonetheless, and went for three hours.

Princes Street Gardens

Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle.

This is the "original Hogwarts", the building J. K. Rowling based her Hogwarts on.

This is the "original Hogwarts", the building J. K. Rowling based her Hogwarts on. 

J. K. Rowling would also wander around the cemetery for inspiration and used some of the names on the gravestones for characters in Harry Potter, such as this gravestone for William McGonagall.

Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery).

Tomb of Sir George Mackenzie.

Greyfriars Bobby, a famous dog.

Afterwards we went to a pub and I ordered haggis, which is actually quite good!

Haggis at a pub nearby.

I had a chat to a few other people on the tour, there was a girl originally from England but moved to Perth five years ago when she was on a three month backpacking adventure, and ended up staying there for five years. She's on holiday this year so back with friends and family in the UK.
There was also an American and a Pom who was an architect.
I missed the post office today, so I'll have to get there tomorrow morning, and I would also like to check out the Botanical Gardens and Arthurs Seat before I go. I won't have time for the museum. I've gotta work out where I'm heading tomorrow, I would happily stay in Edinburgh for longer, but I know there's lots of other places I want to see. I might stay in Glasgow and try to plan around the AFL Grand Final and the cycling world championships so that I can watch them on Sunday.
Back at the hostel, I used the opportunity while I had a real computer to catch up on my blog for the last week or two.

Looking out the window from my hostel.

Looking out the window from my hostel towards Edinburgh Castle.

Ride Stats
Distance: 11.51 km
Average: 8.6 km/h (low average because I walked the bike on the walking tour)
Maximum: 42.5 km/h
Time: 1:19:47

Edinburgh Part 1

Thursday September 30, 2010

Looking towards Edinburgh Castle from near the hostel.

I was woken up fairly early by the sun shining in through the window. At least the sun was out today though, hey?
I had a good free breakfast of cereal and vegemite on toast (was pretty impressed they had vegemite too), and spent the morning in the hostel, trying to catch up on my blog, making use of the free computers, so that I can use a real keyboard and not have to type on the iPhone.
In the afternoon I had a chat to my housemate in Melbourne, Jim, on Skype, then went to the post office to investigate how much it costs to post stuff home. Looks like it will be reasonable, as long as it's less than two kg it only costs £13 or so. So I think I'll do that before I leave Edinburgh.
I was thinking about taking a free walking tour of the city, but I was too late for that today. I just went for a short ride around the city until I got too hungry and had to head back to the hostel for a late lunch.

West Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle.

West Princes Street Gardens.

Back in the dormitory, I had a chat to a French girl called Sophie and a Chinese bloke called Wang. It was interesting discussing language, culture differences, future prospects, traveling, etc. I had a look over Sophie's resume for her, she wanted it to make sense in English but not be so well written that it looked like she wasn't French. Sophie is a chef, both her parents own restaurants in France, she's from the Alps and is into some extreme sports like rock-climbing and skiing. She was keen to improve her English, she reckoned her English was pretty poor, but that most French people don't have very good English. This could be a problem when I go there...
She was looking for a job in a restaurant in Edinburgh, but didn't want to work in a French restaurant because she wanted to improve her English by working with English speaking people. I guess that's the best way of learning a language, by immersing yourself amongst people who speak the language.
After that we went to the supermarket to get food for tea, it took a few supermarkets to get what we needed, because the ones near the city centre are all quite small, and close quite early (10 o'clock). We cooked a lasagne for tea (or rather Sophie did).

Sophie cooking a lasagne in the hostel.

Wow, they use so much fat! This lasagne had two containers of sour cream, a block of butter, and cheese. Sophie said her mother puts in as much better as meat, and that you should be able to see all the oil floating on the top. And I couldn't believe how much salt she put in, it ended up being very salty, too salty for my taste. I never add any salt to my food or cooking. I still ate it of course, I was very hungry at midnight when we ate, and aside from being salty it was quite good. The Chinese guy Wang, and another French bloke, Ben, were also in for the meal.

A large serve of lasagne for tea.

Sophie and Wang eating tea.

Ben, a French bloke, eating tea.

Afterwards we chatted into the wee hours, with Sophie's boyfriend Terry as well.

In the common room of the Caledonian Backpackers.

In the Caledonian Backpackers common room: Sophie, Ben, Terry and Wang.

Terry's English was quite poor. I could converse with Sophie no problems, but not with Terry. Ben's English was good, and he's a civil engineer like me, doing his masters this year in Edinburgh. Sophie, Terry and Ben are all looking for a flat together.
I've also met a few other people in the hostel so far, there are a few Australians here actually, some from Melbourne. One guy was from Deniliquin and knew one of my friends, Bianca Hurn. Another guy was from St Kilda. Some were at Oktoberfest. There are a few kiwi's around, and some Spanish, Canadians, etc. I love staying in this hostel though, more fun than riding long distances. I was only going to stay in Edinburgh for two nights, but since I didn't achieve much today, I booked in for an extra night (Friday night) as well. I know I need to keep on the move though, so many places to see!

In the 38 bed dorm, my bed is the top centre.

Ride stats:
Distance: 5.59 km
Average: 13.3 km/h
Maximum: 36.8 km/h
Time: 25:10