Where has summer gone. It’s not since June, that we’ve had a decent period of good biking weather, with rain every day it seems. I suppose we should be thankful, it’s so much worse in other parts of the world at the moment.
That hasn’t stopped us getting out on the bikes though, the wheels are still turning. The “InverRaring To Go” run, organised by Ian McIntosh, looked like a fun run on some great roads. As the weather looked favourable, I added my name to the small list of two riders, late the night before.
The sun was shining bright in the sky, when I arrived first at the start point in Stirling, on my Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro. Even better the temperature was rising, it was looking good for the day. Next to arrive was Charlie, on his beautiful, brand new Yamaha XSR900, what a stunning bike. With only 100 miles on the clock he was eager get the mileage up before its imminent first service. Ian then arrived on his lovely BWM R nineT Urban G/S followed by Kenny on his new Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro. These Tigers are becoming very popular on club runs these days.
Ian was relieved that the numbers had risen at the last moment. This was to increased to five bikes, as we would pick up Kona on her Yamaha Tracer 700 at Lochearnhead. After the normal get together, and drooling over Charlie’s new bike, it was time to get moving.
With Ian leading and me as TEC, we hit the road. It was at this point I glanced down at my temperature gauge, it was showing 22c, happy days, but it wasn’t to last. We made good progress up to Lochearnhead, to be greeted by Kona who was waiting for us, ready and eager, to enjoy the days run.
The ride then took us to Crianlarich and down the A82 towards Tarbet. The winding Loch Lomond road was quieter than usual, but we were still held back by slow tourists and camper vans. Things then improved, with the fabulous road through the Arrochar Alps and up over the Rest and be Thankful. The roadworks there have gone at long last, at least until the next landslide. Approaching Inveraray, the clouds got darker and more ominous, then the rain started. It wasn’t long before it was pouring down, I was now regretting having only my jeans on. Charlie in front of me pulled into a lay-by, eager to put his waterproofs on, as did I. Note to self, don’t wait till it’s pouring before stopping to do this.
We then continued on our way, and as so often happens, the rain soon stopped and the roads were dry once again. Stopping at Inveraray, we reassessed the situation. The sky was blue in the direction we were heading, and as the weather forecast looked ok, we decided to continue with the original planned route.
Leaving Inveraray, we headed up the A819 to Cladich where we turned onto the B840. This took us down the east side of Loch Awe to Ford. This is a long 21 mile, long and winding narrow single track road, with occasional views of the loch. We rode down this tree and shrub lined section, with varying road surfaces, squeezing past oncoming cars and camper vans. Near the end we climbed up into the hills, this is where we stopped to admire the views of the surrounding stunning landscape.
Getting rather hungry at this point, we pressed on to Ardfern, a place I’ve never been to before. Riding into the village we passed a very busy harbour with lots of sailing boats moored on the water, also a large boat repair yard. This is obviously a very popular place for sailing enthusiasts. Arriving at “Lucy’s Cafe come Bakery”, we parked the bikes and headed inside. The place was very busy, with every table taken. Thankfully it was dry outside, and there were some undercover benches for our use. With coffee, scones, soup and sandwiches ordered, we all tucked into an excellent alfresco lunch. My smoked trout and cream cheese sandwich was delicious, everything else looked very tasty as well. Many thanks to Ian for treating us all to the coffees, it was very much appreciated.
Fed and watered we continued on the with the run. From Ardfern we headed up the fantastic A816 to Oban, I just love this road. Entering Oban we encountered a very long line of slow moving traffic. I assumed it was roadworks, then I saw a sign for the Oban Highland Games today, this may have been the cause. Much filtering was needed if we were ever to get home before dark. The famous five cut a swathe through the very busy traffic, stopping mid filter to top up with petrol. Asking at the petrol station why the traffic was so bad, the reply was, “It’s just Oban, try filtering” LOL. So that’s what we continued to do, filtering all the way through the town centre, eventually reaching clearer roads on the way out. I’ve been through Oban many times, but that’s the worst traffic I’ve ever encountered there.
It was then time for the homeward journey. Heading towards Connel the rain started once again, which meant a very wet run to Tyndrum, and a quick stop. At this point we reflected on what was, a great day out on the bikes, despite what the summer weather threw at us. Poor Charlie, his pristine new bike was now in need of a good clean, as were ours.
We all said our goodbyes, as Kenny and Charlie were going home by Stirling, with Kona, Ian and I were going by Crieff.
The last part of the day, for me at least, was a blast down Glendevon in glorious sunshine, strange weather indeed.
The end of another fun SMC run on the bikes, many thanks to Ian McIntosh for organising it for us all to enjoy.