Scotland, 11/4 to 14/4 2016

Starting mileage - something like 77060.

The venerable CB, packed for a trip. Bungees were bought from Screwfix because they were cheap, but they're really weedy - cannot recommend. The nice thing about older bikes is they have big flat seats like this so you can strap stuff on to them, what do people do with modern bikes where there's just a perch for the pillion?

Wish the thief who stole it a year ago hadn't smashed the top box up, that would've been pretty useful.

Made it to Carlisle, all the way from Leicester! Stayed with an old mate, Monday completed.

Ahh Tuesday. Set off from Carlisle in the hammering rain. Made it all the way to the M8 which is a kind of spine road that goes through/over Glasgae, always in the rain. At this point, with nowhere to pull off to the side and loads of traffic behind me, the CB decides to drop on to one cylinder which gives me a top speed of between 15 and 40MPH. I daren't stop as it may never start again, so slog it along hugging the kerb until the rain finally lets up and the right cylinder chimes in more and more. The CB never gives any trouble in any weather, its reliability is why it is my main bike. This is extremely concerning. I also miss the turn off for the Trossachs as I haven't mentioned it on my sat nav list, so get to Port Glasgow and am slightly lost. Combine this with the cold, the constant wet and a bike that has decided now is the best time to show some vulnerability and my mood is not altogether chipper.

Back to Glasgow and the A898/M898 and we find the A82 which goes along the west side of the Trossachs and Loch Lomond, and will actually take you all the way past Fort William. It rained all the way along the Trossachs and Lomond, there were even flood signs along Lomond - very wet. The bike didn't complain though, obviously happier at the lower speeds. Eventually we made it past Lomond and the rain kind of stopped, hoorah. This is past Tyndrum but before Glencoe in the middle of nowhere. I just stopped to jump about and warm up, and let the rain that had collected inside my waterproofs fall out through my trouser legs. Oh the glamour of motorcycling.

Shortly after this the bike stuttered and I had to turn it on to reserve - IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. The slogging through Glasgow on one cylinder must have chucked a load of fuel away because I really wasn't expecting it. We (the CB and I, we are a team) made it to Glencoe after a very careful/economical bit of riding where I could fill it up. Phew.

Bunroy campsite at Roybridge, a little north of the awfully touristy Fort William. A lovely place where it actually wasn't raining. Quickly put the tent up (who cares if it's a bit wonky) and..

..Get yerself dahn the pahb! Things were looking up. Tuesday Completed.

Wednesday, Skye day. Very light rain in the morning but soon cleared, and the further west I got the better the weather became. This is somewhere on the A87, not yet at Skye. Again, stopped to jump about and clutch my fingers in agony. Stupid April.

Mountains and water everywhere.

I think this is a side view of Skye, not entirely sure. It was all becoming one by this point.

The Skye bridge!

Broadford, Skye. Stopped at a lovely little bakery shop for soup and hot chocolate, this was the scene at the back of it. It's so idyllic somehow, like stepping back in time. And everyone seems so happy. Disturbing.

Uig on Skye, the end of the A87. At this point I had to make a decision - do I follow the A882 all the way round and make today a very long day, or do I turn back and go straight back to Roybridge? The answer, of course, is obvious.

The A882 is mostly about six feet wide with passing places, I think it's even smaller than the A9 right up near Scourie. The CB250 was loving in, especially in its current "GS" form with a light knobbly on the rear and jacked up rear shocks. We were the fastest on Skye at the time, or so it seemed. Oh, and yes that is the Atlantic.

I've been around on bikes. I've been right round the outside of Scotland, I live in Leicestershire which is prime bike roads country, I've ridden alpine passes and the Grossglockner and been through Switzerland and Austria and quite a bit of Germany. But this right here, and the wider section nearer Portree if you're going clockwise, this is just fantastic. The road swoops up and down and left and right but you can always see where it's going. The surface is surprisingly good for most of it. There are no speed cameras or police so you don't need to worry about looking out for them. There aren't many cars. It's just top notch. I think they should hold a road racing event here, it's perfect for it and it would do their economy a power of good.

The last picture I got to take before the cold killed the battery in my phone. There were many more places I wanted to take pics of, I was going to get them on the way back but then couldn't. There are places far more dramatic than I have managed to show you, there are sweeping roads that snake off into the distance, black mountains, snow capped mountains, all sorts. But the best way to see it is to just go there, it's easy enough to do. You don't even need to buy special money. After this I had my first bit of haggis (just spicy minced offal, what's the big deal?), I met some walkers who thought I was a hero for camping in April and touring on a 250 so I had several drinks bought for me, and then I got hailed/snowed on during my trip back and nearly drowned on the M1 just 25 miles from home which made the bike drop on to one cylinder again. The only real way back from Derby/Nottingham to Leicester is the M1, it's impossibly difficult to find your way back on small roads so I just faffed about and kept it running until the cloud moved away. Absolute nightmare, new plug caps and plugs will be bought very soon and maybe a pair of coils. I can't be doing with an unreliable bike. The overall mileage was ~1140 miles, camping a mere £7.50 a night and fuel never over £1.10 a litre even in remote places. Just go see it!!

Ending mileage - 78221

My first job when I got back was to replace the plugs and the spark plug caps because a bike that falters in the wet is unacceptable. Removing the old caps revealed a terrible sight:

The spark had clearly been crawling down the outside of the plug. This may have been down to the plug breaking down inside and the internal resistance reaching such a point that the electrickery found it easier to go down the outside than through the centre of the plug, or it may have been down to the way the rubber seals on the plug cap had gone hard. Either way new plugs (Denso Iridium IUF22s, no less) and new NGK caps were fitted. I also fitted a sticker that had been bought back in 2014 and slapped on the old top box which is no longer with us. Thanks for the memories Paul, long shall the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum remain in our memories.