My Adventures.

An early morning rise at 4am. Bike packed up and last minute safety checks on the bike and on the road at 6am. Foggy ride along the Antrim Coast Road to Larne to catch the 8.30 P+O Ferry to Cairnryan. Smooth sailing and a healthy fry up on the Ferry so we were ready to ride as soon as soon we got off the Ferry. As we had done in a previous trip we decided to follow the coast as much as we could. A lunch stop in Preswick for a rest and a bite to eat. Next we rode up to Glasgow and Rocket got us lost going through the city but wouldn't admit to being lost until we had rode around in circles for at least an hour. After a quick stop to get the map out and figure out how best to get out of the city, we were on our way again. I think in future we will avoid the city and stay on the coast to go around Greenock. After getting out of the city we proceeded along the coast again. A great relaxing spin up to Loch Lomond. As it was getting late we didn't do as much exploring around Loch Lomand as we did the previous year and opted to get to our first days campsite. We stayed in Beinglas Farm Campsite. The facilities here were excellent and I would highly recommend a stay if you are in the area. Prebooking is advised during the summer months as places fill up very quickly.

After a good nights rest we were on the road again by 8am. A nice relaxed ride through the mountains. Plenty of stops to take some pictures of the stunning scenery. Arrived in Fort William around lunchtime. Bikes parked up we went exploring around the town. A bite to eat in Witherspoons and on the road again. Next we opted for a bit of touring around Glenfinnan, Lochailort, Accharacle, Corran. Small roads for the most part but reasonable surface with a few wider roads heading downhill again with long sweeping bends. A bikers dream and definitely brought a smile to my face. That evening we headed back to Fort William, took a little spin out to look at Ben Nevis and bunked down in Braemar Guesthouse which was nice although a little noisy with the sound of people walking upstairs heard in our room.

A little later on the road today and an hour on the road and disater struck! My chain snapped cruising along at 60mph. Luckily it got spat straight out the back of the bike and didn't get tangled in the wheel otherwise I might not have been here to tell the tale. Unfortunately that was where the luck ended. On inspection of the damage, I discovered that in the process of flinging off, the chain had snapped the clutch pin on it way out. As we still had a few days left on the trip we were feeling a bit anxious at the stage as to whether we could get it on the road again. After ringing around several garages we found somewhere that stocked the chain I needed but nowhere could get a clutch pin until Monday which would have lost us 2 days of the trip. We finally got talking to an old biker who came up with a solution of cutting the head of a bolt and slotting into the clutch to replace the pin. After a very scary run on the back of Rockets bike we got the bolt and a replacement chain in Inverness. Soon after we were on the road again. We headed towards Isle of Skye. Unfortunately because of the earlier misfortunes it was getting late. We had to forego the full tour around the island that we had planned and went straight to Kinlough Campsite and the tents up for the evening. This site is in a stunning location and the facilites were excellent.

We got the 10am Ferry to Cairnryan and were heading up the west coast of Scotland by lunchtime. Weather was clear and the roads fairly quiet. We spent most of the day exploring and enjoring the amazing coast roads and ended up in Loch Lomond. Unfortunately we hadn't prebooked any accommadation so we did struggle to find a campsite. Quite a few we tried were either booked out or didn't allow tents to be pitched. Eventually we settled in Milarrochy Bay Campsite located right on the shores of Loch Lomand. Would be a perfect base for someone who likes Kayaking with direct access onto the loch from the campsite.

Headed north first thing in the morning and through the mist covered mountains. The mist soon cleared and we wound through the mountains on brilliant roads that seemed to give us endless corners through the glens surrounded by forest. As evening approached we headed back south again with a stop in Inverarray for a rest and then followed the coastline to Lochgilphead. We had planned to do some wild camping around this area but after a couple of hours of aimlessly trying to find a spot we settled on just pitching up in Lochgilphead Caravan Park which normally doesn't take tents but luckily manager is a biker too and found us a spot to bed down for the night. The facilities here were spotless and the only fault I had was the water for the showers were cold at 7.30am.

A very early start to the day. 6am rise and a cold shower. On the road for 7.30am and back through Inverarray. We spent the morning enjoying some of the mountain roads on a different route back through Cairndow which again boasted well maintained roads with splendid views. Lunchtime saw us in Glasgow where we stopped for lunch. After our bellys were full we meandered down the coast again to catch the Ferry in Cairnryan. Off the ferry and a long ride back home to Donegal on my own to end a great weekend away. I will definitely be planning for another trip to Scotland in the near future.

The North West 200 is a must for any motorcyle enthusiast. I have been to these races a number of times and it never fails to excite. 3 days of high speed racing with the superbike riders doing speeds of over 200mph. Racing takes place around the coastline and through the towns of Portstuart, Colraine and Portrush. Aside from the racing there is plenty to see with all sorts of bikes on display and I was lucky enough to get a pass to go into the paddocks and see the race bikes up close and get a chat with a few of the riders. Portstuart puts on a fireworks display on the friday night with open air live music on the promanade. If the weather is good then it is a great weekend for all the family. Unfortunately the weather doesn't always play along and there have been many years were some of the races had to be delayed or cancelled which can lead to alot of waiting around for a race to resume but all in all it is worth it when you hear the roar of the bikes going past.

The Antrim Coast Road is very popular to ride by all bikers coming to the area and it definitely is worth a run. Personally I find that it can be a bit too busy in summer with tourist traffic so I usually opt to veer off the traditional route and ride along some of the Antrim Glens. The roads are much quieter and in my opinion the sceney is just as nice as on the coastal road. There are 9 glens along the Causeway coastal route and it takes a full days riding to cover them all. The roads vary from riding deep in the valleys to cruising along the hill tops with stunning views of countryside and sea. There are many locations scattered along the way that were used during the filming of the popular TV series "Game of Thrones" which can be interesting to see. The map shows one of my many day trips of exploring this area and everytime I ride around it, I find something new that catches my attention.

A trip around my home county. This was a full day of solo riding around the entire outside of Co. Donegal. The trip followed mostly the Wild Atlantic Way and covered over 250 miles. A mix of road surfaces and some tricky narrow roads with sharp bends. During the summer months this route can be very busy with camper vans so don't plan on making fast progress. I wouldn't recommend this for a sports bike as the roads can be quite rough in places and personally I am getting too old for all that bone rattling on a bike with a stiff suspension. These days I am opting for the slower more relaxed ride on my little 650 adventure bike which gives a much plusher ride and an upright sitting position to see the sights around. Plenty to see along the way with the hightlights for me being Malin Head and Slieve League Cliffs. Malin head is the most northern part of Ireland and the Slieve League Cliffs are the highest sea cliffs in Europe. If you have time I would highly recommend the Slieve Liag Boat Trip which leaves from Teelin and is owned by a fellow biker who has a wealth of local knowledge about the area and it's history. If want a guided Tour of Donegal then checkout True North Tours.