Travelling the North Coast 500

We have friends on both the west and east coasts of the Country so whenever we head up to Scotland we try to catch up with as many of them as we can.  This breaks up the journey but also dictates where we stop.  Once we started the NC500 our stops were dictated by what accommodation was available.  If you plan well in advance or are willing to camp (far too old and broken for that) then you have much more choice where to stop.  Be prepared that accommodation is not cheap but having somewhere to rest and dry out proved invaluable.

THE ITINERARY

Unfortunately, I managed to shred the receipts before taking a note of the number of litres so not sure what the fuel consumption was.

THE BIKE

When I passed my test 18 months ago I wanted a geared bike with reasonable bhp and torque, but it also had to be comfortable!  The right leg angle was critical due to a knee replacement and previously pinned and plated ankle.  The brake and clutch levers needed to be in easy reach and not too heavy.  I didn’t want to be leant forward all the time putting pressure on my shoulders, back and hands.

After sitting on endless motorbikes I arrived at a Triumph Tiger 660 Sport.  Having only ridden a motorbike for 3 months when I passed my test it probably wasn’t the best choice and I dropped it more than once which badly knocked my confidence.  However, it was suggested I have the bike lowered and it is now pretty near perfect for me.

What I would say is that it is annoying that you cannot get either a genuine or aftermarket centre stand for the bike at the moment which makes oiling the chain difficult when you are away.  At home I have a paddock stand.   Luckily for me my husband also did the trip by car (it is too far for him on his motorbike) so help was at hand.

Before leaving I had the bike serviced, it wasn’t due a service but I don’t have the mechanical knowledge to be able to look after the bike to the standard I would like.  I think it was money well spent as the bike never missed a beat and more importantly didn’t let me down.  It is still covered by the Triumph break down policy and I have Green Flag Cover for my car which would also cover the bike.  I purchased a puncture repair kit but thankfully didn’t have to use it, going forward I will probably buy a battery operated pump as well.

I have got heated grips fitted which for me is a must.  It wasn’t particularly cold but I have arthritis in my hands and gentle heat seems to help. 

What I don’t have is any form of cruise control so my hands did suffer. 

I have a top box and panniers fitted which are all very spacious and allowed me to carry my own kit.  I also had a dry bag which fitted on the pillion seat and I had my waterproofs in there as that made them handy to get at in a hurry.  My husband may have taken a few luxuries in the car!  I also have a tank bag which has the following essentials:

• - Wallet
• - Spare glasses (I need glasses to be able to ride)
• - Prescription sun glasses
• - Change – Most public toilets in Scotland seem to be open on a donation basis but occasionally you do need to pay to enter.
• - Visor cleaner

The tank bag also has a map case that fits on top.  Whilst I used my phone for navigation, I always had a map folded to the route so that if the phone packed up for any reason or I was totally disorientated I had the map as a backup.

For navigation I used my iPhone and Google Maps.  In principle this worked very well, however, the “waterproof” case that attaches by magnet to the handle bars was not up to torrential rain and the lead also got wet causing the phone to switch off.  Have you noticed how that is always when you need it most!  After the first episode my husband lent me his battery pack and I attached that to the phone and put it in the map case.  It wasn’t very easy to read but I have Bluetooth in my helmet so could still hear the instructions.  Going forward I would like to find a proper waterproof mounted satnav but they all look rather complicated so some research is going to be required!  Signal around most of the route was pretty good but I did try to put the route in when we were at accommodation with Wi-Fi before setting off.

For security I carried a disc lock for the front wheel and “U” shaped lock that fits to the rear wheel.  One of the “luxuries” my husband carried with him was a heavy duty chain.  On safety grounds I will not carry it on the bike, it is just too heavy.  Initially, I also covered the bike but the cover turned out not to be waterproof and just kept the water in so I will rethink that for future trips.

KIT

My basic kit is a Shoei helmet with Freed Conn blue tooth intercom, LSZ armoured jacket with zip in waterproof and warm linings, Motogirl Jeans and Falco Leather Aviator Boots.  For this trip I purchased a pair of Richa over trousers which came with a label saying “100% waterproof”, luckily I got to test these out before departing as they were definitely not 100% waterproof and no one likes a soggy bottom!  I complained direct to Richa and Sports Bike Shop sent a replacement pair under warranty which I have to say were waterproof but as I didn’t get the opportunity to try them out before I left I also purchased a pair of Oxford Continental Advance Textile Trousers which also proved to be waterproof.

What I have learnt, however, is that for me at least, there is a compromise.  If I get the longer length then I risk them getting caught when I put my feet down but the standard length allows them to “ride up” and then the water drains down into my boots.  I also found that in torrential rain my boots are not waterproof.  Going forward I will try to find some waterproof boots but the damage to my ankle means it is very hard to get boots so I may have to put up with wet feet or put my feet in plastic bags before putting the boots on.  I am also going to look for some ankle gaiters that would fit under the waterproof trousers and over the boots.

With the arthritis in my hands I find heavy duty gloves too painful to wear so have kept to my light weight summer gloves, even in winter.  However, in heavy rain they soak up the water and take a long time to dry out so when we left Blackpool I had to call in at the Honda Dealer and buy a waterproof pair of Alpinestar gloves.  They are still summer spec but with the heated grips hopefully they will work for me though the winter.

THE TRIP

Breaking up the trip on the way up and back and visiting friends made the tedium of the motorways much more bearable and meant that every day there was something to look forward to. 

Once you leave Blackpool and start traveling up through the lakes and into Scotland the scenery just gets better and better and the roads become less busy and more fun to ride. However, I was very surprised by the number of accidents that occur on the A9 as it is a nice enough road but I think people become impatient.  Whilst we were on holiday, it is easy to forget that others are not and may be in a hurry to get to somewhere so you have to stay alert.  This is also the case all around the NC500.  You will come around a corner or over a blind summit (there are a lot of those!) and the view that greets you is stunning but cars and motorhomes will just suddenly pull in or worst still, across the front of you to be able to take in the view.  Always expect the unexpected.  I did meet a couple of riders who had had that happen to them and one had come off.  Thankfully, he was ok but he had been wearing an airbag jacket which did its job and but for that he felt he would not have got away with just a sore knee.  Something to consider for the future (the gas bottles are not cheap but it could be worth considering a spare as well).

I was worried that fuel would be an issue but were plenty of 24 hour fuel stations around the NC500 where you just paid at the pump.  You couldn’t always get E5 but as the fuel wasn’t going to be in the tank for long I was happy to use E10 where necessary.  The only place I got caught out was on the road from Dornie to Pitlochry.  There may well have been garages in the villages but the route didn’t always take you into the village itself.  We finally found a garage just before the A9 only to find it was out of petrol!  I don’t like being low on fuel but with only a few miles left to Pitlochry I took a chance.  My husband was with me and we had intended him taking 5 litres in a can in the car but he didn’t really want the car smelling of petrol fumes for 17 days.  However, if I ran out he could at least go and get petrol for me.  Of course, nothing is ever simple and as we joined the A9 the satnav announced that there was an accident which then delayed us.  Luckily I did make it but it was a rather anxious end to the ride that day.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

This was a holiday that just kept giving. 

Leaving the Black Isle and crossing the Cromarty Firth at the start of the NC500 I had a feeling of overwhelming excitement that didn’t leave me until we were heading home.  Wick was a great stop for lunch in the harbour on route to John O’Groats.  I wanted to go to John O’Groats as I had been to Land’s End in May so it only seemed fitting but it is very much a tourist destination.  This was also the only part of the trip I really struggled with as the wind got very strong while we were at John O’Groats and from there to Thurso (thankfully only a short distance) it was a steep learning process working out how to keep the bike from sliding across the road in the left hand corners (the tyres squealing rather gave it away) but I figured it out and got to our destination upright!

From Tongue onwards was the most scenic and we were lucky to have beautiful weather that day.  Whilst it is nice to visit some of the towns I found the scenery in between far more appealing.  Cocoa Mountain at Durnish was expensive and not somewhere I would bother visiting again, but the ride from Scourie to Drumberg and Lochinver was what riding in Scotland was all about for me.  Technical single track roads, blind summits, 1:25 descents and stunning scenery.  As I was riding this part alone I did take my time, there are some steep drops in places and a distinct lack to safety barriers but it just adds to the excitement.  It also set me up well for the Bealach Na Ba pass.  I was riding that alone too and whilst I could have covered the ground much quicker I chose to just take it easy and take in the sheer beauty of the unfolding countryside.  There are plenty of passing places and mostly people are very courteous.  If I could see traffic approaching I did tend to stop early so that I had choices and didn’t have to pull off onto rough ground or steep slopes.  Everywhere you looked was so beautiful and different, from Mountains to valleys, sea to Lochs it was a sensory overload. 

Would I go to Scotland again?  – Definitely.

What would I do differently – Yes.  I would find a central location with self-catering accommodation and ride out from there each day.  Whilst you can put a route into Google Maps and see how long it will take the reality is that it takes a lot longer, especially if you take your time and stop regularly to take in the scenery.  That can make for quite a long day, especially when you have to pack and unload your kit each day.  It would also take the pressure off of having to make it to each planned stop irrespective of the weather.