Belfast City Hall

Yes, I know there is a huge ferris wheel next to it. And no, I have on idea what they were thinking.

Loughshore Park

Carrickfergus Castle

Whitehead

A much prettier town.

Leaving behind the unlovely city of Larne

Front row at the bonfire

I unwittingly pitched my tent next to a field where the crowd is celebrating whatever it is the Irish celebrate on 13 July. Bonfires and drums and the likelihood of precious little sleep.

Ferry to Larne

Glasgow Necropolis

Despite the bright sunshine, the Necropolis still managed to exude the creepy, cobwebby feeling common to run-down Victorian cemetaries. Acres of graves and derelict mausoleums, many of them carved with Celtic motifs, cover a large hill by the Cathedral.

Cutest cows

There's attitude everywhere

A rare unpleasant interaction at the train ticket window where the clearly bored and sullen attendant deliberately delayed opening despite the fact that the train was leaving the station in a few minutes. Her TV watching was abruptly interrupted by an enraged ten year old from New York, who started slamming on the window without ceasing. As far as I was concerned they deserved each other. Ticket purchased, I am now relaxing on the train and looking forward to seeing Ufuk and Erica in Glasgow.

View of Maillaig from Armadale

Mountains majesty

The lovely mountains of Skye, between Portree and Broadmore. Met my first cranky bus driver who had me worried the next driver would refuse to take my bike to Armadale. But everything worked out fine and with a little luck I will be in Glasgow tonight.

I'm a happy camper

Neist Point lighthouse

Stone cold shame

There are hundreds of these abandoned buildings on the islands. The quality of the construction puts modern materials and techniques to shame. And yet they are apparently not worth maintaining or retrofitting.

Unavoidable absences

T-Mobile apparently has no service to the Outer Hebrides and Skye. I'm surfing the first working unlocked wireless network I've found in days to put up this post. As soon as I get back to the mainland I'll upload the backlogged photos and messages. As an update, I took the bus to Tarbert, biked from Tarbert to Lochmaddy, then took the ferry to Uig, on the Isle of Skye. This morning I biked the beautiful coastal road to Portree and grabbed a bus from there to Dunvegan. I'm now staying at Rima's animal sanctuary at Lower Maillovaig and will be here a couple of days. Rima, ironically, is in Germany for a conference and won't get here until tomorrow night. I will probably be on Skye until the afternoon of the 9th and then head to visit Ufuk and Erica in Glasgow. My ferry leaves Troon for Larne on the 12th, and I'll explore the Giant's causeway and explore Belfast while being hosted there by Killian. That's the bare bones of it -- pictures to follow ASAP.

Uig Harbor

... With its folly overlooking the bay.

Ferry to Skye

Decided to go from Lochmaddy to Uig. The wind is too strong to make the thought of riding south through Uist a pleasant one and I am hoping Skye will be better. Started out sunny but it has clouded up. If the weather is decent the ride to Portree tomorrow should be beautiful.

I didn't expect water lilies

They are blooming by the thousands.

From the Bernary causeway

Waiting for the ferry

I made it to the port at Leverburgh after a couple of hours of very hard riding. Though it was only 14 miles the headwind was so strong I had to pedal hard to fight my way downhill even with the occasional 3+ percent grade. Not fun but the gorgeous scenery put me in a good mood. Relaxing in the sun by the water until the ferry comes in seems a good break in the day before I head the next ten windy miles to my destination at Lochmaddy on North Uist. From there tomorrow's destination will depend, literally, on which way the wind blows.

Macleod's Stone

The morning's first new beach.

This is what it's all for

Changing landscapes

This morning it was moors and highland sheep but this afternoon it is all beach from Aird Niosaboist on.

Finding breakfast

I've always disliked breakfast foods and prefered to wait for lunch but a bike trip makes breakfast a necessity. Its tough to find a place that'll cook you a simple plate of eggs, sausage and toast without the other makings of the dreaded scottish breakfast. This plate took some negotiating with the cook. And now, properly fortified and despite the possibility of rain I am off to ride the west coast of Harris.

Tarbert

Here I am in Tarbert, where rain is again a distinct possibility. The mountains are pretty, and the plants are so enormous that they remind me of Little Shop of Horrors. (The pole in the photo is at least 2.5 meters tall.) And who knew that roses could thrive by the seashore? I'd never seem a truly purple rose before.

Stornoway

The guide books describe it as a barren town with little to recommend it, of so it appears to be. There is a pleasant little art center cafe where I am ripping lemonade, to be followed by a ginger beer to cool down the hot, muggy day. I am waiting for the bus to Tarbert, which will save me 37 miles of riding through moorland and the saddle between two large mountains and will instead allow me to start my next ride along the gold coast of Harris, famous for its beautiful beaches.

Typos

PS. I know there are some egregious typos in this blog. Blame it on the mobile phone's T9 software and the fact I can't edit text (except titles) after I post unless I have access to a wireless network for my laptop.

Island adventure

This morning I awoke to relatively clear skies and was able to dry and pack my tent. At the moment I am in the lounge of the ferry waiting for it to depart. The lounge is also occupied by a large tour group of deaf people of all ages, who are exceedingly loud. After living in Tucson, which has a very large deaf population, I found this surprising, since the deaf Americans I know seem to vocalize far less than they sign. This group, however, is cackling, grunting, chirping, croaking, clapping, and moaning in a conversation that clearly makes sense to them, but is just as clearly setting the teeth of all the hearing folk on edge because it violates our social taboos about appropriate noises sane adults are supposed to make in public. There is a moral to be drawn from this, I am sure, he only I could summon the concentration to uncover it.

Drag

I really hope it's done raining by morning so I don't have to pack up a soggy tent.

After the storm

More things I'm glad I brought

Teva sandals and neoprene booties!

The trip to Tanera

Summer Isles

I took the Summer Queen cruise from Ullapool where we have stopped at the tiny port of Tamara. There is a single cafe, unrivaled in its awfulness, but compensated for by the quaintness of its post office where they sell stamps unique to the island. They were so charming I bought three sets for my young nephew.

Lighter fare

Scottish breakfasts and fried foods have lost the attraction of novelty and so I was glad to find a restaurant serving eggs and local smoked salmon. I have given up my quest to explore the nuances of difference between black, red, and white pudding and haggis. All seem to be regularly dished up dripping in grease and that has taken all the fun out of it.

Ullapool

A swell place to wake up.

Pet cemetery

On the beach front near Cullen harbor I stumbled upon this memorial. I find human burial grounds fascinating for the stories they tell but rarely do they allow raw human grief to penetrate the formal facade. Here you can see it displayed in its unadulterated state.