Our first charity cycle in 2009 was to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland in support of our friend Stevie Law who has been diagnosed with this terrible condition.
The Route
As you can see in the space of four days we covered a lot of ground (5 islands) and water (8 ferries) approximately 200 miles.
Day 1 Largiemore – Port Askaig
We started at Largiemore on the eastern shore of Loch Fyne, caught the ferry at Portvadie to Tarbet then cycled to Tayvallich via the Crinan Canal where we caught a “rib boat” to Craighouse, Jura. Due to our rib breaking down we had only 30 minutes to reach the Feolin Ferry. Unfortunately we missed the ferry, being held up by a bull on the road who wouldn’t move. This resulted in a 3 hour wait to catch the next ferry but our spirits were kept high by playing Ludo.
Day 2 Port Askaig – Balckwaterfoot
In the pouring rain we climbed out of Port Askaig in a bid to catch the early morning ferry from Port Ellen. Since we arrived in Port Ellen relatively early, we decided to go for a morning swim in the sea. This refreshing swim seemed to be witnessed by most of the people on the island as most of the people on the boat recognised us when we were went round the passengers of the ferry.
Day 3 Blackwaterfoot – Rothesay 60 miles
The south end of Arran does present some challenging hill climbs especially when we are chasing the ferry. with minutes to spare we caught the ferry to Adrossan where we cycled to Largs and then circumnavigated the mountainous island of Little Cumbrae. We met up with Stevie Law and our families in Millport and had a couple of refreshing isotonic beers a good old natter before we set off to catch another two more ferries ending up in the Backpackers in Rothesay.
Day 4 Rothesay to Otter Ferry
Bleary eyed and not very bushy tailed we got up early to cycle our final leg. This final day was by no means easy but I was really rewarding to finish in Otter Ferry where we started only 4 days ago.
We relaxed in the sun had a couple of beers courtesy of the Oyster Catcher and ate like there was no tomorrow. Thanks Jan lovely lasagne!
