Shetland trip, or "all hail the mighty Shetland bus stop!"
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:50 pm
Got back yesterday around lunchtime, fantastic trip. Though not really suitable for a classic A-B cycle tour it is a great place to ride and explore. The roads are mainly dead ends that take you to a community or a headland of some description, so involves a very conveluted route choice. No matter, as the place is a real treasure trove of discovery, from old settlements and Brochs etc, to WWII sites and memorials. Scenery not too shabby either! The pictures are roughly in chronological order, though not entirely as PhotoBucket was playing up?! Gives you a feel for the place mind.
The weather was very windy, and a few days with rainy squalls, hence the title. I would often find myself scoping the road ahead looking for the tell tale sign of a bus shelter as the next storm/shower approached, pretty zen at times
They offer great protection of course, and are much appreciated by the communities that use them, evidenced by the furnishings some of them have! I was also a little over geared for the Island, which in the main has long steady climbs that wear you down, more than a kilometre in many cases. on the last 2 days the wind was around 30-40 gusting to 50mph at times, more than once I had to walk on the flat or downhill as the cross winds were such that I was being blown into the middle of the road. It was only a matter of time before i was under a truck/bus/car. The drivers were all very patient by the way, even the truck/bus drivers, giving plenty of space or time.
Given my worn out knees I was more than a little dissapointed that a new cassette/chainring combo didn't arrive in time, 36-30 as the lowest gear made for very slow and painful progress I can tell you. I am hobbling around the flat like a real old man at present
I hope to go back again in the spring and do a little further north, and will be appropriately gear for sure. Any one fancies joining me your more than welcome, you wouldn't be disappointed that's for sure.
The weather was very windy, and a few days with rainy squalls, hence the title. I would often find myself scoping the road ahead looking for the tell tale sign of a bus shelter as the next storm/shower approached, pretty zen at times
They offer great protection of course, and are much appreciated by the communities that use them, evidenced by the furnishings some of them have! I was also a little over geared for the Island, which in the main has long steady climbs that wear you down, more than a kilometre in many cases. on the last 2 days the wind was around 30-40 gusting to 50mph at times, more than once I had to walk on the flat or downhill as the cross winds were such that I was being blown into the middle of the road. It was only a matter of time before i was under a truck/bus/car. The drivers were all very patient by the way, even the truck/bus drivers, giving plenty of space or time. Given my worn out knees I was more than a little dissapointed that a new cassette/chainring combo didn't arrive in time, 36-30 as the lowest gear made for very slow and painful progress I can tell you. I am hobbling around the flat like a real old man at present
I hope to go back again in the spring and do a little further north, and will be appropriately gear for sure. Any one fancies joining me your more than welcome, you wouldn't be disappointed that's for sure.
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