New seasons adventures underway

[matthewslack]

Forced to take holiday in February and faced with 8 days of forecast bright or sunny, I had no option but to take to the road today. Only 5 days before back at work so a shortish trip, and though welcome, the sun is still too low in the sky for solar antics, so I have brought my two new but old batteries along for the ride. Together with my two downtube batteries I have nominally 1800Wh, for a range of up to 180 miles!

Also onboard, I have finally bit the 11 speed bullet and a set of Shimano M5100 shifter, derailleur and cassette with SRAM PC1110 chain gives me 38 front 51 rear instead of my 9 speed 38/36.

There might be a big hill in a day or two!

A couple of learning points already.

I have given the four year old but unused batteries a bit of exercise beforehand, and to my surprise when charged to full with the slow charger, they now indicate the full 180km of range that would be expected of a new 504Wh battery. At £130 each, I'm very pleased with that.

And then the idiot moment! The indexing just wasn't right on my new gears, kept shifting two cogs for one click. Really awkward, but very simple answer. I had the cable the wrong way around the clamp bolt, so the lever was effectively several mm shorter, so the cage was moving too far... I'll fix it in the morning.

70 miles today to a familiar layby campsite via a new pub for food, tea and an hour's charge.

Tomorrow I'll see if the cafe just up the road does a good breakfast, and then it's about 50 miles to the next guaranteed charge and 95 to the other side of the big hill.

That cable.



Castle Stalker, halfway to Fort William.



My camp a week or so ago the night of Storm Otto. Trees and walls make good windbreaks!

 

[snafu]

Looks bloody fabulous I'm very jealous. I need to get back up to Scotland for a few day long trips. (Nothing like yours).

Looking forward to future updates as you go along.

TTFN
John.

 

[matthewslack]

Awaiting my dinner in the Lochcarron Hotel, one of the few proper all year round pub/ restaurant/hotels in these parts. I assumed there would be somewhere on this large village and very happy to find it here and open.

A cracking day, going out on a limb a bit battery-wise, but paying off. Half an hour in the Glenshiel chocolate cafe/shop/factory, best tea on all my travels and great chocolate brownie, then an hour and a half sitting in the sun on the Skye bridge whilst a friendly helpful lady at the station in Kyle allowed the use of a socket in her office gave me the two hours of charging I was hoping for today, and another hour now sets me up well for tomorrow's big hill.

The hotel in Shieldaig is also open and welcoming on the phone, so one way or another that will be food and charging tomorrow.

My new bottom gear had its first proper test today. 14% gradient after 80 miles, in level 1 assist was on the limit but fine. Last summer, full assist wasn't enough with the somewhat heavier solar trailer and I had to resort to a serpentine route. Tomorrow is steeper and longer...

Starting point at Loch Lochy layby.



One of many lovely lay-bys available for camper vans.



A very friendly railway station.



View north from the low part of the Skye bridge.



Great cup of tea.



The view back to the mountains.



Earlier mountains.



Early view of tomorrow's hills.



A major milestone for my bike. Km not miles.



One of my rather good new batteries showing its full capacity.

 

[matthewslack]

They said -3, but the ice on the inside of my inner tent and the heavy frost outside looked a bit more -5ish to me. Just the start of spectacular views all day.

This was what I came for: Bealach na Ba with my fancy new 11 speed gears, and a full 500Wh battery saved for the moment. I gave the batteries a bit of time in the sun before setting off, and went easy on the first 200 vertical metres, level 1 and slow, then mixing in a bit of level 2 for the next 200. Then a 45 minute break to dry my tent, and let the motor cool before the top section.

Very little drama, and about 40% of the battery left at the top, which fitted with my rough estimates of motor efficiency and my contribution. I passed by last June, knowing that it was beyond the capability of my 9 speed setup and heavier solar trailer, so this has been on my wish list for a while.

The views carry on all day, first the pass itself and the Kishorn drydock below where ships and rigs go to die, and where a current visitor is around 200m tall - a third the height of the pass! - then all of Skye, then around the corner, Torridon, and today even last thing, the best Northern Lights display I've ever seen.

If you come this way, definitely worth coming prepared for the pass and the very undulating coastal road north from Applecross. One of the most scenic days available on the mainland.

I did well for charging today: Shieldaig bar was very welcoming, I missed the kitchen but caught the first half of the rugby, so an hour there, and then having been chased up past the Torridon hills by the setting sun, I rolled onto Kinlochewe looking for smoke from the hotel chimneys, and there it was - specially open out of season for a photography group, but food, drink and charging available to passing cyclists too. I had to wait an hour or so for dinner service, which my batteries did not mind in the least!

A very good venison in red wine casserole, and crumble and custard to follow.

Well set up for the 140 miles over two days to get me home in time for work on Wednesday. I need about 21 'bars' of battery, and across the four I am carrying I have 14 in the tank.

Tent footprint in the frost.



Looking up the early part.



View back down.



The switchback section at the top.



Looking east early on.



Skye ridge from the top.



Northern Skye looking over Raasay and Rona



Being Alligin.



Ridge of Liatach.



The chasing sunset.

 

[Plas man]

Brrr , ’o to be young again and not feel the cold , the scenery makes up for it , thanks for sharing .

 

[matthewslack]

Today's report soon, but first a couple of interesting overtakes to share.

First, a recovery truck driver who was unable to change their mind, despite having at least 2.5 seconds visibility of the oncoming big red van. Only the forbearance of the van driver prevented a big head-on collision. He had to slow almost to a standstill and pull hard left. Frames 557 first sight of van and 621, first camera sight of overtaking truck. 24 FPS.

Frame 557, van clearly visible.



Frame 621, 2.67 seconds later, first sight of recovery truck in my handlebar camera.



Big truck!



Not a lot of margin.





Then the utterly inattentive driver who from the wildly waving left arm was having a very animated chat with the front seat passenger, who by my calculations passed 4 inches away from my right elbow. Empty road, but completely in my lane. Some extreme vocabulary practice might have surprised anyone within half a mile!

Where's my road, lady?

 

[matthewslack]

A long day, 92 miles, closing the loop and putting me in reach of home tomorrow with fairly good battery state, lots of good food inside me, a couple of slow hard to find punctures but otherwise everything working well.

Another hard frost, a brief glimpse of sun out west but then all the way via Achnasheen, Garve, Contin, Muir of Ord, Beauly to Drumnadrochit under high but thick overcast skies. Bitterly cold, I was up to three pairs of socks and doubled up thermal leggings all day.

I passed by three charging opportunities before stopping for an early lunch in a cafe / delicatessen in Beauly, just before noon and the lunchtime rush. Great lentil soup and bacon brie cranberry sandwich and frittata takeaway for later. Tempting selection of cheeses and pies etc for another day.

I really wanted to stop at the Midge cafe at Achnasheen, but after only 12 km could not justify it! Open daily, now I know it can be planned for another time.

Then a quick run down the Great Glen to my first night camp again, 499km later in three days. There was another glorious sunset which I just caught the end of. Many trees in the way for quite a time!

Edit: correction on the distance: 499 km total on the four days, 387 over the three day loop. Late night getting the better of my maths brain!

Still 70 miles for my last day, but home ground. I had intended to be further on, but not for the first time, my use of route planner mileage went awry, and an extra 15 turned up unexpectedly! Today's early start and long day mean that it is not a disaster.

Some extraordinary images online of last night's Northern Lights display. My phone camera, or more likely me, could not manage to capture any.

Sunset reflected in Loch Lochy.



Frosty cockpit!



Last night's camp, this morning.



Last look back to the sunny west.



The Midge. Some day soon...



The odd break in cloud over mountains.



Lunch and deli counter in Beauly.



Old bridge from new bridge, Invermoriston.



Quick stop for a drink of Loch Ness Monster Brew.



Fort Augustus, home of Cobb's cafe, another fine, helpful place.



And that sunset again.

 

[guerney]

I have given the four year old but unused batteries a bit of exercise beforehand, and to my surprise when charged to full with the slow charger, they now indicate the full 180km of range that would be expected of a new 504Wh battery. At £130 each, I'm very pleased with that.

Bloody awesome lucky bargains! Ebay (if you bought them there) is great for buyers - they would almost certainly have refunded you, if those batteries had turned out to be duff or unsatisfactory. I recently bought a laptop battery, but the seller had mislabelled the listing... it wasn't compatible - seller refunded me and told me to keep it. If he hadn't, ebay would've.

They said -3, but the ice on the inside of my inner tent and the heavy frost outside looked a bit more -5ish to me.

Which sleeping bag are you using?

Then the utterly inattentive driver who from the wildly waving left arm was having a very animated chat with the front seat passenger, who by my calculations passed 4 inches away from my right elbow. Empty road, but completely in my lane. Some extreme vocabulary practice might have surprised anyone within half a mile!

Where's my road, lady?

I was going to ask this when I saw the second photo of post #1, and should have: Are you using one of your excellent GuerniCar Deflectors? My trailer is never without at least one - pictured before GuerneySiderating™ Illumimaker™ right handlebar-end extension, and fsckoff bright 1800LM rear red flashing horror light. The PassPixi sign made no discernable difference (not very reflective either), and will be replaced with a camera soon... but the good news is that the GuerneySiderating™ Illumimaker™ has made close passes a thing of the past, and cycling pleasurable again.

 

[matthewslack]

Bloody awesome lucky bargains! Ebay (if you bought them there) is great for buyers - they would almost certainly have refunded you, if those batteries had turned out to be duff or unsatisfactory. I recently bought a laptop battery, but the seller had mislabelled the listing... it wasn't compatible - seller refunded me and told me to keep it. If he hadn't, ebay would've.




Which sleeping bag are you using?




I was going to ask this when I saw the second photo of post #1, and should have: Are you using one of your excellent GuerniCar Deflectors? My trailer is never without at least one - pictured before GuerneySiderating™ Illumimaker™ right handlebar-end extension, and fsckoff bright 1800LM rear red flashing horror light. The PassPixi sign made no discernable difference (not very reflective either), and will be replaced with a camera soon... but the good news is that the GuerneySiderating™ Illumimaker™ has made close passes a thing of the past, and cycling pleasurable again.


View attachment 50479

View attachment 50488

View attachment 50487

I'm travelling without a horizontal Guernicar deflector, but with the Burley vertical flag. Seems to be a halfway house between nothing and the full Monty. Very quiet in February compared to last June, and my elbows are wider than the trailer, so felt less need. Summer will see the return of the full kit!

Batteries were eBay, from a maker of powered wheelchairs etc who must have moved to a more modern model. Mine are the uncompromising rectanguloid that was Shimano's first offering as a 'conceal' in the frame battery, which have been superseded by the more curvy cross sections that conceal better.

Two two season down sleeping bags, Mountain Equipment Dewline inside Lightline. From previous outdoor interests, and getting far more use now than when bought over 30 years ago!

I followed your progress with visibility with interest, thanking my lucky stars that I don't have to contend with such dense urban conditions very often.

Stay safe!

 

[Plas man]

Head for home and get warmed up ! , I’ve started to wear a balaklaver under my cycle helmet .

 

[matthewslack]

Home safe, and ready for back to work tomorrow.

616km over 5 days, 76.6 miles average.

An easy ride home, with a convenient police station in Fort William to report those dodgy drivers and sneak an hour or so charge at public expense, and once I could see a good time buffer, a lunch break to mend my two niggly punctures. 60 pumps every 5 miles was too much to carry on with!

I'll add pictures tomorrow when my phone is back in reception.

A good opener for the year, we'll see what the rest of it brings.

 

[Richtea70]

Great story and pictures, well done!

 

[Benjahmin]

Thanks for the lovely photo's from a part of the world I'm not likely to get too (my wife gets eaten alive by midges). The views are very compelling, however I still think you're an absolute nutter - camping at this time of year - up north !
I think it would be very instructive if you were to give lessons on your line of chat to get so many charging oportunities. Especially considering the current (no pun intended) power prices and the nationality of those you're asking.

 

[matthewslack]

A few pictures from yesterday, a few before Fort William, the rest southbound on Sustrans Route 78 from Fort William to Oban. I'm fortunate to have this 40 miles of cycle route as my start and finish sections every time I go north.

Commando memorial.



Ben Nevis in the cloud.



Glencoe south side mountains, from near Onich.



Bus stop for lunch and puncture repairs, just before the Ballachulish bridge.



Looking west from the old railway which is the cycle path here, across Loch Linne to the Morvern hills.



Castle Stalker again.



Shopping!



Final mileage.



Final battery state - not the full story, there was 60% left in one of my others!



Final sunset.



Until the next time...

 

[matthewslack]

Thanks for the lovely photo's from a part of the world I'm not likely to get too (my wife gets eaten alive by midges). The views are very compelling, however I still think you're an absolute nutter - camping at this time of year - up north !
I think it would be very instructive if you were to give lessons on your line of chat to get so many charging oportunities. Especially considering the current (no pun intended) power prices and the nationality of those you're asking.

I wouldn't let the midges put you off. Late May or early June, and stay in accommodation rather than camp or campervan and they will not dominate your visit. West coast, north coast and Western Isles are too good to miss!

My charging strategy is very simple:

Plan ahead so that a 'no' is not the end of the world by carrying sufficient battery capacity and only running really low where there is likely to be more than one charging possibility.

Stay ahead of the game by taking advantage of unexpected opportunities: a cafe I didn't know was there, the kind lady in the railway station on this trip.

Above all, be nice, undemanding and fit around their constraints. Happy to wait for food and drink, but aiming to get the charging started asap. Don't need a table indoors, just a socket and I can sit outside.

Make it easy for the answer to be yes, by being clear that I will be eating and drinking, that only the batteries need to come indoors, not the bike, and I only need a standard socket, not an electric car charging point.

And then...never demand, accept no without quibble (it is exceptionally rare), always link charging to spending, i.e. a meal and a pot of tea, not just plug in and spend nothing. Even now, an hour of my two fast chargers is at most 0.8kWh, so probably less than 30p. When I'm spending £10 to £30, I'm paying my way. I would not expect to pick the cheapest thing on the menu and stay an hour or more.

I don't stint on meals, because my accommodation cost is nil, I spend nothing on diesel, and it saves me the bother of cooking at camp. My stove is for tea and tea alone.

Another bit of preparation is to have chargers and a four way adapter all set up with excess cable length neatly tied away, so it is out of the bag and plugged in in moments. I keep two USB C chargers on the third and fourth sockets, for camera and phone.

And be prepared to engage with staff and customers. I become part of their day, and they become part of my trip.

For me travelling alone, mainly out of peak season, it works very well. On early trips I organised charging in advance, but quickly realised there was no need.

 

[flecc]

Make it easy for the answer to be yes, by being clear that I will be eating and drinking, that only the batteries need to come indoors, not the bike, and I only need a standard socket, not an electric car charging point.

It's perhaps the one time when the lack of popular e-biking in Britain is a blessing,

Imagine if we were like the Netherlands where 70% cycle, a very high proportion on e-bikes. Dozens of pedelecers at cafes, pubs, stations etc all hopefully clutching chargers, multiple batteries and leads !
.

 

[matthewslack]

It's perhaps the one time when the lack of popular e-biking in Britain is a blessing,

Imagine if we were like the Netherlands where 70% cycle, a very high proportion on e-bikes. Dozens of pedelecers at cafes, pubs, stations etc all hopefully clutching chargers, multiple batteries and leads !
.

I met a Dutch lady, friend of a customer, at work recently and we got around to chatting about ebikes and the charging issue. In her area every cafe etc has already adopted the ebike era and adapted by providing a parking area with either power points or chargers, not sure which.

So once again, they are ahead of us!

 

[sjpt]

Another vote for late April to mid May to avoid the midges. Though I think they have got earlier with global warming.

And a thank you for all the posts and photos.

 

[flecc]

I met a Dutch lady, friend of a customer, at work recently and we got around to chatting about ebikes and the charging issue. In her area every cafe etc has already adopted the ebike era and adapted by providing a parking area with either power points or chargers, not sure which.

So once again, they are ahead of us!

Yes, I'd heard that too. Perhaps not surprising, since with only a quarter of our population they buy a third of a million pedelecs each year. If each one lasts ten years, that's equal to every fifth person of any age having a pedelec.
.

 

[WheezyRider]

Nice to see your report and photos

Do you notice much drop off in battery performance in the cold? At -5 C I often see at least 30% drop in capacity, especially if the battery gets hammered with high current demand from hill climbing. Do you insulate your packs, or add heating elements? Are you charging at >0C?