No crowds

North of Revelstoke they're plowing a logging road that gives you access to some superb terrain. There's not many people there, partly because you have to walk a little ways to get in there and partly because not too many people know about it...

Did I mention that the cold temperature kept the snow really light and fluffy (and made my eyebrows frosty!)?

Rewind: Suffercam video - for John

John made this awesome video called Suffercam in the summer when he was biking in Mongolia:

And I made a Suffercam video too...

First Turns of the Season

Early season on McCrae Peak: slip-sliding up a sketchy logging road; slippery roots on the uptrack; flat light on the pocket glacier; first run rusty but the magic's still there; second time around cloud clears and the mountains open up; fun turns in creamy pow; scratchy descent back to the car.

Keener people than us had got there first and the light was in and out, but great nonetheless.

Watching out for rocks on the second pitch.

Happy crew! Friday the dog was especially excited to get a winter outing.

Carrying the skis back to the car.

Cape Wrath

Sorry for the delay in this post but better late than never. The trip out to Cape Wrath in the NW of Scotland marked the end of a three week bike trip that I did to say au revoir to Britain and it's fine inhabitants before going back to live in Canada. I also raised some money for Orchid Cancer.

To get to Cape Wrath, you first need to take a ferry. Yes, there it is, in all it's splendid magnificence...

They only let you on the ferry if you're wearing a kilt...

Our turn with the bikes. We had special dispensation for not wearing a kilt because I had my cape.

  

The road on the other side was built to access the lighthouse at Cape Wrath. It's about 12 miles along a rather pot-holed surface. 

The barren middle bit is owned by the MOD. I was half expecting to be mistaken for a moving target...

The lighthouse at Cape Wrath.

Made it!

There's a little bit more land that sticks out from the lighthouse. There's quite a hairy path that takes you down and lets you walk out to the narrow point. If you want to get to the island on the left, you have to swim! 

Going right out to the end. Most folk who take the minibus out to Cape Wrath miss out on this (the best) bit.

Route Map

My friend Reid has made me a map of my route. Here it is...

Thanks, Reid!

Scotland

I've been extremely lucky. After battling headwinds up through Carlisle and into Glasgow, the weather has turned fine, the wind has dropped and the vistas have become spectacular.

I just happened to go past one of my favourite breweries: Loch Fyne Ales. I might have bought one (or five!).

Which was dutifully dispatched. Mmmm, Avalanche Ale.

Lochs and Castles:

Penny Farthings

Everyone knows that penny farthings were named in reference to the size of two British coins: the large front wheel being the penny, and the small back wheel being the farthing (worth a quarter of a penny). Not everyone knows that enthusiasts sporting waxed mustaches still ride these beasts round the British countryside. Here are two fine examples, outside the First House in Scotland in Gretna.

And here are the waxed mustache-clad enthusiasts mounting said beasts and heading north to John O'Groats (having started in Lands End).