Hey, Folks, I’ll be spending close to two weeks in Scotland next month on a golf trip with some friends, and that’s obviously longer than I want to be off of my bike in the middle of the tri season. Can anybody offer advice on good cycling routes, and possibly bike shops that I can work with to ship my bike, etc.? I’ll be flying into Glasgow, and we’ll be staying primarily in Ardgowan (about five miles southwest of Greenock).
Thanks in advance!
cramer
Can’t help you with that kind of info, but I can tell you that I did some bike touring through Scotland about 20 years ago (yikes!) and it was great riding. Beautiful country with lots of big rollers.
Best advise I can give you is to take ALL your wet weather gear! It’s grim up North, but lovely scenery.
I was in Scotland last year in September, and visited a great little bike shop in Fort William, Off Beat Bikes. Their website is located at http://www.offbeatbikes.co.uk/index.html. Maybe drop them an e-mail and ask them if there any bike shops closer to where you are staying that can help.
Thanks for the feedback thus far.
Just bumping it up for the weekday crowd …
I will second Julian’s advice vis a vis the wet weather; I bike toured all over Scotland in June '88 and while beautiful, it seemed that every minute of everyday I was riding uphill, into a headwind, with rain pouring down. OK, there were breaks but seriously, get ready for some hilly, windy, wet rides.
On the other hand, the whole country, from Carlisle to Loch Ness is stunning and the folks there are the best. Try to get to Edinburough if possible.
I just got back from 2 weeks there in June, and I’ll tell you what…In my humble opinion you are definitely taking your life into your own hands riding on 80% + of the roads that I drove on there. They’re like 16 feet wide, twisty, tons of blind spots and the speed limit is something like 250 miles per hour 
But then again, I could see some nice riding futher north…
All that being said, I’d move there (or at least buy a second house) tomorrow if given the opportunity.
In 1990, my wife and I started an Inverness to London bike tour. Here’s some notes from the trip. We flew into London and took the train up to Inverness. We used Michelin maps and used mostly B and C roads. We rode from Inverness, south to Glasgow then to Edinburgh, took a short train ride out of Edinburgh, then south through Cumbria and Yorkshire. Expect very steep short grades of 15-20%. When riding the trains, find out which end of the train will allow bikes so you’re standing at the correct end of the platform when the train arrives. Expect zero assistance from the british rail workers. We stayed in B&B’s along the way where we met very friendly and interesting people. We found that the more simple the B&B sign, the more homey and better the stay. Places with a simple “B+B” painted on a piece of wood were great with a “full cooked breakfast” that will last you till tea time. The weather in september was cold enough for pile and goretex pants and jacket everyday along Loch Ness though we were told it’s not usually that cold that early. The wind blows hard along the Loch. We had a 15-25mph headwind and temps in the 40’s everyday. Learn to like single malt as most bars had 15-20 different kinds to try. The trip ended early when my wife crashed her bike and broke two teeth in Yorkshire on a road slick with rain and sheep manure.