2013
It’s the final rally of the year again. Once more it was back to my own stomping ground and the Scottish Rally. The locations for this rally tend to stay the same each year, so planning is more straightforward. Blue are numbered locations, orange are lettered and green is the finish.
Last year I had decided on the Distance challenge, but this year, I thought I’d combine it with the Highlander Challenge. My main reason for this was that I wanted to finish off the Round Britain locations that were in Scotland, and a few of them were in the Highlands. I thought I’d also see if I could go for the full time, in the same way as I would for the Brit Butt rally.
Last year I had decided on the Distance challenge, but this year, I thought I’d combine it with the Highlander Challenge. My main reason for this was that I wanted to finish off the Round Britain locations that were in Scotland, and a few of them were in the Highlands. I thought I’d also see if I could go for the full time, in the same way as I would for the Brit Butt rally.
John (my travelling companion for the Welsh and National Rallies this year) was also taking part, but this time he was bringing along a couple of his riding partners from his own local group. So, although he was also attempting the Highlander Challenge, we were
starting from different locations. We were both going clockwise, but I was starting about three ahead of John. I was also detouring for the Grim and Round Britain waypoints, so I expected John to “catch up” and some point along the way.
I planned to make good use of the rally and pick up the remaining Scottish locations on both the Grim and Round Britain rallies, so I decided that my start point would suit these, rather than being close to home.
So I set off early on Friday, for a full days riding over to Skye and then back to Strathcarron ready to start the rally the next
morning.
starting from different locations. We were both going clockwise, but I was starting about three ahead of John. I was also detouring for the Grim and Round Britain waypoints, so I expected John to “catch up” and some point along the way.
I planned to make good use of the rally and pick up the remaining Scottish locations on both the Grim and Round Britain rallies, so I decided that my start point would suit these, rather than being close to home.
So I set off early on Friday, for a full days riding over to Skye and then back to Strathcarron ready to start the rally the next
morning.
A: Home
B: Moirlanich Longhouse (Round Britain)
C: Commando Monument (Round Britain)
D: The Ceilidh House (Round Britain)
E: The Red Roof Café (Round Britain)
F: The Manners Stone (Round Britain)
G: Bealach Na Ba (Grim Ride – Mountain Passes)
H: Locharran Hotel
B: Moirlanich Longhouse (Round Britain)
C: Commando Monument (Round Britain)
D: The Ceilidh House (Round Britain)
E: The Red Roof Café (Round Britain)
F: The Manners Stone (Round Britain)
G: Bealach Na Ba (Grim Ride – Mountain Passes)
H: Locharran Hotel
I'd also decided to take the Glenelg ferry instead of the road bridge over the Skye. You really have to try this sometime, even though it's a lot slower, the views and road more than makes up for it
A very pleasant evening passed at the hotel with good food, good beer and a good chat with the owner, who rides a Harley.
There was even a father and daughter who were riding in the rally too, although I didn’t see them until breakfast the following morning.
There was even a father and daughter who were riding in the rally too, although I didn’t see them until breakfast the following morning.
The morning of the rally started off wet unfortunately, and that stayed until about mid-afternoon. It wasn’t long before I hit my first snag of the rally. The second location, a shop, was up for sale and I couldn’t see anywhere nearby that I could get a receipt. So I decided to take a picture of the shop, then get a picture of the receipt at the next rally location to prove that I’d gone from one to the
other. Hopefully this would be enough.
Around about 13:30 I came across John and his friends in Lairg at a petrol station. I was heading off to a Grim Ride location after that, but we rode together for a short while. The next time I met them was at Bettyhill when we stopped for a quick bite to eat. It was at this stop that my troubles really began. One of John’s mates had noticed that my rear tyre was looking a bit worse for wear. I must admit, I hadn’t checked it before leaving on Friday, something I would normally have done. There wasn’t a lot I could do on the North coast of Scotland on a Saturday afternoon, so I decided to carry on, keeping an eye on it just in case.
We met up again, for the final time, in Brora, where they’d also managed to pick up another stray, Gerald Perkins and a few of his mates. I’d met Gerald on a few other rallies, so we all headed off for the next location, Skiach Services, in one big group. After another check of the tyre here, I decided that I couldn’t risk continuing the rally.
I’d be travelling in the dark, on country roads, for a few hundred miles. I thought that the best bet would be to head straight home, down the A9. It’s the first rally that I haven’t completed and was a bit gutted at that, but it was my own fault for not checking my tyre before I left. Schoolboy error I know.
This was the first rally that I was using my Spot Tracker. I'd tried it out on a couple of earlier trips to get the hang of it. You can see the fully functional map (with photos) at this link
other. Hopefully this would be enough.
Around about 13:30 I came across John and his friends in Lairg at a petrol station. I was heading off to a Grim Ride location after that, but we rode together for a short while. The next time I met them was at Bettyhill when we stopped for a quick bite to eat. It was at this stop that my troubles really began. One of John’s mates had noticed that my rear tyre was looking a bit worse for wear. I must admit, I hadn’t checked it before leaving on Friday, something I would normally have done. There wasn’t a lot I could do on the North coast of Scotland on a Saturday afternoon, so I decided to carry on, keeping an eye on it just in case.
We met up again, for the final time, in Brora, where they’d also managed to pick up another stray, Gerald Perkins and a few of his mates. I’d met Gerald on a few other rallies, so we all headed off for the next location, Skiach Services, in one big group. After another check of the tyre here, I decided that I couldn’t risk continuing the rally.
I’d be travelling in the dark, on country roads, for a few hundred miles. I thought that the best bet would be to head straight home, down the A9. It’s the first rally that I haven’t completed and was a bit gutted at that, but it was my own fault for not checking my tyre before I left. Schoolboy error I know.
This was the first rally that I was using my Spot Tracker. I'd tried it out on a couple of earlier trips to get the hang of it. You can see the fully functional map (with photos) at this link
However, over and above the rally I managed to pick up a few other locations, so it wasn’t a complete waste. These were Croick Church (Round Britain), Kyle of Tongue crossing cairn (Round Britain), Scrabster Lifeboat (Grim Ride – Lifeboats) and
Wick Town Hall (Grim Ride – Scottish
Counties)
That’s the one thing with doing a lot of these rallies. With the exception of this one, by the time I've travelled down from Edinburgh, run the rally, and travelled back up again, I've racked up another 1000-1500 miles. It’s always a bit galling to have to replace tyres before I go, when they’ve got that much left in them, but this rally has gone to prove that sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
So at the end of the day, it was no rally award for the Scottish, which meant no Three Nations Award either. Ah well, onto next year.
So at the end of the day, it was no rally award for the Scottish, which meant no Three Nations Award either. Ah well, onto next year.