Scotland Trip Day 3

"I Neeeeeeed Alcohol"

Day 3 started with another visit to the shop in the middle of the holiday complex. Myself, F’n’B (naturally) and Zippy elected to walk rather than ride this time, for 2 reasons, to get a bit of fresh air and also to give Scotch Broth time to finish his colossal breakfast banquet.

Inside the shop we, once again, noticed the shop assistant giving F’n’B the eye. I nudged him and tried to get him to go across for a chat but I think the poor lad was a little shy and resisted all attempts.

we picked up our Crunchy nut Cornflakes (tut!) and milk and headed to the counter. Zippy was stood perusing the chocolate bars and shouted across “Anybody want owt?”. To which F’n’B replied “Yeah, I’ll have a Lion Bar”. Once again we all fell about laughing, in front of a very confused shop assistant.

Today’s ride was going to be a short blast to Stirling. Basically to try and find a bike dealer. F’n’B’s visor had turned opaque the previous day and now Papa Phallus’ had gone the same way. We still have no idea what caused the problem, it looked like both visors had been cleaned with a petrol soaked rag, but of course this wasn’t the case. It would have to be a case of, grin and bear it until we found replacements in a suitable bike dealers.

We had no idea if Stirling had any bike dealers, but being a fairly major city, it was reasonable to assume that at least one dealer would be found. Checking beforehand on Google was out of the question because mobile phone signals were none existent in Lochgoilhead.

The clouds overhead looked a touch angry as we set off along the Lochgoilhead to Rest and be Thankful singletrack road. This could be the day we all get a good soaking.

Next it was along the A83 to Arrochar and then Tarbet and onto the A82 which hugs the coast of Loch Lomond. This is a very twisty stretch of road and would be superb but for hundreds of tourist cars and caravans and quite a few sections of road works. Not that I’m complaining about the tourists mind, that is what we were after all and who am I to deny people access to this beautiful area.

We passed through Inverarnan and continued on to Crianlarich in search of a fuel stop, none found, we continued a little further north to Tyndrum where we found fuel and a great little café with dedicated motorcycle parking. Their were about 2 dozen bikes parked up, all manner of types on show from Fireblades through Fazers to a group of three 500cc Scooters (Ahem, Mr. Broth).

The coffee’s we ordered and the smattering of bikes on display gave us a much needed distraction from the heavy rain shower now passing through the area, we timed that one perfectly.

So, back on to our main objective. Re-tracing our steps soon found us back at Crianlarich and from here we picked up the A85 to Callander and Stirling. The journey to Callander (now on the A84) was pretty uneventful with both F’n’B and Papa Phallus taking it steady due to poor visibility, one or two heavy downpours didn’t help matters, but we soon found ourselves in heavier traffic on the outskirts of Stirling.

One small point to note, we once again bumped into the three 500cc scoots (ahem!). Made good headway they did….

In Stirling we parked up at McDonalds for a healthy, nutritious lunch. Well, apart from Scotch Broth of course who was still full from breakfast. We now had a full mobile signal and could search around for a dealer. One found, we set off in search. It had closed down a while back, we were informed. The nearest one was now in Falkirk, Oh hum!

A short blast and we were parked outside of Jim Allan Motorcycles. A quick chat with the very helpful staff, two visors fitted and we were on our way back, re-tracing our steps back to Lochgoilhead.

The journey back was superb, the roads had dried out completely and were now virtually empty so good progress was made.

The A85 back to Crianlarich was fantastic, not particularly challenging but stretches of the road were nice and wide with good long straights. Perfect for getting a bit of wind in you’re sails. Papa Phallus and Scotch Broth were like men possessed and soon disappeared out of sight, only to wait a few miles up the road for the rest of us lagging behind.

Before we knew it we were back at our digs and getting ready for a night on the er….village.

It was Papa Phallus’ birthday so we were determined to get a bit drunk and celebrate in style. Rumours of us throwing him in the Loch were totally unfounded although the thought did cross our minds.

We sampled a bit of local fair in the shape of Haggis lasagne, doesn’t sound right but is actually superb. A good few beers, a few single malts and rums and everyone was starting to relax and basically look totally knackered but a good time was had by all. It was time to call it a night, so we gathered outside the pub where Scotch Broth was doing his utmost to add to his fine array of midge bites (he is an avid collector) when we were approached by the local wrecking crew (actually 2 girls and a guy) they said they had been to a party at the local village hall but were now on the lookout for alcohol. “I neeeeeeeed Alcochol” shouted one of the girls. Poor Nippage looked a little nervous in the face of this outburst as he was the only one carrying any booze, namely a half drunk bottle of Bud. But in all honesty they seemed nice kids and soon went on their way to find a suitable supplier.

Which left us to retreat to our apartment for a lovely game of Buckaroo and Operation, and you will be pleased to find out we managed to complete both games quite easily with a fine array of extra furnishings, stories about which we will leave for another day

Bungle