The Highlands by motorbike

[Zoidburg]

Here's a few photos of last weekends biking break to the Highlands, set off from Liverpool Thursday afternoon and was back home Monday at 10am after 1400 miles.

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[Zoidburg]

A few more https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/f63c3c149b7b6bbd9c493286bf108308.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/c163bc33940ff664aa21557891a373b9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/70251627a8a5bf96f816df4cb0abc4ed.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/b79d640bdf4787275f1b0e988891114d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/bb9beb835454a03497cb43f0083642dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/e43a45a2c02a761cf026719124e71c29.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/402b8649815cc3f9c9f881a3515cd7c5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/fdd4e44c0ebc822b2c03082ba528e0c9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/13c040f1b78e4859981d0f968a4fe261.jpg

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[Zoidburg]

I guess this story starts around 20 years ago when my Dad decided that he wanted to get away from things (mainly a recent divorce and probably mid life crisis) and it would be a good idea to head for John O Groats on his 250cc MZ motorbike. At the time he was living in South London, He had other newer and much bigger bikes but seeing the country by MZ (at nothing more than 60 mph) appealed very much to him and seemed like a bit of a challenge. To cut a long story short he completed his original round trip of about 1800 miles in 10 days and went on to write a long story about it which was published in (I think) an MZ owners magazine.

After the trip the MZ remained in the family but was never really used for much except pottering about on by Dad, then as other hobbies and interests took over (different bikes, a new wife / house, his love of fishing & golf etc etc etc) for a lot of years it wasn’t even used and lived in a barn on my brothers golf course, then for about 5 years it was under a sheet in Dads back garden. However at the start of this year Dad realised that it was soon to be the 20th anniversary of his original trip and he had it in his head to revisit John O Groats again and recreate his journey.
At that point the MZ was wheeled back into Dads garage and over the course of 2 months or so given a nut and bolt restoration by him. The engine was stripped and sent off for a full rebuild, every worn or rusted component was serviced or replaced, eventually it was put back together and with some gentle encouragement it sparkled into life. Another Month or so of road testing and fettling and fine tuning passed and eventually Dad felt comfortable enough with it that he set off North again.

Its at around this point that I decided that I really wanted to be there to meet Dad at John O Groats, I live in Liverpool and had for a while been reading up about the North West 500 route around the highlands and thought I could probably kill 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak. Thus after a night or 2 on booking.com I had some cheap accommodation booked and a route sorted out in my head. I casually mentioned this to my middle Brother Sam at some point and a day later had a text from him saying something like “see you Wednesday sort us out some twin rooms, I’m coming too”.
And that was that really. Thursday lunch time I rushed back from work, the pair of us jumped on the bikes and away we went with the intention of meeting Dad at John O Groats on the Saturday Morning.

[Zoidburg]

Dad, at John O groats July 1998. And his neglected ETZ250 at the start of this year. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/00f798ce6385fba43223ac52f16f0cce.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/e5ac6c68fcfe3d59b52435cb1afa0437.jpg

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[Zoidburg]

The plan for the Thursday afternoon was that Sam & I would head north sticking to major motorways just to get the miles under our belts. Id picked a place called Crieff (just west of Perth) as our first stop as Id stayed there a few years before and it seemed like a nice ride of 260 miles or so.

After a relaxed night in Creiff we fired up the bikes at 9am and headed west and upwards again with the intention of staying just below Ullapool at the end of the day. The weather was warm and sunny and we soon found ourselves on some stunning roads. By this point Motorways had given way to A roads like the A82 and A830 both of which went past in a flash. We encountered minor bits of traffic but it seemed like a lot of the roads we had to ourselves and as such we made the most of it with some seriously "spirited" riding:D

Its probably been a few years since me & Sam have ridden together as both usually have our wives riding pillion, in fact when Sam told me he was coming alone, sans-wife I almost fell off my chair! Its also a running joke in our family that as he's gotten older Sam's also gotten slower. Our of the 4 of us (3 brothers & dad) he was traditionally the fastest, his lines were usually spot on and he had a habit of just being quicker than all of us :D

Anyway to come back to the story at the end of the day as we sat chatting over our fish and chips reflecting on the days ride, the roads, some of the speeds we *might* have hit and some of the twisties we *might* have carved through Sam's sign off was something like "f*ck I haven't ridden like that in about 10 years". I could only agree :D

Saturday saw an early start heading up the East coast towards Wick & then John O Groats. We were aiming to meet Dad at 9.30 am and then trundle up & around the north west coast looping back towards Ullapool.

[Zoidburg]

John o Groats https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/4392c960603a9556ce1526feaaa5b540.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/649d2be96052888688b86b9133c7fac6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/5b4edc4d7ba37a6d4a5b516012d3050a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180718/e1a8013a9ea5543d5a88ad0de1427824.jpg

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[Zoidburg]

And so we made it.

We arrived before dad and set about having a coffee. I'd not even told Dad that Sam was coming and so the look on his face when he saw us both was quite magical. And it top it off it was exactly 20 years to the day that he had last visited John O Groats. Same bike, Same Bag, Same Boots even. Just slightly older looking lol.

I live 5 hours away from all my family and even though I speak to them almost daily I don't actually see a lot of them. So to find myself on a trip like this with 2 of them was something very special for me. The reason I'm a "biker" is cos of Dad, his love of bikes and travelling has been passed on to me and my brothers and its a bond we will always share. There are parts of this holiday which I will remember forever.

[Firebottle]

Thanks for sharing, that was a great read, and pics.

[gninnam]

Thanks for sharing, that was a great read, and pics.

+1

[Macca]

That old bike cleaned up well. Looks like you even had good weather on some days.

[Zoidburg]

That old bike cleaned up well. Looks like you even had good weather on some days.

cheers Macca, it took a lot of doing, he rebuilt much of it, respoked the wheels, repainted the frame, tank and side panels, sorted out the electrics and replaced all manor of stuff on it. Its a bike that's not worth much in pounds but has a lot of memories tied into it for him and us.

The first 2 days we had superb weather but the back end of the trip not so much. Lots of rain varying from spits and spats to full on downpours. Managed to stay mostly dry apart from hands and feet due to mainly wearing summer riding kit.

[Macca]

I was there last year for a week on a boat and we only had 1 good day of weather.

Still worth it though, one thing I noticed above all else was how clean the air is up there. Frightening really.

[Zoidburg]

I was there last year for a week on a boat and we only had 1 good day of weather.

Still worth it though, one thing I noticed above all else was how clean the air is up there. Frightening really.

I was surprised at how friendly we found everyone, how quiet a lot of the roads were, how well maintained they were as well.

I thought the west coast was stunning but the east not quite so. I didn't notice the air so much but maybe that was cos of all the midges lol

[Pigmy Pony]

Thanks for sharing, Ben. Very interesting, great pictures and your dad is something of an inspiration to you, no doubt!

It makes me want to get up there on my bike, ridden up to Ullapool several times, but not since 1988. Some of your pics do look familiar, but then I stayed at various places in that neck of the woods, including Kyle of Lochalsh, Gairloch and Plockton. The road going up to Ullapool, passing the Aultguish Inn and Corrieshalloch Gorge is one of the best biking routes I've ever ridden. Did the routes originally on my GS 750, and my GSX 750. If I use my FireBlade, I'll have to try to keep my speed down so the scenery doesn't flit by too quickly!

Don't see much of a family resemblance :eek: I thought I was seeing double!

I misread your original post, I thought you was going to the NW 200, that mental Irish road race :doh:

[Zoidburg]

Thanks for sharing, Ben. Very interesting, great pictures and your dad is something of an inspiration to you, no doubt!

It makes me want to get up there on my bike, ridden up to Ullapool several times, but not since 1988. Some of your pics do look familiar, but then I stayed at various places in that neck of the woods, including Kyle of Lochalsh, Gairloch and Plockton. The road going up to Ullapool, passing the Aultguish Inn and Corrieshalloch Gorge is one of the best biking routes I've ever ridden. Did the routes originally on my GS 750, and my GSX 750. If I use my FireBlade, I'll have to try to keep my speed down so the scenery doesn't flit by too quickly!

Don't see much of a family resemblance :eek: I thought I was seeing double!

I misread your original post, I thought you was going to the NW 200, that mental Irish road race :doh:

Hi Steve,

Yes the old man is a big source of inspiration to me, that he's still up and down the country at his age is on the MZ is amazing. I road it briefly for about 20 minutes but it scared the life out of me. Practically non existent brakes, minimal power and shocking handling lol.

We actually staid at the Aultguish Inn for 2 nights so I know the road well. We road it into Ullapool and back about 4 times over the weekend and yes its very good both ways.

As we get older me and Sam are starting top blend into one almost lol

[Ian7633]

Absolutely brilliant Ben, so good to see you all really enjoying proper time together. there's something about bikes that bond us, once they are in your blood they're there for ever and we share that. Those old ETZ's are tough and although MZ were never the last word in styling there is something very appealing about them. It's great to see it in brilliant condition, I love the less mainstream classics. Top work Ben, lovely photos and a great read.

[Zoidburg]

Cheers for the comments guys.

The 3 of us rode together most of Saturday, as the MZ was so much slower we picked minor B roads for the majority of it. Pootling along at 50 mph taking in the sights and sounds was a lovely change, just the wind in your hair and the smell of 2 stroke whafting around you and what seemd like loch after loch passing on either side of you.

Back at the B&B that night we had a superb meal and a few drinks and then said our goodbyes Sunday morning, Dad was heading back south towards Loch Lomond and Sam & I wanted to crack on and do the scenic Costal route out westwards towards Gairloch before heading back towards Glasgow where we had a room booked for the night.

The morning was mainly dry but got wetter as the afternoon arrived and after several hours of fairly damp to seriously wet conditions we eventually got the sat nav out and picked the shortest route to our B&B destination. An hour or so later I was leading the pair or us an as we came over the crest of a hill I could see the speck of a bike a few miles ahead of us.......and who should it be but Dad again still trundling along. We stopped at the next lay buy and waited for him to catch us up, He was more than thankful to see us as the MZ had messed about a bit and he'd had to change the plug to get it going again. His back was also giving him some gyp and he could hardly get off the bike lol.

After a cup of coffee and a mars bar we all set off together and escorted him to his hotel before we headed off to ours. That was Sunday and on Monday at 6pm he arrived at my place in Liverpool for another evening stop off. Sam and I had left Glasgow very early Monday morning and Id managed to hit Liverpool by about 10 am, I said goodbye to Sam at Junction 22 on the M6 and he continued south home to Croydon. He texted me later saying he'd ridden for almost 8 hours and 500 miles. I know I couldn't do that, but well for Sam that's about par for the course!

I spoke to Dad last night and he was safely back home near Gatwick after another 240 odd mile day. The trips over but I'm already thinking about doing something together again next year.

[struth]

great pics Ben/ used to go my hols up to Gairloch(the northerly one) and that area when young. towing a caravan, it was a long slow trip.... even as a kid it was drearily slow...lol great place tho

[Stryder5]

Great read and story, thanks for sharing.

[walpurgis]

Great read and story, thanks for sharing.

Yes. Definitely! Great summer fun.

I like the old MZ's, I had a Saxon Tour 301 for a while. Good bike. I'd still like a Supa 5.

[Spectral Morn]

Fabulous, love Scotland, not been there in over 5 years. I recognised some of the locations, feel sad about not being there in an age, I need to figure away of getting my ass back over there soon.