About the Header in the Blog

The header  image is crafted from a postcard I found on eBay that is from the turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is). It depicts Rob Roy in Highlands Dress , his tartan, and shield. 

I superimposed my Raleigh Sports in the lower right quadrant that was otherwise blank. This photo was taken in Gloucester, Massachusetts at the Little River landing. 

I don't plan to wear Rob Roy's Highlands Dress during my tour. Well ... maybe a kilt or trews.

A General Itinerary

 Here's what I plan, in a simple day by day list. Detailed and descriptive daily summaries will be entered as subsequent posts.

Trip Day	Activity	Biking Miles
0	Fly from BOS to GLA	0
1	Bike to Callander from GLA. Hotel in Callander	53
2	Loop - Callander to Loch Katrine. Hotel in Callander	37
3	Bike from Callander to Killin. Hotel in Killin.	25
4	Bike from Killin to Aberfeldy. Hotel in Aberfeldy	34
5	Bike from Aberfeldy to Pitlochry. Hotel in Pitlochry	34
6	Loop - Loch Tummel Circuit.Hotel in Pitlochry	28
7	Loop - River Garry to Blair Castle. Hotel in Pitlochry	16
8	Trip over. Train to Stirling - Bike to Glasgow. Hotel in Glasgow	30
9	Full day in Glasgow. Hotel in Glasgow	?
10	Pack up bike. Fly GLA to Boston	?
11	Arrive Boston. Bike home.	35
	Total Miles	292

Essential Toolkit

Here's what I normally ride with, tucked in my panniers. Experience tells me that I can make the most common roadside repairs with this kit. This will also be sufficient to reassemble the bicycle from the shipping box.

• 4 way screwdriver
• High pressure tire pump (tyre inflator)
• 6" adjustable wrench (clé anglaise)
• Multi tool with chain tool, hex keys, screwdriver heads
• Slip Joint Pliers
• Swiss Army Knife (also good to slice a hunk of cheddar cheese for lunch)
• 3 classic steel tire irons
• Axle Cone wrenches
• Brooks Saddle Wrench (won't be using it, but it's a good luck charm)
• Extra crank cotter pin (9.5mm)
• Patch Kit (patches, rubber cement, sandpaper, lucky new penny (*)
• Extra tube (I'll bring a total of 3)
• Durable tool bag

This all comes in at about 3 lbs.

I might add some oil, such as chain lube.

Another tool I ride with is a Schrader metal valve cap with core tool on each tire. I love these. I use them when patching a tube and folding tubes back up for storage. 

(*)The New Penny

For good luck, I tuck a 1971 UK New Penny in my tube patch kit. The New Penny (along with currency decimalisation) was introduced in 1971, the same year that this Raleigh was manufactured. That's got to be good luck.


1971 - the day Britain went Decimal

What to Pack?

 I'm not new to bicycle touring ... I crossed North America in 1979, rode Bike Ride Across Nebraska (BRAN II) in 1982, and a bike tour in southern England in 1984. Over the years many other overnight and weekend rides.

This ride will be a bit cushier ... a hotel stay every night with breakfast in the inns and lunch and dinner in pubs and restaurants. I'll pack accordingly. No sleeping bag or hostel sheet sleeping sack, no tent, no cooking kit.

I have a few goals with respect to the gear I take:

1. I only want one checked bag, which in my case will be a standard bicycle box with up to 50 lbs (23 kgs) which is the limit for British Airlines. The Raleigh, with attached panniers, already fitted  accessories, and my toolkit, weighs in at 45 lbs. The box itself is maybe 2 pounds or so. So not much else will be stored in the box.
   
   
2. Everything else needs to be in carry on
   
   
3. Bring only what I'll use or need for 11 days.

I've started a list. I'll update it as I think of other items or remove the superfluous.

Item	Notes
Raleigh Sports Bicycle with rear rack and Orange Panniers, attached, Pedal Toe Clips, LED lights, 3 tubes, cable ties, cable lock, handlebar mirrors and toolkit	45 lbs
Bicycle Box 54" x 8" x 28" available at FedEx	about $30 at a FedEx office or free at a bicycle shop
Carry On Bag (30 liter kayak drybag)
Rain Pants
Rain jacket shell
1 pair Cycle Shorts
6 pairs of sox
6 pairs of underwear
6 wicking t-shirts
2nd pair of cycling pants
2nd Fleece
2 USB Chargers - UK Converter
USB Power Bank
Minimal toiletry bag	Toothbrush / paste , nail clipper, Chapstick, meds
Minimal first aid kit	Band-aids, antiseptic ointment, sunscreen
Helmet
Lightweight Skida running hat
Cycling gloves
Wear on plane (W) or in a small string bag (B)
Cycling long pants	W
Cycling padded shorts	W
1 long sleeve wicking t-shirt	W
1 pair socks	W
Baseball cap	W
Keen shoes for cycling	W
Cycling jacket	W
Cycling Fleece	W
Mobile Phone	W
Passport	B
Wallet	W
Kindle	B
Chromebook ?	B
Water bottle	B
Bluetooth earbuds	B
Pen and pad	B

The 1971 Raleigh Sports

In late May of 2023 I was cycling the Cape Ann Loop, which is a mainly coastal ride through Gloucester and Rockport Massachusetts. Here's an example of that ride, taken on the Raleigh, from one of my recent Strava entries,:

It was trash day in East Gloucester, and I noticed a furlong bicycle at the curb with other items for trash pickup. I stopped and investigated. It was a brown (now I know the color is "Coffee") three speed Raleigh Sports in pretty rough shape. Rust, flat and brittle tires, frozen cables, but it was complete. The wheels seemed true enough, the frame had no structural issues, it had full mudguards (fenders) and the size looked right for me. I always wanted a 3 speed bike, and here was my chance.

I put my cable lock on the Raleigh, and finished my Cape Ann Loop. Once home, I put my bike rack on the car, drove back, and rescued the Sports.

While I consider myself a decent bike mechanic for derailleur geared bicycles, I knew nothing about internal hub gears for repair or adjustment. Luckily, I knew about the best resource available on-line, Sheldon Brown's website. Sheldon knew and documented all about these bikes, along with pointers to many other experts. Within a month (after securing new parts), I had "my" Raleigh Sports running as well as the day it was shipped from the factory in Nottingham, England. I removed as much  of the rust as possible with Naval Jelly. The paint is still original, with a bit of surface rust in spots that now just adds a nice patina.

Over the course of the last two years and 6800 miles I've made the following changes:

• A new rear wheel fitted with a Shimano Nexus 3 Speed Hub, (I disabled the coaster brake)
  
  I can still revert to the original rear wheel / Sturmey Archer AW hub, but the Nexus is very nice and has no false "freewheeling" between second and third gear if the AW is out of adjustment
  
  (The date code on the Sturmey Archer AW hub is dated 1971)
  
  
• A 22T rear cog and new chain for a better gear inch ratio than the 18T for climbing hills
  
  
• A Brooks B67 sprung leather saddle and new, longer seat post 
  
  
• new tires / tubes
  
  
• new rat trap pedals with toe clips / straps
  
  
• new handlebar grips
  
  
• A rear rack for use with a very old, early 1980's Frostline Kit pannier
  
  
• removable LED lights (front / rear) 
  
  
• A simple wired Planet Bike odometer
  
  
• A few UK flag decals, and a 1972 Mass RMV registration sticker
  
  
• all new cables
  
  
• A new, (much) lighter kick stand
  
  
• New "Continental" Kool Stop brake pads.
  
  
• A new 9.5mm cotter pin on the left crank arm
  
  
• A bell 

The bike is now very reliable and rides quietly and smoothly. Along with my toolkit, which I'll detail in a later post, it weighs in at 45 lbs. This is not a carbon fiber bike!

Here's a recent photo the Raleigh taken with the  SSV Ernestina-Morrissey in Gloucester's inner harbor at the State Pier.

I'll be boxing this bike up for its transport as regular luggage between BOS and GLA.

Preparing to Bicycle the Rob Roy Way

 

I'm preparing to bike along the Rob Roy Way (with a few excursion extensions).  This first post is being created to start a travel blog, and to document the preparations.

A few basic themes.

• I'll be using an itinerary and the services of Macs Adventure. In my former days of cycling, I might have done all this level of planning and booking myself, but I found that Macs provided routes, resources, and logistics handling of this trip was very appealing. While Macs doesn't name this trip the Rob Roy Way, is basically aligns with the bicycle route described by the Rob Roy Way website. I've booked the trip for the second half of June 2026.
  
  
• I'm going to bring my 1971 Raleigh Sports bicycle from Boston to Glasgow. I want to use a classic British bike that was made to explore the villages and roads of Great Britain. Since I rescued the bike from curbside (kerbside?) trash  pickup in 2023, I've repaired it, improved it with some new parts, and have ridden it over 6,800 miles. So, I think it'll be up to this challenge. More on the bicycle in a future post.
  
  
• I plan to bicycle from Glasgow Airport (GLA) to Callander upon arrival to get to the starting point. There are three suggested routes I can consider for this first day, but I'm inclined to choose the longer, flatter 53 mile route through Kirkintilloch and Stirling. Subject to change. Flat sounds good to me to begin with, plus I'll need to do certain things such as remember to keep to left side of the road.
  
  
• I'll follow Macs route for 8 days. I just bought a used copy of Sir Walter Scott's Rob Roy novel in paperback that I plan to start before the trip and read along the way.
  
  
• After the last day in Pitlochry, I'll plan to take ScotRail to Stirling, disembark, and cycle to Glasgow center to spend a couple of days exploring the city. I'm inclined to cycle to Glasgow via the  route that goes via the Tak Ma Doon. One of my friends in Gloucester calls that PUD (for Pointless Up ad Down), but I hear it's magnificent. 
  
  
• I'll return to BOS from GLA. To put the icing on the cake (and if the weather is nice), I'll reassemble the Raleigh at Logan Airport and cycle back the 35 miles or so to Gloucester.