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 Gear Bikes Rental in Glasgow. Hotel in Callander	38
2	Loop - Callander to Loch Katrine. Hotel in Callander	48
3	Bike from Callander to Killin. Hotel in Killin.	25
4	Bike from Killin to Aberfeldy. Hotel in Aberfeldy	25
5	Bike from Aberfeldy to Pitlochry. Hotel in Pitlochry	16
6	Loop - Loch Tummel Circuit & River Garry to Blaire Castle, Hotel in Pitlochry	45
7	Loop - Whitefield Castle. Hotel in Pitlochry	33
8	Formal Trip over. Cycle to Stirling. Stay at the Sterling Youth Hostel.	77
9	Cycle to Glasgow via Tak-Ma-Doon Rd. Stay at SafeStay 27 Elmbank St, Glasgow	30
10	Day in Glascow , Fly GLA to Boston	?
11	Arrive Boston
		337

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

Item

Orange Frostline panniers, Bungee Cords, Pedals with Toe Clips, Front/Rear LED lights, cable ties, cable lock, handlebar mirror , bell, odometer, and revised toolkit with bag

30 Liter Kayak Dry Bag

Rain Pants

Rain jacket shell

1 pair Cycle Shorts

Cycling padded shorts

4 pairs of Darn Tough Men's Light Hiker Quarter Lightweight Hiking Socks

6 pairs of underwear

6 wicking t-shirts

2nd pair of cycling pants

2nd Fleece

USB Power Bank w/ USB C cord, charger , UK adapter (for on the road)

Minimal toiletry bag

Minimal first aid kit

OFF! Clean Feel Spritz Insect Repellent

Bicycle Helmet

Lightweight Skida running hat / Buff(s)

Cycling gloves

On Board Plane Wear: (W) or in a string bag (B)

Cycling long pants

1 long sleeve wicking t-shirt

1 pair socks

Baseball cap

Keen shoes for cycling

Cycling jacket

Cycling Fleece

Mobile Phone (get a Saily eSIM for the UK)

1 USB Charger (6 port USB A) - UK Converter (for evening recharge)

Passport

Wallet

Chromebook

2 Water bottles

Bluetooth earbuds

Pen and Bird Guide - Journal

Selected Philip's Navigator Maps and case

Ricoh Pentax WG-90 camera

Fisher Bluetooth Speaker / Radio / TF Card Player

Kodak Pony 135 Camera w/ Case and 4 rolls of 36 exposure B&W film

Compass / Whistle

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 have switch from considering to ride on my 1971 Raleigh Sports and will instead hire (rent) a bicycle in Glasgow at Gear Bikes. The logisitc of transporting a bicycle to and from Scotland is a little more daunting than I want to deal with. So, instead, I'll be riding a well outfitted Ridgeback Vanteo hybrid.
  
  
• 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.
  consider leaving a bicycle at Logan Airport while I'm way, and ride it back to Gloucester. Perhaps my 1969 Phillips 3 Speed Roadster?