So, today I fancied a challenge.
Got up at 6, quick breakfast, and on the road at 25 past.
Ten minutes later, I’m at Ardrossan Harbour, about to take on the “5 Ferries Challenge”.
Harbour is already busy, I go to the Calmac ticket office. I need 5 tickets for the 5 ferries. At one time, you would buy a “Hopscotch 4” and a “Hopscotch 5”, but now you can buy a “5 ferries challenge” ticket - same price. It’s a bit of a bargain at £13.80 - that’s the benefit of Road Equivalent Tariff.
The 7am ferry is already busy, and the bikes are already queueing up to get on. By the time they let us on board, there were probably between 40 and 50 bikes at the back of the car deck. They’ve got portable “hanging rails” that they bring out, each one can take about a dozen bikes.
Leave at 7am prompt, heading for Arran. By the time I get upstairs to the cafe, it’s busy - they must have served about 100 full breakfasts and bacon rolls!
I find a quiet corner. The crossing takes about an hour.
The “Caledonian Isles” is busy, with the “top deck” in use for cars. So it takes longer than usual to unload, and bikes are last off. Just after 8, and I’m in the ferry car park, ready to start the adventure. Along with about 50 other cyclists - but the Peloton turns left, and I go right.
I love being on Arran - but this is going to be a brief visit. Next ferry is at Lochranza, 14 miles north, and it’s at half past 9. An hour and a half to do 14 miles should be fine - but there are 2 problems. The small print on the ticket says I need to be there at least 10 mins before the sailing. And there’s a great bloody hill in the way...
The first 7 miles or so are great - a flat run along the coast, and at that time the roads are pretty deserted. Then I hit the Bogouillie - the cat 3 hill. Up, slightly down, flat then up again - climbing about 200m over 5km.
I had to stop a couple of times - of course this was to take photos, not because my lungs and legs were bursting
One good thing about the 5 ferries route is that each section starts and finishes at sea level, and for every big climb, there’s an equally good descent. Down to Lochranza, with about 20 mins before ferry is due to leave. Time for a quick coffee.
Spoke to 2 chaps who I had seen on the first boat, looks like we are the only ones out of the 50 that are doing the 5 ferries.
Ferry number 2 Lochranza-Claonaig - is a much more basic affair.
No cafe, no shop, no comfy seats. But the best customer service you can imagine. It left dead on time at 0930, but about 100 yards out of the harbour, the engines stopped. A car had just arrived in the waiting area, and a motorbike. They took the ferry back into the harbour and let them on board, saving them an hour and a half wait.
Half an hour later, I was back on the mainland - but not a part of the mainland I recognised. From here to home, it’s 130 miles by road! I was at Claonaig, an isolated ferry terminal (not much more than a car park, a ramp and a bus shelter) at the top of the Kintyre peninsula.
Next ferry is at Tarbert, Loch Fyne, in an hour and a quarter. It’s only 10 miles away - first half is a 125m hill, after that it’s flat.
Nearing the top, I heard an ominous “ping”. A front spoke had gone. Fortunately, I’m on discs, so the wheel wobble wasn’t too inconvenient. Taped it in place to stop the rattle, then pushed on past Kennacraig to Tarbert, Loch Fyne, to await the next ferry. Met the same 2 chaps there!
Fettled the front wheel - took the spoke out and loosened the 2 adjacent ones.
The ferries are getting smaller and smaller. This one takes me from Tarbert to Portavadie, a half hour crossing.
We’re still on the mainland, deep in Argyll.
Lumpy road from Portavadie across to Tignabruaich. With hindsight, I should have stopped there for something to eat, but I pressed on. After Tignabruaich, there’s another cat4 hill.
That one was sore - but once I got to the top, the view over the Kyles of Bute was incredible.
You can actually see the next ferry in that photo - it’s only a mile away - but the road to get there is 12 miles long.
Ferry #4 is Colintraive-Rhubodach. The shortest crossing of the trip - I don’t think I was on the boat for more than a couple of minutes. Years ago, the local farmers used to swim their cattle across at low tide!
We’re now on the isle of Bute. From here, it’s a flat 10 miles to Rothesay. As I rounded the headland, I saw the 2pm ferry just leaving.... so had an hour to get something to eat and drink.
My head was saying “Healthy food. Soup. Granola bars”. But my heart said “fish & chips” and won.
The paddle steamer “Waverley” was in harbour. Good memories - I worked on it as a teenager.
Finally, caught the 3pm sailing from Rothesay to Wemyss Bay.
and then a slightly anticlimactic 20 miles along the A78 to take me back to the Ardrossan ferry terminal. Bumped into the same 2 guys on most ferries, and at the last set of traffic lights before the harbour.
So, overall it was 116km cycling (Strava says different, cos I forgot to pause it on one ferry) . I was out the house from 6.30 until 1700, but less than half of that was “rolling” - the rest was on boats, or waiting for boats.
A really good day. Met lots of interesting people on the ferries.
my legs are sair just reading this 
how was it on the mileage front?
.