Recently returned from my trip to Shetland from Aberdeen
Made extremely welcome by fellow Raven riders and their partners on my first day there.
Many thanks Hille Jork Monica and Andy.
Brief summary of thoughts, impressions and stats.
In no particular order.
Hostel - first class. Well equipped. £20 per night.
Roads - first class. Smooth tarmac. A couple of long slow hills outside Lerwick but generally pretty flat.
Drivers ( plenty of lorries about - with the oil & construction work going on ) - no complaints - given plenty of room.
Waves - being an island - loads - but from the locals - frequent friendly waves. That always perks me up.
My brakes - awful. I have fore and aft Blue Swiss top. Absolute nightmare in the rain. I believe Thorn only fit one end of their bikes now with these - (and I use the term loosly) brakes. I can honestly say they spoilt my total enjoyment of some rides.
Self inflicted - so don't count this as a negative against the trip.
Birds - an ideal ornithological destination.
Locals - 101% helpful. I stopped a few times to chat with folk and often as not, they were not from the island. Quite a few incomers due to the oil work I guess. First lady I spoke to was from USA. Second was Lithuanian.
Weather - mixed - and its the wind that gets to you as much as the rain.
But not a negative. Expected what I got and had the right gear. So head down and battle on.
Ferry to and from Shetland. Excellent service. Able to crash out on the deck (inside) in my sleeping bag - avoiding a cabin or seat fee.
Managed to blag a senior citizen ticket even though not over 65 ( my bus pass counted!)
The Orkney stop off at 11pm wakes you up if you've nodded off.
Raven - no problems at all.
Thanks to Dan and all the other forum members who have given me good advice over that past year,
I had total confidence in the Old Bird and she never missed a beat. Even when the wind blew her over outside the pub in Voe.
Matt
