Riding round the north of Scotland

I’m ashamed to say that until last week, I had no idea what incredible roads and scenery the North West of Scotland had to offer.

Starting at Helensburgh just west of Glasgow, ten of us (including ex racers Duffus, MacPherson, Morrison and Simpson,) rode 600 miles round the coast then back down to Inverness. On mostly empty but immaculate roads we lost count of the mountains, lochs and sandy beaches along the way.

Day one took us up the A82 past Loch Lomond to the famous Green Welly shop at Tyndrum. A quick cappo then it was through beautiful Glencoe and up to Fort William to the home of the Six days Trial. North of Fort William it was then left at Invergarry and west to take in Kishorn Bay followed by the amazing single track road over to Applecross.

Our next stop was Poolewe, made famous recently when Brad Pitt dropped by for a holiday. After an overnight stay and a vicious curry in Ullapool we blasted up the brilliant A835 and A894 via Lochinver to Durness home of the vast underground Smoo Cave. Dodging the sheep round the perimeter of Loch Eriboll was the next challenge before lunch at the very hospitable Tongue Hotel.

The last leg of our journey was east to Portskerra then south to Helmsdale, Golspie and over the Keswick Bridge to Highland capital of Inverness. The icing in the cake was clear blue skies all the way with the temperature never dropping below 20 degrees. We were all blown away with what we saw so will be back next year, although I’ll probably avoid a numb bum by swapping the RC8R for KTM Adventure or Triumph Tiger.

I got my hands in some 2013 RST Tractech Evo gloves for the trip and pretty good they were too. Although black, they have a bright sporty look and once on, have a comfy chamois leather feel. They also have the usual comprehensive knuckle protection and the vents are 100% effective.

With that in mind your digits will get chilly when the temperature drops but wet riding in the summer isn't a problem, as I used plastic under gloves in pouring rain and they were perfect. These replace the best selling Tractech worn by BSB champ Tommy Hill. They cost £59.99 and you can contact www.motodirect.co.uk for your local dealer.

By Niall Mackenzie