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June 28, 2007
Guinness is Good for You
I pulled into Belfast last Wednesday night, (after missing a ferry due to an unsightly sidewall failure on my bike), and while in line at the hostel was asked, "Where in BC are you from?" Having not met any other Canadians to date I instantly made friends with two boys who were from Merritt, (in the Okanagan). We went out for some pints, checked out the nightlife and as we were ushered out of the clubs I even got hugged by an extremely mushroomed out Irish man. He was amazed at how white my teeth were and how tanned my hands are. Geesh, some great assets-I suppose.
The next day I was tempted by the Coastal Causeway, and although I was told the best way to tour Ireland is clockwise, I headed North making my route a counter-clockwise affair. I got hit with a torrential rain storm about 40-kms out and stopped to check out the tourist information. Luckily I managed to hop on the last bus of the night headed in my direction, as in the bus was pulling out as I arrived. I had a road map and from that had to decide where I wanted to get off, I choice Ballycastle, (hey it sounded nice). As we pulled into the little town a giant yellow building with the words HOSTEL splayed across it caught my attention. Things were working out.
Two girls also got off at this stop, and there I meet Alison and Rosy, the second set of Canadians in as many days. We were told of live traditional Irish music up the road that evening and arranged to meet up later. As I settled into the little hostel I heard some slightly familiar voices, JP and Clint, (the Merritt boys), had also been drawn to the yellow hostel. We made the most of Ballycastle and hit all the pubs, got front row seats for the improntu Irish jam, and even watched a wee Irish girlie show us her jigging skills.
As the night wore on our Canadian continguency chatted with the locals and I overheard the best line ever. The drummer from the jam sat down next to an aged man and started talking loudly. I am not sure the preamble but the just of it was:
"Wow, you are looking pretty good for 91," the old timer looked very proud, as the drummer continued, "shouldn't you be dead!" WTF, I instantly turn my head to see that the old timer was in fact sipping on a pint of Guinness.
I guess the phrase mounted over almost every bar here is true, "Guinness is Good for You!"
Posted by jmclean at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2007
On to the Isle of Arran
Well, as I was told the Isle of Arran is a minature Scotland, and it is living up to my expectations. I got off Mull on Sunday and beelined it to here, (approx 80-miles and two ferry crossings). It does have everything big Scotland has, just smaller or less of them. This place has a small whisky distillery, one small brewery, hills (just smaller and less of them), sandy beaches, waterfalls and standing stones. I have circum-navigated the 68-miles of road around the Coastal route with my bike and am resting my head tonight at Glen Rosa at the base of the tallest peak on the Isle, Goatfell. Unfortunately I won't be ascending it as I am planning on catching the ferry to Ireland bright and early tomorrow morning.
Last night I camped next to, surprise, a hotel with a pub. There was a local Scottish band playing and I had a pint of Guinness, (don't worry Cam, one pint over the period of 4 hours), and tried to look local by mouthing the words to numerous traditional tunes. It was open mike, and although I did not get up and perform, many others did and allowed me to fully experience some of the local talent.
Today I went and toured the Isle of Arran Brewery, walked to the falls and am right now being kicked out of the library at Broddick.
Posted by jmclean at 08:27 AM | Comments (2)
June 25, 2007
From the Top of Ben Nevis, to the Mud Bogs of Mull
I climbed the highest peak in the UK the other day. After getting 2/3 of the way up Ben Nevis I was in cloud cover and saw nothing. The top portion of the mountain is known to be cover in cloud 9 days out of 10, and I wasn't lucky this time. The walk, which was about 4-miles one-way, took 2 1/4 hours to summit, and about 2 hours down. It was a good hike which left my legs in immense pain for the following 3 days. Surprising how many different muscles are in involved in a hike. Interestingly enough I easily pedaled over to the Isle of Mull the next day, by way of the Road to the Isles (beautiful), however upon reaching the cottage Dad and family was staying at I had huge problems climbing up and down the staircase.
I made it to Mull to join my Aunts, Dad and Dall at the MacLean/McLean/McLane (ect.) clan gathering which was a hoot. I met many many MacLeans from all over the world, with the largest continguencies being from the UK, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada. Trying to be subtle I attempted to photograph some of my favorites, punk McLean, Braveheart McLean, Redneck McLean and my McLeans. There was an evening Ceilidh, a day out at Duart Castle and of course the Grand Dance. The Grand Dance wherein my Aunt, her friend Sandy and I managed to smuggle water bottles full of cheap red wine into the event. There was a local band and dancing all evening. I do believe the average age was well into the 50's, however, I had a great time being spun around and getting stepped on out on the dance floor, (I was always in everyone's way - it seemed).#
Dad and I managed to sneak away for a hike on the Isle. Unfortunately the trail turned into a sheep path, which turned into a creek crossing, which then disappeared. We trekked across what a appeared to be a nice grassy field, only to find it was in fact a mud bog! With a miscalculated step your foot would be sucked into a deep pit of reddish muck, (as Dad and I found out first hand). Luckily we came out exactly in the wrong spot, exactly at the right time for our tardy aunts to pick us up.
Posted by jmclean at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)
June 19, 2007
No Nessy but Great Riding
After a few days of questionable trail/road riding I had an amazing day cruising past Loch Ness, through Fort Augustus, past Loch Lochy and into Fort Williams. The wind was behind me, the carriageway was single lane with few to no cars, and the weather held out. The ride into Fort Williams was magnificant as I got my first peak at Ben Nevis, (Ben = mounatain, Glen = valley, Loch = lake??), the sun broke out and I coasted into town.
The previous night I spent in Inverness and snuck out in the evening to catch a local highland band, complete with a cellist. It was a cozy show in a little pub and I knew I was surrounded with locals, (everyone knew everyone). Once again there were real ales on tap and I sampled some of the local amber. A the night wore on, 11:30pm, I figured I should get back to the hostel. I left the pub and had expected it to be dark... not a chance! I asked a fellow when they expected it to get dark. He replied, "Maybe at 1, for 'bout an hour, by 2 twill be light again!". Oh, right, I am North.
Last night, I camped at the base of Ben Nevis in the local caravan/tent site. I was checking in just as two young English lads pulled up on their touring bikes. They were headed Lands End to John O'Groats. We shared a few pints, some stories, a game of butthead and swatted at midges until midnight. Once again at 56 degrees latitude and approaching the longest day of the year no lights were required. I am thinking I will purchase some 100% DEET today. It did wonders last night at temporarily keeping those damn insects away. Wasn't DEET outlawed for some health reason??
Today I am taking 'er easy, (again). I am thinking if the weather clears up this afternoon I will join the 70,000 people who annually reach the summit of the highest peak in the UK-Ben Nevis. At a whooping 1344m the 4-mile ascent is expected to take 3-4 hours.
Posted by jmclean at 04:47 AM | Comments (1)
June 17, 2007
Where is Nessy?
Today I arrived in Inverness which is mere miles North of the famed Loch Ness. I did not make it here entirely on my own accord, as I caught the train this morning from Pithlochry. I woke up to see another overcast day and with the cask beers of last night sitting rather heavy in my stomache I opted for the motorized transportation.
This has definitely been turning out to be an unplanned tour of Scotland as every night I seem to go to bed with an idea of which direction I am heading, and every morning I seem to change my mind.
The first morning in Glasgow I noticed the wind was blowing West, so instead of heading in to Edinburgh, (East and my original plan), I was blown West and ended up at Loch Lomond. There are loads of well marked trails and paths, (part of the National Cycling Network), which take you around the country. I continued up the number 7 route, called Lochs and Glens which headed toward Callander, but not without problems. First I failed to look closely at the cycle map I had bought and was unaware that the trail was in fact a "trail". There were roots and bumps and rocks and many bridge crossings. Naturally riding my road bike I managed to flat 4 times. My patching skills are now quite admirable!
With a freshly patched tube I headed off again, only to ride a couple miles and then have my chain break. OI, what a way to start the trip. I fixed that, and was off again. Mileage being extremely slow and the fact I was getting hungry for dinner I decided to stop off the side of the trail at 55 miles, (90ish kilometers). There was a boyscout camp and I ignored the sign which read ~no unathorized camping~ and set up next to the hose bibb. All night I had a fear of being woken by angry boy scouts wanting me off their grassy pitch, but alas I woke in the morning unharmed. The next morning there was however a frightening number of slugs climbing up the sidewall of my tent.
As far as meeting strangers I am doing alright. I meet a scottish fellow named Alan right outside of Glasgow and we rode on and off for the first two days. He in on a beer tour and has been pointing me in the right direction for pubs. Lots of conversations with locals and tourists alike. I have noticed there isn't so much a sense of wonder when people see a solo female cyclist.
Anyways, tomorrow I am heading to Fort Augustine, down Loch Ness. The next day will be Fort William, and then I will be starting to make my way toward the Isle of Mull. My father, Dal and my two Aunts will be there to welcome me into their rented accomodation :)
Posted by jmclean at 07:42 AM | Comments (2)
June 14, 2007
Awww Glasgow
Well I have made it to Scotland, however, the trip over was not my smoothest travelling to date.
Getting my bike packed into the box was surprisingly easy this time. Getting my bike, by panniers and me to the Victoria bus station was fairly painless - thanks to the employee who broke the rules and let me store my stuff in the back room while I did a car drop. Riding the ferry was easy, and debatably amusing. The entire ride I had my ears filled with tales from Tim the Fire Protection Technologist. The thing is I had nothing better to do, so when he approached me just off Swartz Bay and asked about my knowledge of Land's End I cordially continued conversing with him. By the time we reached Active Pass he was convinced that if this was an American ferry route they would have blown up a couple islands to make it a more direct passage. I was slightly intrigued although I informed him that the Washington State Ferries did in fact go around the islands. He went on to tell me about how when all the glaciers melt in a couple years there will be no more islands, (he had just watched An Inconvenient Truth and felt himself an expert on global warming).
Still smooth sailing, (excuse the pun), the fun actually started upon my arrival at the Vancouver Airport...
I arrived at the Air Transat counter 4 hours early to pick up my ticket, (I was planning to check the luggage and hit up beers and dinner with some friends at the Flying Beaver).
"Nope, your ticket is not here," said the lady behind the counter after returning my passport and looking past me to the next person in line.
"What do you mean?" I tried to get her attention back as I felt my heart start beating. I had looked at my emailed itinerary just prior to leaving my house and was ensured the date and time were right, not to mention there was a note at the bottom that had read Pick up ticket at YVR.
Looking at me like I was trying to pull a fast one she was as unhelpful as possible, and suggested I go get my tickets... HUH??? After she helped the person behind me in line she then turned back to me and suggested I call someone, (I am not sure who I would call at this point).
This carried on for an hour and a half, it felt like pulling teeth to get any kind of answer from her. My name was on the seat register, I showed her my confirmation email, and together we even read the Pick up ticket at YVR note. She held firm though, "No ticket, no flight", and although I was suppose to pick up the ticket there, she could not help.
In the end I had a choice; I could purchase a new ticket and file a LOST TICKET FORM for a refund or wait until tomorrow and contact Air Transat's office in Quebec.
I did option 1 and received a new ticket at the cost of $188, (taxes included). I now am over here in the UK and have no ticket for the route home, supposeably a refund is coming my way... Anyways, to say the least I have some phone calls to make.
Less that Scotland is pretty neat. I spent yesterday afternoon and today visiting museums and riding around Glasgow. The weather is about 15 degrees, and not raining, albeit overcast. I am hitting the road tomorrow morning and am still debating which direction I will actually go. I am thinking that I will take the bike route Northwest and end up in Inverness in 3-4 days.
Hopefully I will soon get the hang of this right-hand drive thing. I keep finding myself looking in the wrong direction for on coming traffic and ending up on the wrong side of the roadways-ERP. It probably will come naturally after a few more Guinness and Bellehaven pints.
Posted by jmclean at 09:21 AM | Comments (2)
June 08, 2007
PI-ed
So I am getting some grief about exposing my father's dance moves, so to balance the field I am putting up a video of myself being pi-ed. The video is from Kosti's camera phone and was a little slow getting it recording. This does catch the essence of the pie though:
The Order of Pi has been an annual fundraiser of the Uvic Engineering Students Society since 1993. This spring Diana Walker figured my transgressions of "Not visiting her in Powell River" would be best punished with a pie in the face.
I found some amusing antics about the Order of PI here.
Common Misconceptions About the Order
We pie people against their will
Anyone slated for a pie in the face is first approached and given ample opportunity to express their aversion to a pie in the face. Nobody gets pied against their will: That would be assault.
We throw pies through the air
We have never thrown a pie at anyone: The pie is firmly but gently placed into the face of the condemned.
We waste perfectly good food
The dubious food value of synthetic cream pies aside, the Order of Pi does not encourage the throwing out of any used pies: We employ a pie catcher lined with a hygenic plastic bag to catch all falling pie during the execution, and this bag is given to the condemned to take home. Most people won't admit it, but they do eat the pie later when no one is looking. I did not eat the pie!
We pie people for revenge
All prospective orders placed during the annual charity drive are carefully screened to ensure that the Accuser is a friend of the person to be pied, that this person posesses the sense of humor necessary to be amused by the concept. We insist that the accuser provide us with charges so that we can ensure that the motive for the pieing is fun and not spite. Anonymous pieings and venomous or hurtful accusations are forbidden by the laws of the Order of Pi, and any order that breaks this criteria is not taken.
We play pranks at the expense of the public
Ah... That would be UBC, not UVic. We've never figured out how to dismantle Volkswagons like they can. We just raise money for the children's hospital and a foundation for the physically and mentally challenged, and leave the high rise acrobatics to them.
Posted by jmclean at 08:32 AM | Comments (3)
June 07, 2007
Dad's Fancy Footwork Following the Tequila Shot
Dad and Dal made the quick trip to Victoria yesterday to watch me graduate. Dad made the unfortunate mistake of letting me use his camera. Unknowingly he allowed me access to our Christmas morning photo montage.
So, with the slight buzz of boozy coffee it was an easy exercise to convince everyone that tequila shots were in order. I am not sure where the present that Cam was balancing went to...
Poor Jon looks like he is about to cry, however, the madness ensues. Jon disappears from the scene at this point to spend time with his slightly more normal family and we continue the McLean tradition. It can be notice that Dal remains an angel during the process.
With the iPod playing some music in the background Dad steps up. The following video contains frightening dance moves. This is an edit of the original although I think the choreographer is the same one.
Posted by jmclean at 09:06 AM | Comments (4)
June 03, 2007
From Border to Border - Almost
We'll I have now completed my trip and am safely back in Victoria. I had such an amazing trip and have so many great memories of the people and places I saw. I finished the trip with two 60 mile days to get me into San Diego. I stayed at the Point Loma hostel for two nights before flying to Seattle with Southwest Airlines. The first day in SD I thought I would finish the trip up right and go see the Tijuana border...
I headed off early in the morning, (fuelled with the free pancakes provided by the hostel) and cruised through the SD harbour/tourist area. I somehow missed a turn and ended up somewhere. Being me and not liking to stop, ask for directions or backtrack, I continued in some direction figuring the border would eventually appear. No luck. I found every time I slowed or looked confused people would approach or stare, so being entirely non-socially inclined that morning I just did neither of the above, and with a look of intense concentration continued going in some direction.
I eventually decided I really didn't need to see the border, hopped a bus, (I actually did ask where the bus was going), and ended up at the trolley station out in Chula Vista. I was a 15 minute trolley ride from the border, but I rode the trolley north and returned to the Gaslamp Quarter somewhat defeated.
The rest of the day I pedaled around seeing Balboa Park, Little Italy, Point Loma, numerous unnamed tower buildings and the pier area.
The next morning I headed to the local bike shop and spent hours trying to wedge my bike into a travel box. The fellow in the shop eventually just felt sorry for me, (or wanted me to leave), and helped squeeze the beast into the 5'x3'x1' carrying case. To fly the bike almost cost as much as it had cost me to fly, (bike =$50, Jenn = $88 + taxes, total = $165USD).
I was greeted in Seattle by Lars, (the Subaru driver from Boston) and chauffeured to my high school buddy Graham's house. I spent the day in Seattle eating Swedish pancakes with WWII veterans, walking Pike's Market, eating Reuben sandwiches next to the recycle station, touring the library and drinking Seattle's pride - coffee.
From there Lars and I headed to San Juan Island and spent a stormy night car camping and staring across the straight at Victoria. We arrived in Victoria just in time to have lunch at Tim Hortons - not because I wanted it, it just seemed the Canadian thing to do. Now I am full, and must unpack, then repack my bags as I am heading off to the UK in 7 days :)
That concludes the whirlwind description of my last 4 days of the trip. For more information or a transcript of today's program please contact the author.
Posted by jmclean at 09:52 AM | Comments (1)