Sisters Are Doing It

We sisters don’t get together very often - no one does these days. Yet 4 sisters and 1 sister-in-law managed to pull off a trip to Portavadie on Argyll’s Secret Coast last weekend. I had decided this was the ideal place for us to create our sisterly cluster. Coming from Ayr, Edinburgh, Dunblane and Fort William, it was surprisingly a similar journey time for everyone, according to Google. As big sis and I got closer to Portavadie and the road got longer and more winding, I lost track of where on earth we were on the map - such is the nooks and crannies of the Argyll coast. Hearing that 2 sisters were stuck in traffic despite an early start and were becoming tired and facing the unfamiliar roads after Arrochar and The Rest and Be Thankful (so named because back in the day, you stopped at the viewpoint at the top of the steep climb to let your engine cool down and be thankful it hadn’t blown up - now you’re just thankful when it hasn’t been shut by a landslide) I began to feel the weight of the responsibility for choosing this venue which I hadn’t even been to before. In 2006 when I arrived on the slipway from Tarbet, Loch Fyne, there was nothing here but a tortuous 27 mile bike ride to my first coffee of the day at Strachur. I was cycling with Running Girl and her Amazonian pal Julie, and I don’t remember seeing anything but their backsides as I clung to their bike tails, desperate for cake and caffeine.
Now they’ve built a marina, leisure centre and holiday accommodation. All I’d actually noticed in the photos was the infinity pool looking across the sea to Tarbet. I knew I wanted in that pool and there was no point in taking Running Girl as she comes out in a rash if you even hint at warmth and comfort on a holiday.
First impression, however, was a bit bleak - tucked away on a secret coast at the end of quiet roads, I was minded of The Prisoner - a 1960’s bizarre cult series.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

When you rock up on your boat (mooring from £26.40) you get the best of it. When you drive round the back to the leisure building, past the laundry shed, it’s a little less fancy. But with 3 sisters not making it in time for a swim, Big Sis and I were not hanging about. She went straight for the indoor pool and her face was a picture as she adjusted to unaccustomed cool waters. I bypassed this and headed outside to my infinity pool. She hadn’t noticed the steam rising off it and assumed it was only for folks acquainted with icy dips. With no sign of Running Girl anywhere, I was able to luxuriate in hot water and gaze off to sea, remembering our adventures on the bike with long days in the saddle, knowing that eating, drinking and soaking in warm water was as strenuous as it was going to get…….

Well - not quite. Although my siblings and I were not brought up on wild outdoor adventures - no camping or jumping off water falls into icy waters - there is no reason why we can’t try a new outdoor activity.

Obviously there was the family yacht - but who doesn’t have one of those.

No. Wait. That belonged to some guy called Frank who sailed about a bit, parked up at Devon and died a long long time ago. At least I think that’s who’s boat it was.

Cycling in our youth was about going round and round the yard all day until we were told we had to come in and have a bath, polish our school shoes, or get a row because Dad had discovered 2 of the Quality Street were missing (me).
This was a wonderful opportunity to introduce my sisters to the delights of modern biking. They have all recently retired - SO much older than me - and haven’t been on bikes for quite some time (yes Rona, I’m taking a creative liberty here.)

Is that you petting the dog, Rona? Without someone making you?

Spook told me it was a ridiculous idea to try and round up e-bikes. I’d never get ones the right size, I wouldn’t fit them all in the van, I’d definitely damage them if I did fit them in, we had no gear and I’m completely useless as a mechanic if anything goes wrong.
Right enough, I’ve always had someone to hand when there’s a technical issue…..

Jim - the lovely student from the Agricultural College who never tired of helping us. Rona. Is that dog yours?

Refusing to be put off by Spooks half-truths, I begged borrowed and hired. Off Beat Bikes in Fort William came up with the tiniest e-bike they could find as Marion doesn’t use brakes and prefers to wear out shoe leather instead. She needed to be able to reach the ground with both feet or I’d never get her on it.

There’s something missing here Rona. Oh I know - there’s no dog.

I love her dignified if slightly wary approach. And her classy leather driving gloves are a must for the e-bike rider. Her bike is the only one with a stand, so getting her to use that will be lesson 1. Rona is trying out Papa Munro’s bike for size. Billy got this when he was 86 as it seemed an appropriate age to start a new hobby. There is no shame in us starting early, however.
Marion was fairly sure that simply riding around the concrete roads of the resort would be an ample sufficiency of experience but I asked her to oblige me by trying it out on the Highway after a couple of resort laps. Getting her to slow down became the next issue, and after that it was getting her to stand up straight…..

Rona had eventually opted for the full suss e-bike generously loaned from Nevis Range. Getting her to be sensible and not get too cocky on off road stuff was the challenge here. She seemed to be having similar derrière issues to Marion.

As was Coila - no sympathy from me here. She spent much of the trek whizzing past me on turbo power while I busted a gut on Spooks bike with no engine. She was on Papa Munro’s bike with its teensy-weensy tartan seat and it eventually took its toll. Ha ha.
All went swimmingly well until 100 yards from the finish line. Coila thought Rona was to her right. So when Rona let out a yell from the left, Coila got a fright, looked sharp left and classically, so did her front wheel. We had to pick her up from the middle of the road, tangled in the bike, making sure she was ok before we could laugh.

Now this is clearly a manufactured image. It’s far more dignified than reality, it’s the wrong bike and whilst for me it’s all about the blog, there are times when I need to look after sibling relations before whipping out the camera.

There is an excuse for these bikes lying on the ground (not sure about the sisters), but when I saw Marion’s bike lying on the ground, I had to give her a big row. “Look at that bike!! Yours is the ONLY one with a stand! You need to use it.” She obediently dived over to pick it up but then had a fit of the giggles trying to stand on one leg, hold the heavy bike upright and operate the stand with her other leg.
Then she jumped into her car, locked the door and refused to get out until I started playing nice.

Honestly - anyone would think I was a bully!
Thankfully we all cleaned up and made up. Sister-in-law (and in our lives since she was 16) Alexa, had spent the time curled up with Billy Connolly in book form, as a dodgy knee doesn’t allow biking.

After a couple of pre dinner drinks, we headed over to the Marina Restaurant.

Good food and good company, with lovely service…. and 3 e-bikes on order. It was a win, win,win.
Thanks to Papa Munro, Nevis Range and Off Beat Bikes. Hopefully everything was returned undamaged.
Apart from Spooks van. I went through a pot hole on the way home and fractured the front suspension. Oops

#portavadie #offbeatbikes #nevisrange #argyll #argyllssecretcoast #sisters #family