Join us to ride the North Coast 500, from Saturday 27th August to Saturday 3rd September.
The Adventure Syndicate was launched back in May, when seven women completed the NC500 in just 36 hours. A group of us are now repeating it, at a more leisurely pace, and would love you to join us.
We've set out some more details below, and you can sign up here:
B&B / hostel accommodation: £235
Itinerary
Day 1 - Assemble in Inverness (Velocity Café and Bicycle Workshop) 9am, destination Strathcarron, 63 miles. NB if you can't get to Inverness for 9am, at least one rider will be leaving at 12pm. Let us know if this would be better for you.
Day 2 - Ride the stunning Bealach Na Ba to Applecross and on round the coast to Shieldaig finally coming to a stop in Gairloch. At approx 80 miles, this will be our longest day, with quite a bit of ascent and the longest distance covered.
Day 3 - Shorter day, cycling to Ullapool. 56 miles.
Day 4 - Then on up the beautiful west coast to Scourie. 70 miles
Day 5 - Day 5 will see us head north to Durness, around the stunning Loch Eriboll and then east towards Bettyhill, where we'll stop for the night. Approx 66 miles.
Day 6 - To Wick via John O'Groats on Britain's North Eastern tip. 70 miles.
Day 7 - The penultimate leg of our journey will take us to Rogart.
Day 8 - Return to Inverness, we can go the traditional NC500 route or avoid some of the A9 by going via the scenic Black Isle and Cromarty ferry.
Costs
This is not a organised event, in the traditional sense, with ride leaders, formal itinerary or support car. After all, where would the adventure be in that? Instead, the Adventure Syndicate is facilitating a group of women to come together and have a few days of riding in a beautiful place, in the spirit of collaboration and co-operation. This means TAS is not charging people to take part: you will be responsible for yourself and your own costs.
We've planned a route and to make things easier, will book and pay for accommodation in bulk. The money we are collecting from people taking part covers those accommodation costs and a celebration on the final night. Otherwise, you will be responsible for your own costs, as well as being responsible for yourself in taking part.
There are two accommodation options: camp or stay in B&Bs / hostels:
Option 1
Campsite accommodation each night, except for Rogart near Durness, where we will stay one night in the unique railway carriage hostel (http://www.sleeperzzz.com/). Approx. cost: £85.
Option 2
B&B / hostel style accommodation. Approx. cost £235.
These prices do not include accommodation in Inverness at the start and the end of the trip. We have done our best to get accurate cost estimates from accommodation providers and will take money for these amounts, but please be prepared to contribute a bit more if prices change for reasons beyond our control.
There will be somewhere to buy dinner each evening (pub/restaurant), but if you're on a tight budget, please do feel free to bring a stove for self-catering.
If you're planning to camp, you'll need to carry everything you need yourself (tent etc.). There is no support car.
Further Information
Once you've signed up, we'll get together over email to plan the finer details of the trip.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
No liability: At the risk of repeating ourselves, this is not an organised event and you will be entirely responsible for yourself on this ride. We'll all be looking out for each other, but The Adventure Syndicate can't be held responsible or be held liable in the case of mishaps, and has no insurance in place. All riders should make sure they are fit enough to take part.
Get in touch with us if you would like to register your interest in this event.