Day 6.. Out of my comfort zone

 

So today I awoke with purpose, having had a bit of a driving transition day.. Last night I figured out the tides here.... or rather I checked on an app. At 2030 last night the tide was in.. and the water was slightly closer than when the tide was out.. funny that. So at 0830 the tide should be in and therefore I wont have to haul my kayak so far across the huge expanse of sand that Uig beach consists of. So I jumped up, dragged my kayak across the dunes to my tent, changed into my wetsuit and then dragged it down a small cliff (slight exaggeration) to the beach and dragged it still further to the waters edge.

This would be the first time I had launched in surf conditions, albeit in quite a protected cove.  It went ok.. I stood in ankle deep water, hopped in, did up the skirt and pushed off... aiming my kayak at the incoming waves which it handled with ease... they were small as the tide was at the peak, just before starting to go out. The drawback to this plan would be that the tide was going out and that would make it a little more tricky coming back to shore.

Due to the nature of this cove, it wasn't that deep for a bit and I could see the sand that I had walked over yesterday in the clear water. As I headed further out, the bottom disappeared and with it my imagined security. I rocked the kayak a little, feeling the inherent stability and the control I had over it... remember I'm new to this. It made me feel a little less lost at sea. I headed out over the rolling waves gaining confidence with each paddlestroke.

Pause the story for a bit of backstory....

I learnt to swim fairly late as a kid and although reasonably proficient, have never liked it, having not recovered from being told to jump in the deep end of our school pool. I can swim, I can float, but would just rather not.

Before I joined the Navy, I had a chance to go and try the Dunker training... an exercise where you sit in a helicopter pod, strapped in and fully clothed whilst it goes down into a swimming pool.. you then have to unbelt yourself, knock out a window and swim out. This scared my 17 year old self beyond belief, but I forced myself in a second time where they turned us upside down, a third time where we were upside down in the dark and a 4th time where we just kept on rolling over and over in the dark.

I was filled with fear and although I overcame it, I carried with me forever more a fear of being trapped upside down in water.....

So... the thought of being upside down, trapped in a kayak in the atlantic ocean does not fill me with soft and fluffy thoughts. Nonetheless, I pressed on.

I aimed for another little cove on the opposite side, braving the swells as they came. I even started to enjoy myself. Once in the cove, which turned out to be an oasis of calm I settled in and floated gently over the seaweed between the little island and the shore. I kept going, wary of the waves crashing against some rocks in the moddle of the channel... I went a bit further but the swell got bigger and I was also aware that gettinh back against the tide would be harder, so turned around and paddled back towards where I thought I had started.

But everything looked so different already.. from this viewpoint there were several bays and coves that looked like mine. I headed for one but then checked my garmin to find out that my bay was the next one along. It just shows how easy it is to get disoriented.

As I paddled across the bay again, I heard the unmistakable whoomph of rotar blades... I looked up... the coastguard helicopter was circling over me. I think they were on a practice flight and using me as a spotting test... it would have been easy, I was in a bright yellow kayak. Either that or someone had thought I was in difficulty and called the coastguard out. I remembered not to wave as it may have been construed as a distress signal so kept paddling to show them I was fine. They circled a few more times so I took a few pics whilst bobbing about quite happily.

I then decided that unless I wanted to drag my kayak for over a mile of beach, I had better return. Surfing in was fun and pretty easy though the waves knocked my kayak at an angle that I had to quickly correct.

Before long, I was once again standing on the beach, happy with the mornings progress....

Step out of your comfort zone and fight the fear.. 

After that slight adrenaline rush, I decided a bit of food shopping was in order and petrol for my journey to Uilst tomorrow. The community shop/petrol station/gift shop was only a mile or so away. The island authority had tried to close it down but the locals formed their own coopertive and took over the running of it, keeping this lifeline, for the people that live scattered around this area, open.

Food... more pasta and pesto and a bag of crisps as a treat and a change of snack. A bag of kindling for my now necessary little evening campfire and my car filled up at prices that made my eyes water. Its just as well that I haven't spent much money on food or accomodation this holiday.

Back to the tent for a spot of lunch and a few chapters of the book im reading about a great climber and his adventures...

But having spent yesterday with my arse on a car seat, I decided to sit it on my saddle and see how the legs have recovered from the Bealach.

I picked the road that went out right from the campsite. It was a road that ended nowhere and I was goimg to follow it to the end... having no idea how far that was... but it looked interesting.

Off I set, immediately hit with a steep climb ... short but steep, not sweet at all. The legs groaned, threatened to throw their toys out of the pram, but relented and decided to play along for a bit.

The roads here are mainly that horrible bumpy tarmac, that drags on the wheel and make it seem like you are cycling through mud. Between that and the steep up, steep down nature of the roads, it was by no means a bimble. That said, I stopped to take a fair few pictures, enjoying once again being on my bike and totally free.

Recently I have struggled to find the enthusiasm to get on my bile and cycle the well known roads near home. Bile riding for me has never been about training, more about exploration, adventure, finding new roads and new sights. This was perfect. Along with the Bealach ride, it has rekindled my love affair with my bike. Just what I needed. The freedom, the fresh air, the feeling that you are master of your destination and that it is about the journey and only about that.

The sea views along the way were spectacular... I managed to see the famous stacks and various little islands off the coast. The sun was out and warm enough and there was no traffic on the roads bar the odd car.

A sheep and its lamb wandered in front of me, in no hurry to get out of my way... geese herding 2 goslings in front of me, slowing me to a crawl... the houses with the stunning views, lovely in the sunp

As I reached the end of the road, there was a sign talking about medieval times, the ruins of a nunnery just down the road and the foumdations of an old temple. It told of Viking invasion and hardship of the people that once farmed the land here. An interesting place, steeped with history, that felt sad and mournful.

I played around in the rockpool, crab spotting.. little shrimp darting in and out... taking me back to days as a child scrambling around the rocks.

The way back was faster, using the downhills to get up the uphills... 

I saw a sheep herding its young, it stopped and stared at me...

How are YOU doing, I talked to the sheep as I went past and then giggled at my own joke as the Ewe was not laughing.

I arrived back at the campsite, pleased my legs had behaved and set up dinner (pasta and pesto) and then my fire.

Past me walked a lady dressed in cycle garb..  we said hello and chatted about cycle stuff. Annette and Val were doing a little tour of the island..  packing panniers and lots of kit... how the hell did they get up these hills with that! As the midges were buzzing, I invited them to sit by the smoke of my fire to keep the midges away and we sat and chatted about bikes, cycle trips and nursing as Val just happened to be an advanced practitioner, though in adult stuff!

Kit is always a hot topic when any cyclists meet amd we spent time discussing tents amd sleeping pads and cookers. It was a really nice way to spend the evening!

The sum was going down and lighting up the ocean and the surrounding cliffs as I crawled into my sleeping bag. Tomorrow the tent comes down and I'm off to explore another island.

Night all x