Cycling in Western Isles

The Western Isles region offers five road cycling routes starting from Eoropie, Balallan, Ardmore, Borve, and Balivanich. Each route is point to point, ranging from 20 km to 84 km in length, with a median length of 72 km. These routes span a total of 308 km and incorporate climbing between 118 m and 557 m per route. The longest route runs from Eoropie to Balallan covering 84 km with a total of 500 m climbing.

Most routes mainly use main roads, comprising 77% of the total 293 km measured, followed by minor roads at 15%, quiet streets at 6%, and small proportions on tracks and paths. No dedicated cycle paths are present along these routes. The gradients are mostly flat, with 78% flat terrain and 11% climbing, while steep sections above 5% gradient make up only 3.2 km in total. The highest climb gradient over 500 m reaches 7.3%. Climate data shows average daily highs range from 7°C in the winter months to 15°C in summer.