HIGHLAND FLING

Plunging and peaking like the skirl of bagpipes, the tortuous car-wide B869 that locals nickname the “wee bad road” was well named, I mused, as I dove between granitic boulders and powered uphill toward a blind sharp-curved summit. I feathered the throttle and clutch as I hit the crest, then braked hard for the sudden and spectacular view: Gunmetal-gray Eddrachillis Bay studded by rugged isles and craggy peninsulas fringed by improbably white-sand beaches. Beyond, great glacier-scoured mountains surged towards the harsh north-west extreme of Britain. Then a red fox trotted across the road. As I raised my camera she turned bushy tail and merged into the gorse like a ghost.

My second day riding Scotland’s North Coast 500 route was proving wilder than my wildest dreams as it twined through the Highlands like fine whisky pouring through heather.

Carving a course around the untamed northern coastline of Scotland, the 824km journey (marketed since 2015 by Visit Scotland as an equivalent to America’s iconic Route 66 coast-to-coast highway) taps the classic road trip desire for epic scenery, adventure and freedom. Add the thrill of a challenge: A sign at the foot of Bealeach Na Bà alpine switchback reads, “Not advised for learner drivers.” Then there’s the possibility of highland cattle