I’m no cycling champion. Nobody has ever convinced me that greasy chains, saddle sores and games of rush-hour roulette in traffic make for healthy enjoyment. So it was with incredulity that my friends greeted the proposal that we go on a group cycling holiday, 112 miles through the Outer Hebrides. It was the islands themselves that won my heart. Strung out in a ragged arc, the Hebridean chain is Scotland’s final flourish as it splinters into the Atlantic.

The western seaboard is all white sand, pounded by curling breakers; to the east are a thousand rocky inlets and islets. Crofting townships scatter the fringes, while inland is boggy, rocky wilderness.

There is a palpable sense of openness here and pedal power lets you cover great distances without foregoing the simple pleasures of fresh air and silence.

Our team assembled at Oban’s harbourside. The seven-hour crossing to Lochboisdale feels so long that it’s hard to believe the destination is still part of Scotland.

With barely a car in sight, our road swooped along the spine of South Uist. To one side rose a clutch of knobbly hills, to the other rolled dunes, sequined with flowers. This is the famous machair grassland, a rich habitat for rare birds and plants.

It also happens to make perfect cycling terrain, most easily appreciated on a specialist road bike, but any old rustbucket will do the job. We enjoyed a sandy off-road diversion and the briefest of dips in the North Atlantic, with its warming Gulf Stream magic.

Enjoying distant views over the sea to Skye, our mini convoy crossed to Benbecula and on to North Uist, following a series of causeways. A road sign warned of crossing otters. In vain I scanned the rockpools for an endearing snout. A foray through the empty interior gave us our first big hill climb. Peat cutters had been at work, segmenting the bogs into little squares to extract their staple fuel. The Hebridean way of life is bound inextricably to the land.

The fruits of this union include fine food and drink, local produce without which no island day is complete. To that end we located a bottle of single malt. Later we pulled over again, drawn by the aroma of smoked fish from the Hebridean Smokehouse at Clachan.

Evening saw us on the little island of Berneray, a swathe of lush pasture and dazzling sand that is apparently a favourite of Prince Charles. We camped outside under an enormous Hebridean sky, under the gaze of an inquisitive seal basking in the shallows.

The boat to Harris looped a huge reef, the sea transparent as air. While the Uists are largely pancake-flat, Harris is all rough contours. After a steep pull out of Leverburgh, we raced downhill through an immense waste of exposed rock. In some sci-fi movies South Harris has doubled for the surface of the Moon — I suspect there’s rather more greenery in space.

The east coast road is a Hebridean cycling highlight, though not for the faint of heart. It saps the legs, but rewards the eye at every hairpin turn. Several hours’ worth of calf-busting switchbacks brought us to the beachside campsite at Huishnish, on the far western extremity of Harris. At our arrival the weather turned on cue from fair to furious, lashing the tents all night and filling everything with soggy sand.

Dawn was half-hearted and murky. Misery gave way to elation, however, when spears of sunlight rent the clouds, gilding the watery flatlands of Lewis. Whooping for joy we tore out of the mountains onto our final island.

The winds have free rein over the vastness of Lewis. All next morning we battled a gale, pedalling frantically but gaining little ground. Eyes full of driven rain I hit upon a cunning plan — reach Stornoway and we could stash the bikes, hire a minibus, fill up on wine and tour the rest of Lewis in effortless comfort. The best way to travel the Western Isles may be in the saddle, but you can only push it so far.

Details: Train to Oban (08457 550 033 www.firstscotrail.com). Book bikes in advance. Caledonian Macbrayne ferries (08705 650 000 www.calmac.co.uk). Island Hopscotch Ticket 9 lets you sail from Oban to Lochboisdale, Berneray to Harris and Stornoway back to Ullapool. From Ullapool, cycle to Garve for trains home.

The Scottish Youth Hostel Association (www.syha.orag.uk) has several properties on South Uist and Berneray from £8 a night Independent hostels are found in Leverburgh, Tarbert, Stornoway and Clachan na Luib on North Uist, from £10 a night (www.hostel-scotland.co.uk) For B&B recommendations see www.visitscotland.com

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