So a few days to catch up on .... where to begin!
Well - leaving Moffat i felt quite daunted, we were not far over 1/2 way and had only 8 days to do the remaining miles, and lets face it Scotland is not known for being flat! The weather was also coming in - and 'Gale force' was a term frequently used in the local weather forecasts! So - the old courage was screwed back on to the sticking place and we were waved off from Moffat!
There was a choice of 2 routes from Moffat to Strathaven ... one about 10 miles longer and hillier than the other which was - shorter, flatter and boring (i.e. straight up the A74...) Well as you can imagine I was wholly tempted to plug into my iPod and trundle up the shorter, flatter, dull route ... and my oh my I am so glad that Rob told me not to. Saturday's ride was so gorgeous ... a 7 mile climb out of Moffat - but a long sloggy gentle one which was fine... and then a whizz down the valley through Tweedsmuir and Boughton ... absolutely beautiful! I was in a funny mood and sadly didn't take any photos... but spent my time relishing the beauty... anyway we got to Strathaven and stayed in a great B&B - well - great restaurant with rooms! And then to Luss on Loch Lomond... but first to cycle through Glasgow ... where the cycle routes are renowned for glass & punctures...
1st puncture of the day ... Nick mending his outside the People's Palace 
This made me laugh ...
Glasgow preparing for the Commonwealth Games... I think the picture on the left is the Commonwealth Stadium... or so i was told!
It was a 2 jacket day (windy and wet!) ... and a day where Bradley felt small!
Then Bradley fell foul to the puncture predictions... first one heading out of town on one of the beautiful cycle routes ... and the second one near to the Balloch marina heading up to Loch Lomond.. Luckily i wasn't cycling alone and there were many helpful hands!
And then we got to Luss and a B&B which overlooked the beauty of Loch Lomond...
So after a long and tiring day of 6 punctures and 3 topples between us we were all delighted to be relaxing in beautiful surroundings.
From Luss we pedalled to Connel... a ride that has been in my mind for a long time as it included the famed 'Rest & be Thankful' pass... a 4 mile long climb on the way to Inverary. I'm not sure why this particular climb has been on my mind so much as it isn't a huge one - a long gentle grind up the hill. Possibly because i remember Dad talking about it - maybe because the name makes me smile (and i always get it wrong and call it 'Thank and be Restful' which somehow i prefer!) Anyway later on in the ride we had a longer 8 mile climb out of Inverary ... and combined with the day topping 63 miles it was a long and tiring one. I hardly took any photos again, mainly because the weather was shocking and between battling the wind and rain & keeping out of the way of the truckers thrashing along the A82 it was a hairy scary day all around... anyway, we all survived to tell the tale and felt all the stronger for it!
Bleak lunch stop!!! See the pelting rain in Inverary!
Staying in Connel was a step back in time! Right out of childhood holidays in the 70's - does anyone else remember these 'babysitting' services?!
And they're still in use in Connel!
The ride from Connel to Fort William was promised to be an easy one - and at only just over 40 miles one of the shortest on the trip! With good weather (i.e. bitterly cold but only occasional showers) it was a stunning ride to Fort William. Combined with the delight at finding the Sustrans Cycle Routes were fabulous paved routes along old railway lines it soon became one of my favourite days cycling ... along the sides of Lochs ... and into Fort William...
It felt good to have made it to the Highlands... we must be nearly there now!!
Pretty sure this is Loch Linnhe ... or is it Loch Leven?!
Now this is crossing over Loch Linnhe for sure....
Gorgeous moments along the cycle route!
Four Seasons in every hour... typical Scottish Weather!
And then we arrived in Fort William where we found this chap waiting!
We headed out via 'Neptunes Staircase' a series of Locks on the Caledonian Canal built by Telford. It's a seriously impressive piece of engineering and as I cycled away after a good look around it I was left wondering what Dad had thought as he cycled by. Before I left the B&B this morning the Oracle advised me to embrace the feeling of the ancients that had been along this route before me - it was good advice and took my mind out of the nonsense of the day (there've been the first bits of cliquey nonsense within the group over the last day or so)... and it was things like these examples of engineering that sent me thinking of the ingenuity that has been required over the centuries to work within this landscape! On the one hand one of the things i love about Scotland is it's natural majesty and the beauty that bears little reflection of human change ... and then there are these little examples of how ingenuity has worked out how to overcome the challenges of the landscape!
Neptunes Staircase...
First glimpse of Ben Nevis ... almost in view!
The Commando Memorial just outside Spean Bridge .... as we passed here I was able to see how much fitter i've become since my training day back in June. Back then i was lamenting the size of the hills along the side of Loch Lochy ... today i was laughing at myself as i didn't even acknowledge them as hills anymore - merely 'undulations'!
The two seasons on Loch Lochy .. above the rain coming in from the West .. below.. the fair weather to the East.
It didn't seem like too long before i was past Invergarry and heading towards Fort Augustus and Loch Ness... where the weather continues to change every 2 minutes!
Loch Ness in the Summer... at about 1pm ...
Loch Ness in the autumn... at about 1.30pm...
A pretty bridge just outside Invermoriston...
And now i'm sitting by an open fire in a hotel in Drumnadrochit about to have supper ... and sleep... and then do it all again tomorrow !
3 days to go ... 171 miles left and lovely Stuey is coming to ride the day tomorrow... Not long now xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment