Up at six to have an early breakfast and then set off.
The owners had left a stack of sandwiches.
Amazingly quiet roads, gentle winds and the sound of birds singing as I made my way to Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness... Quite slow going as it was mostly uphill but an amazingly welcome downhill to the loch got me singing a song consisting only of the word... Downhill. More of a long shout than a song but sung with the sort of gusto that only exists when the previous day of cliff top gales and lorries has been forgotten.
Had sandwiches at Urquart castle... Stunning ruin before heading along the length of Loch Ness. No sign of the monster :( ... Or perhaps I was whizzing along too quickly to notice.
The wind was slightly behind me and happily doing 25mph on the flat.
Stopped for a coffee and food at Fort Augustus and was my 'designer beard' was commented on!
On the road to Fort William- the loch hemmed in by snowy mountains. Breathtaking and stiking.
Stopped for lunch in Fort William. Feel stupid to say this but I didn't actually notice Ben Nevis towering above me untill I realised that every shop, cafe, hotel, pu was called something-Ben Nevis or Ben Nevis-something.
Stopped off to take a photo of my bike on the shoreside with the mountains across the Loch looking grand.
Turned a corner to head to Glencoe and was hit, smack bang, by my old faithful- the wind.
Slogged on to Glencoe and had a 'cream tea' of rice crispy cake and Iron Bru.
My bed and breakfast another 25miles. Huge mountains with the mountain pass road weaving between them all.
Long hard climb at 6mph saw my average speed for the day drop from 14.9.
Still climbing up the pass and the wind picked up- funnelled by the valley. The snow, which had been light all day, got heavier with car parks either side of the road now covered.
The horizontal snow of day 1 returned.
15miles left to go and had to turn back. With all the optimism in the world I might've made it there by sunset. Finding myself caught 15 miles away from either village, in the middle of a blizzard on the mountain pass at dusk was not appealing...
Still... By turning back I added another 10miles to my total mileage... Only another 25miles to make up for yesterday.
Lovely bed and breakfast and a stunning sunset in one direction and a scene resembling Mordor in the other.
The owners had left a stack of sandwiches.
Amazingly quiet roads, gentle winds and the sound of birds singing as I made my way to Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness... Quite slow going as it was mostly uphill but an amazingly welcome downhill to the loch got me singing a song consisting only of the word... Downhill. More of a long shout than a song but sung with the sort of gusto that only exists when the previous day of cliff top gales and lorries has been forgotten.
Had sandwiches at Urquart castle... Stunning ruin before heading along the length of Loch Ness. No sign of the monster :( ... Or perhaps I was whizzing along too quickly to notice.
The wind was slightly behind me and happily doing 25mph on the flat.
Stopped for a coffee and food at Fort Augustus and was my 'designer beard' was commented on!
On the road to Fort William- the loch hemmed in by snowy mountains. Breathtaking and stiking.
Stopped for lunch in Fort William. Feel stupid to say this but I didn't actually notice Ben Nevis towering above me untill I realised that every shop, cafe, hotel, pu was called something-Ben Nevis or Ben Nevis-something.
Stopped off to take a photo of my bike on the shoreside with the mountains across the Loch looking grand.
Turned a corner to head to Glencoe and was hit, smack bang, by my old faithful- the wind.
Slogged on to Glencoe and had a 'cream tea' of rice crispy cake and Iron Bru.
My bed and breakfast another 25miles. Huge mountains with the mountain pass road weaving between them all.
Long hard climb at 6mph saw my average speed for the day drop from 14.9.
Still climbing up the pass and the wind picked up- funnelled by the valley. The snow, which had been light all day, got heavier with car parks either side of the road now covered.
The horizontal snow of day 1 returned.
15miles left to go and had to turn back. With all the optimism in the world I might've made it there by sunset. Finding myself caught 15 miles away from either village, in the middle of a blizzard on the mountain pass at dusk was not appealing...
Still... By turning back I added another 10miles to my total mileage... Only another 25miles to make up for yesterday.
Lovely bed and breakfast and a stunning sunset in one direction and a scene resembling Mordor in the other.
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