The first few hours of today featured midges, mist and mysterious hills en route to Glencoe. I heard a ‘plicketa plocketa’ noise on my jacket at one point while whizzing downhill, and thought it was a few spots of rain. Alas it was a cloud of midges flying in to me. I think I had about 1,700 adhered to each knee!
A rapid descent into Glencoe, then an ill-chosen coffee and muffin in Fortwilliam – should have spent longer seeking out a better cake stop.
I passed a fellow cyclist near near Spean Bridge, heavily laden with camping gear. From this point on, the riding got very speedy as I took advantage of a nice tailwind along the Great Glen. Although the A82 was quite busy, the wind sped me along almost effortlessly.
I’m not the biggest fan of cycle paths, but tried some today. They always seem to peter out after a mile or two.
Further down the glen I was passed by a moustachioed man on a big red motorbike with bagpipe music booming out from a speaker. It was intriguing to hear the Doppler effect on some pipe music.
I suffered a bit of a bonk at the 100 mile mark, but a little sit down and some stoats bars brought me back to life. Then a tea and a scone at Drumnadrochit, much needed energy for the final mega hill of the day. I like a wee hill as much as the next man, but nearly a mile of 15% is a bit much with 105 miles in the legs!
It was all worthwhile for the welcome from Bernie and Ged, who have put me up for the evening. Lots of food and fascinating conversations. Looking forward to a big final day tomorrow, hoping for favourable winds again.
things that might have been otherwise 