Day 8, 9/11, greeted us with grey clouds, a light drizzle, another puncture for Werner and a serious drop in temperature, requiring extra layers all round. But no wind. Today was the day I’d been looking forwards to most, for a number of reasons. We finally hit the highlands and I know the area from a holiday here 10 years ago when my daughter Amelia was a 6 month old baby. So I knew to expect beautiful scenery. Even in a drizzle I was not disappointed.
The ride to the ferry across the Clyde at Gourock was easy enough and uneventful. The ticket man on the ferry itself declined to charge us because of what we are doing which was nice, he also warned us about a couple of nasty bends just out of Dunoon to be careful off. Apparently a couple of cyclists this year have had to be taken back across the ferry, to hospital, having had accidents there. He told us all motorists are mad, a view I might share if I weren’t one myself.
The ride out of Dunoon to Lock Fyne was gorgeous. Big mountains on either side, placid waters, raging waterfalls, quiet roads and clean air. Unfortunately, today it was Werner’s turn to “bonk”. About 30km from the finish he ran out of steam and we had to coax him home. His mood wasn’t helped by a 4km climb around the head of the loch about 20km from our destination. Which was Inverary. What a beautiful place. And what a great hotel. Another of Beth’s diamond 4* hotels, with pool, Jacuzzi, steam and…a back and leg massage. Deep joy. Sadly Beth was booked in for a facial too but there wasn’t time before dinner.
The Loch Fyne Hotel
Even the first real rain of our trip couldn’t dampen my spirits as we rode past Lochs Eck and Fyne.
127km today in 5 and a half hours. 4 days to go, the massage has set me up for them and I’m raring to go. I couldn’t do it without Beth though. She’s done a super job of supporting us all. I feel like we’re nearly there, but mustn’t lose focus.
The view from the hotel
1 comment:
Another £50 from the sale of the Raiegh Chopper will be going into your fund raising activities. Malc says Hi, and has offered to give your bike a complete respray at trade price when you return. Light greenish sounds good. Keep peddling, only a few days left. (Unless you want to ride back on a Chopper of course)
Post a Comment