Day 10

An eventful day. The wind was behind us as we set off along the great glen past lochs Lochy (does that sound like it was named by a 4 year old?), Oich and Ness. Sadly no monster sitings. We covered nearly 45km in the first 90 minutes but were rudely awakened by a 2km 15 % climb out of Drumnadrochit which gained us 250m in just over a mile. This was probably the hardest climb since Dartmoor and nearly beat me, but it didn't. Our reward was a fantastic 14km rolling descent through a drumlin field (for students of glacial geomorphology. For those who don't know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumlin_field) averaging 50kph all the way. Nature's rollercoaster and grin inducing indeed. After lunch we rolled on past the seals on the Moray Firth before another long 15km climb and fantastic view of our destination at Bonar Bridge (look it up on google maps!). Sadly Beth took one look at the hotel and walked out. It was disgustingly dirty, but we found a lovely b&b just up the road.
2 days to go. Tomorrow we pass through the most sparsley poulated part of Europe home of red deer and ospreys. I can't wait.

Day 9 Loch Fyne to Loch Lochy

Day 9 was a tough one. 153km in the rain. We started with drizzle which quickly got heavier and a 14km climb over the pass to Loch Awe. We hit cloud cover at the top which is more a sign of how low the cloud is rather than how high we were. I worked up a sweat on the climb and then got cold on the way down. My phone got wet (again) and has packed up (someone tell Kev Rourke to order me a swap out for Tuesday - I've got it on a lampshade trying to dry it out).

A largely uneventful day through lovely countryside that we couldn't see because of the rain and cloud. We bypassed Oban crossing a lovely bridge over raging waters at up the coast to Fort William. Ben Nevis was shrouded in cloud but the sun did break through as we passed and the Nevis range revealed itself. Truly awe inspiring. We climbed over the pass to Loch Lochy and our B&B for the night, Forest Lodge, between Loch Lochy and Loch Ness.

I took the opportunity to clean my bike, Robert the owner chatted away whilst I sank a beer and ran baby wipes over every surface. He's a farmer from Cumbria and I think he thought my behaviour odd until I started spraying degreaser everywhere. He pointed out the mountain top behind us which looks like an up turned face. I took a photo but can't get it on this PC. He then hasted me inside before the midges descend!

Beth and Imogen stayed in the pool at Loch Fyne for a while and then called in at the seal sanctuary on the way. Tomorrow is a shorter day ~137km with one big climb, then two short days to finish. Beth's going to try and find a pony trek for Mo. She's been so well behaved, bless her.

The massage worked wonders I felt fresh today, no soreness, no stiffness, and I feel fine now. Looking forward to my dinner then another early night unless I can find the England match on the local TV.

If you've never been to the highlands then make the effort, it is truly beautiful. 3 days, 204 miles to go, wish me luck!

Day 8

Day 8 – Mighty Fyne

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

Day 7 Blow wind, blow

A life in a day. Ride, eat, sleep. Get up about 7am, wash, slather myself in creams and lotions, big breakfast of cereal, porridge , toast, eggs and maybe bacon and sausage with juice and lots of tea. Set off about 8:15am, ride, eat bananas, power gel, nuts and energy bars. Meet Beth. Eat pasta, Muller rice, pastry. Ride, snack. End, bath. Slather myself in creams and lotions. Eat big dinner, steak and chicken potatoes and veg, big pudding. 9pm sleep.
Scotland welcomed us with blue skies and a strong cold headwind. For 150km. All the way. It took us 8 hours to cover what we would normally do in 6. The first hour yielded a meagre 24 km. I'm exhausted. Big dinner then bed. 5* hotel on Loch Fyne tomorrow. Travel Inn tonight in Kilmarnock. Oh the glamour of the long distance charity ride. I'm tired, sore and determined. I still feel strong.
Thanks for all the messages of support, they really help and Hi to Edward, Abi and Amelia. I love you all and miss you loads.

Goodbye England....

Day 6

Halfway. Not quite over the border, we cross 4 miles into tomorrow. We left Preston at 8:20 in a heavy mist. None of us have lights but the roads were quiet on Sunday morning. We passed a time trial heading into town all lycra'd up on their expensive carbon bikes. At Carnforth (home to Brief Encounter) a local club rider joined us for an hour and marvelled at the pace we maintained. 155km today our longest yet at an average 27.8kph which included crossing Shap Fell at 400m high. Shap was nothing compared to Dartmoor nor Cheddar even and we hit a crosswind at the top which slowed our pace.
I'm starting to feel sore now. I have a blister on my right foot and lost the nail off my little toe on my left foot but other than that no problems. We had a bit of rain for the first time today. But nothing to dampen our spirits.

Longtown tonight. Kilmarnock tomorrow.

Day 5 We're in Preston!

Day 5 Shrewsbury to Preston

Possibly the most unpleasant day. We set out in a light drizzle and mild but cold breeze which soon cleared to dull skies. I had to decide whether to wear rainwear or not as I don’t have the kind of lightweight rain coat that I can stuff in my pocket (but it is my birthday soon…), I decided against it because it always makes me hot, which turned out OK.

Yesterday knocked my confidence because I was so tired, but refreshed after a very good nights sleep (falling into the bed at the Mercure was like the scene from Trainspotting where Renton falls into the carpet) and an excellent breakfast I rode through today without problem. 137km of relatively straightforwards cycling but we when we hit Warrington we had pretty much 60km of urban riding through Warrington, Wigan and Preston and their suburbs, all of which were universally horrible (harsh but true – and we even cycled past my mother’s birthplace in Warrington: yesterday we passed nearby Bargoed in Wales where my father was born too). Aggressive drivers abounded, abuse from passers by (have they never seen cyclists up here?) and drunks on their way into Haydock Park for the races.

One guy in Whitchurch tried to run us off the road three or four times, cutting us up (in a cycle lane!) and braking hard to make us stop, before shouting abuse and roaring off. Today I think we’ve seen the worst of Britain. Cycle lanes generally I think are a bad thing. They are often well intended but ill conceived and encourage drivers to think of cyclists as not part of the road. I don’t understand why drivers feel so aggressive. Blimey, I have three cars (and four bikes), I pay enough road tax!

Oh, and we had our first puncture today, Werner picked up a thorn, so we got to play with John’s CO2 inflator gadget.

So, to the Ibis Preston. Functional, clean. Can’t say much more but Mark & Heidi, who we met in Cuba earlier this year are coming over from Liverpool to meet us for dinner, which will be nice.

Tomorrow is the longest day, 170km to Longtown in Scotland. We leave England behind.