Invermoriston
Today began as always. Alarm at 7.00am, me straight through the shower, then a 20 minute pause while Steve lies in bed, muttering encouragement under his breath about the weather, the wind and the hills.
Eventually, the urge for a full Scottish gets the better of him, and still muttering meteorological obscenities, he 'rushes' through the shower and we make it to breakfast for 8.
The Lake District is currently winning the 'best sausage' competition, but this morning's omelette was right up there with Taunton's sunny-side-up.
Once the pre-ride routine (involving, to Steve's frustration, oiling, greasing, inflating and peeing - this takes Ant a good 45 minutes!) was finished, we trundled out of Glencoe and started our trek up the Great Glen northeast towards Inverness. Stunning.
To its merit, the Glen has snow-capped mountains, including Ben Nevis, rising out of the lochs (in order, Lochs Linnhe, Lochy, Oich and Ness).
It also has some weather. Today we had snow and wind, perfect for turning the underdressed cyclist into a shivering jelly.
We also had bright, warm sunshine, perfect for steaming the overdressed cyclist in his Goretex. Will we ever stop whining about the weather?
At Fort William, we stopped for Steve to pick up some cycling overshoes. He now looks the real pro and has dry feet, too.
I took the opportunity to pick up a base layer with a windproof chest and shoulders. Brilliant! Thermo-regulation is now much easier in this cold weather. We love high tech bike stuff!
A great day of staggering scenery and easy riding.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
BallachulishBonar Bridge
Statistics
- Miles today:
54 - Average cycling speed:
12.8mph - Total miles: 837
