A cold day with rain for 90% of the ride to the North East of Scotland.
The day started with dad giving Martin a quick service of new brake blocks and oiling the moving parts after yesterday's rain.
We shared the Loch Ness Hostel with 13 cyclist's with a support team of 4. There were two cooks, a van driver carrying all their gear and a mechanic/medic following in a car. It made me realise what a good team we had been over the last 13 days. Dad has been the mechanic,navigator, bed maker and washer upper. I have been responsible for laundry, cooking and carrying the tools.
The rain continued throughout the morning and we met the first seroius hill in Scotland - the lung bursting climb out of Drumnar Drocket.
We managed to find an immaculate, but empty, hotel in the middle of nowhere for coffee and cake. The staff were very friendly and accomodating considering we were dripping over their recently polished floors.
The rain continued throughout the morning when I saw an equally drenched cyclist had joined us. It turned out to be Andrew again (see Day 6 and Day 11) who had climbed Ben Nevis and like us was making his way to Carbisdale Castle. Andrew joined us for lunch of soup and a sandwich at the excellent Station Cafe in Dingwall. The friendly staff brought out the Calor Gas heater for us to dry out and warm up.
We decided to ride the 33 miles to Carbisdale Castle in one stretch as we were getting colder after each stop. We arrived at the YHA at 5pm where we had dinner and washed and dried our clothes.
A big day tomorrow of 80+ miles to Thurso. Hoping for drier weather for our last big day.
Stats
63.7 miles
2782 feet climbed
Sent from my iPhone
Keep up the good work Si and Pete. Safe to say the finish line is in sight. Looks like you are having a tough but enjoyable time. Would imagine it to be a great experience. Scotland and rain seem to be inevitable but i think the forecast is much better for tomorrow. Owen and Evie are keeping one eye on your progress and are looking forward to seeing you when you get back. This is a first for me, reading a blog and leaving a message! Keep pedaling......Phil ps Liverpool look very poor so your not missing much. Stoke are doing ok
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