Well what a coincidence. I was watching BBC Breakfast television this morning and Carol Kirkwood was at Land's End delivering the weather forecast, exactly a year to the day since we were there at the start of our adventure. And would you believe it? The weather was the same. You could see sod all!!!!
It doesn't seem a year since we embarked on our ride and it has brought back pleasant memories. Trouble is now, I am itching to do something similar........
Watch this space!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Stats
Mileage:Time moving: Time stationery:Average Moving: Overall:Max: Ascent:
Hours Mins Hours Mins MPH MPH MPH Metres
9.6 0 52 0 36 11.2 6.6 41.5 182
82.7 7 05 2 11 11.7 8.9 37.3 1754
75 6 36 2 34 11.3 8.2 38.0 1555
90.8 7 17 2 56 12.4 8.9 37.1 1354
88.5 7 18 2 20 12.1 9.2 39.2 1345
74.1 5 22 3 21 13.8 8.5 28.2 556
97.7 8 36 2 52 11.3 8.5 47.5 2401
61 4 33 2 30 13.4 8.6 32.4 554
80.6 6 37 3 29 12.2 8.0 38.0 1032
74.9 5 42 2 50 13.1 8.8 36.9 1184
79.3 5 56 3 26 13.4 8.5 30.7 736
100 7 44 3 34 12.9 8.8 38.8 1064
73.9 5 54 2 20 12.5 8.9 29.9 665
TOTALS:
Mileage:Time moving: Time stationery: Average Moving: Overall: Ascent:
988.1 79hrs 32 mins 34hrs 59 mins 12.4 mph 8.49 mph 14382m
Hours Mins Hours Mins MPH MPH MPH Metres
9.6 0 52 0 36 11.2 6.6 41.5 182
82.7 7 05 2 11 11.7 8.9 37.3 1754
75 6 36 2 34 11.3 8.2 38.0 1555
90.8 7 17 2 56 12.4 8.9 37.1 1354
88.5 7 18 2 20 12.1 9.2 39.2 1345
74.1 5 22 3 21 13.8 8.5 28.2 556
97.7 8 36 2 52 11.3 8.5 47.5 2401
61 4 33 2 30 13.4 8.6 32.4 554
80.6 6 37 3 29 12.2 8.0 38.0 1032
74.9 5 42 2 50 13.1 8.8 36.9 1184
79.3 5 56 3 26 13.4 8.5 30.7 736
100 7 44 3 34 12.9 8.8 38.8 1064
73.9 5 54 2 20 12.5 8.9 29.9 665
TOTALS:
Mileage:Time moving: Time stationery: Average Moving: Overall: Ascent:
988.1 79hrs 32 mins 34hrs 59 mins 12.4 mph 8.49 mph 14382m
Saturday, 5 June 2010
and finally.....thanks, thoughts and considerations
a) We were all surprised at the generosity of the people we met. Although we wore hi-
viz vests advertising our chosen charities we were amazed at the cash just handed
over. We would like to thank all of those generous strangers we met en route who
gave us in total £207.
Our immense thanks also go to those of you who sponsored us and made our efforts
worthwhile for our chosen charities.
b) Thanks to those B&B owners who laundered our kit at Oban and Fort Augustus.
c) Worst drivers we came across were in Ayrshire
d) Modern bus shelters are a great place to dine in sheltered surroundings!
e) Copious quantities of posterior cream is required from Assos. Another product used
was Butt Butter. As a marketing idea I thought "Crack Cream" would be better as it
has a ring to it! Posterior Protector for the Lady cyclist.
f) On the west coast of Scotland place names were in both Scottish (English) and
Gaelic
g) CFE's highlights were Fort Augustus, the very quiet county lanes in England and
the parks and wide open public areas in Bristol
h) TVR's highlights were riding in Scotland especially Arran and the Helmsdale
valley. I was disappointed as I thought that Northern Scotland would be more
isolated. If the weather had been better most of the riding from Oban to Fort
Augustus would have been fantastic.
i) CFE confirmed that Co-op's BLTs were consistent throughout the countries
j) Driving home I wondered if it was legal to just pull over and have a pee!
k) Would we do it again???
CFE: Yes but differently and suggests less than 10 days supported.
OWO: Yes but John O'Groats to Land's End but totally independent.
TVR: Yes - same as OWO but preferably supported
l) Waterproof trousers are a must!
m) Yes I did manage to ride everything using my compact double gear set up!
n) Cycling long distances seems to bring out the alliteration in you!
o) Our Garmin GPS devices were a godsend which saved so much time.
p) Take a Scotsman and preferably two to sniff out those supermarket bargains!
Finally I would like to thank both Ed and John for their great company during the 14 days we were away. I would also like to apologise to John for leaving him much too frequently. It was also a shame that we stopped and waited for John to allow us all to ride into John O'Groats together as this ruined his E2E solo attempt! Unfortunately on a ride like this it is more comfortable to ride at your own pace rather than anyone else's. It was coincidence that Ed and my pace were similar.
A huge hug and thanks to Michelle for arranging the welcome "committee" with a special momento and for putting me up for 3 nights before, during and after our adventure.
An even bigger hug with kisses to my wife, Sharon, who allowed me the time to fulfill this adventure. In 32+ years of marriage this was the longest period away from each other.
viz vests advertising our chosen charities we were amazed at the cash just handed
over. We would like to thank all of those generous strangers we met en route who
gave us in total £207.
Our immense thanks also go to those of you who sponsored us and made our efforts
worthwhile for our chosen charities.
b) Thanks to those B&B owners who laundered our kit at Oban and Fort Augustus.
c) Worst drivers we came across were in Ayrshire
d) Modern bus shelters are a great place to dine in sheltered surroundings!
e) Copious quantities of posterior cream is required from Assos. Another product used
was Butt Butter. As a marketing idea I thought "Crack Cream" would be better as it
has a ring to it! Posterior Protector for the Lady cyclist.
f) On the west coast of Scotland place names were in both Scottish (English) and
Gaelic
g) CFE's highlights were Fort Augustus, the very quiet county lanes in England and
the parks and wide open public areas in Bristol
h) TVR's highlights were riding in Scotland especially Arran and the Helmsdale
valley. I was disappointed as I thought that Northern Scotland would be more
isolated. If the weather had been better most of the riding from Oban to Fort
Augustus would have been fantastic.
i) CFE confirmed that Co-op's BLTs were consistent throughout the countries
j) Driving home I wondered if it was legal to just pull over and have a pee!
k) Would we do it again???
CFE: Yes but differently and suggests less than 10 days supported.
OWO: Yes but John O'Groats to Land's End but totally independent.
TVR: Yes - same as OWO but preferably supported
l) Waterproof trousers are a must!
m) Yes I did manage to ride everything using my compact double gear set up!
n) Cycling long distances seems to bring out the alliteration in you!
o) Our Garmin GPS devices were a godsend which saved so much time.
p) Take a Scotsman and preferably two to sniff out those supermarket bargains!
Finally I would like to thank both Ed and John for their great company during the 14 days we were away. I would also like to apologise to John for leaving him much too frequently. It was also a shame that we stopped and waited for John to allow us all to ride into John O'Groats together as this ruined his E2E solo attempt! Unfortunately on a ride like this it is more comfortable to ride at your own pace rather than anyone else's. It was coincidence that Ed and my pace were similar.
A huge hug and thanks to Michelle for arranging the welcome "committee" with a special momento and for putting me up for 3 nights before, during and after our adventure.
An even bigger hug with kisses to my wife, Sharon, who allowed me the time to fulfill this adventure. In 32+ years of marriage this was the longest period away from each other.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Trip back to Dumfries
Everyone feeling groggy we had an early breakfast and cycled half a mile to the train station after enjoying a cooked breakfast. We caught the 8.15 train from Wick to Inverness where we were to collect another one way car hire to Dumfries.
The train journey retraced our tracks back to Helmsdale so we could admire the views for a second time - only the weather had changed for the worse. It was dreach (cloudy and grey)with a little rain. What a difference a day makes. The views are very disappointing compared to yesterday in the sun.
The four hour train ride to Inverness was relaxing with OWO taking 40 winks. CFE rang the car hire firm to ascertain whether they had any plans to pick up three people with three bikes? Always thinking ahead! If they brought the same vehicle we were to hire we would be unable to get 4 people plus 3 bikes back to their office. He was assured all would be taken care of. When we arrived I volunteered to ride the 2/3 miles to their office! Enough said!!
Apart from taking a wrong road towards Edinburgh instead of Glasgow the car journey home was uneventful and we arrived back in Dumfries at 17.30. The car journey home made us consider just how far we had ridden.
Mrs CFE greeted us and as we walked into the kitchen we had a surprise! Neighbours, friends and relations had turned up to welcome us home with congratulations, champagne and a cake with our route on the icing. Mrs CFE presented each of us with a momento upon which was engraved the outline of the UK, our route, Land's End and John O'Groats and MAY 2010.
Whilst we were subdued at John O'Groats we were overwhelmed with our welcome. Questions were asked and answers provided which made the three of us realise just what we had achieved. At last we felt proud of our feat.
The train journey retraced our tracks back to Helmsdale so we could admire the views for a second time - only the weather had changed for the worse. It was dreach (cloudy and grey)with a little rain. What a difference a day makes. The views are very disappointing compared to yesterday in the sun.
The four hour train ride to Inverness was relaxing with OWO taking 40 winks. CFE rang the car hire firm to ascertain whether they had any plans to pick up three people with three bikes? Always thinking ahead! If they brought the same vehicle we were to hire we would be unable to get 4 people plus 3 bikes back to their office. He was assured all would be taken care of. When we arrived I volunteered to ride the 2/3 miles to their office! Enough said!!
Apart from taking a wrong road towards Edinburgh instead of Glasgow the car journey home was uneventful and we arrived back in Dumfries at 17.30. The car journey home made us consider just how far we had ridden.
Mrs CFE greeted us and as we walked into the kitchen we had a surprise! Neighbours, friends and relations had turned up to welcome us home with congratulations, champagne and a cake with our route on the icing. Mrs CFE presented each of us with a momento upon which was engraved the outline of the UK, our route, Land's End and John O'Groats and MAY 2010.
Whilst we were subdued at John O'Groats we were overwhelmed with our welcome. Questions were asked and answers provided which made the three of us realise just what we had achieved. At last we felt proud of our feat.
Day 12 - John O'Groats to Wick.
Leaving JOG very underwhelmed by our acheivement we tried to find a shop as we needed water. Being after 5.oopm everywhere was closed so we headed south towards Wick into a headwind with little fluid. We had 17 miles to go and into the wind. It was not nice but we set off. We decided to try to keep together but it was difficult as OWO was slower on the hills (both up and down!), but we waited frequently and the slow pace meant we did not need so much fluid. We had to share what drink we had as we found nowhere to buy water.
It took 1 hour 47 minutes to cycle 16.8 miles to Wick and only 14 minutes was time spent stationery.
We found our B&B following a phone call and was welcomed to our rooms with a glass of port.
Nobody felt elation. We were tired and muscles ached. It all felt like an anti-climax.
The landlady booked a table at a local restaurant so we had a nice meal, 6 pints of Guinness between us and then went back and finished the small decanter of port.
We had another early start in the morning as our train left for Inverness at 8.15 from the station round the corner. - No rest for us then!
It took 1 hour 47 minutes to cycle 16.8 miles to Wick and only 14 minutes was time spent stationery.
We found our B&B following a phone call and was welcomed to our rooms with a glass of port.
Nobody felt elation. We were tired and muscles ached. It all felt like an anti-climax.
The landlady booked a table at a local restaurant so we had a nice meal, 6 pints of Guinness between us and then went back and finished the small decanter of port.
We had another early start in the morning as our train left for Inverness at 8.15 from the station round the corner. - No rest for us then!
Day 12 - Helmsdale to John O'Groats
Final day - We woke up to a sunny day (surely not this far north).
Everyone had a smile on their face as the weather was good and only 74 miles to our goal. We did have another 16 miles after JOG as we had booked a B&B in Wick so that we could catch our 8.15 train from Wick the following morning. But it mattered not.
Porridge again on the menu and talk was all positive - we were going to make it.
We could have chosen the quick route up the east coast but we decided a route up the Helmsdale river valley and then turn right along the north coast.
Saying Hasta La Vista to Helmsdale we continued our jolly jaunt to John O'Groats. We set off at 8.45 without cold or wet weather gear. What a pleasant feeling.
We had definitely made the right route choice as the Helmsdale valley was a joy to ride. Fantastic countryside and the best road surface of our trip. We were stopping every 15 minutes or so for photographs. There was golden gorse, a vivid blue river, lochs, mountains, deer, scenic bridges with blue streams running beneath. What a choice of route.
We passed numeous lochs, curiously named Tout, Tin, Shut and Tite and Smith.
This nirvana went on for 37 miles and 3 hours 36 minutes until the sea was spotted on the north coast where we had to turn right towards our destination.
This is where the "fun" began as we turned into a headwind that being in a valley we were blissfully unaware of.
This was to be our final leg of 37 miles - oh joy! But I was feeling good.
We passed another couple of cyclists doing the same E2E but over 15 days. After stopping for another photo oppertunity and climbing out of a small valley we were passed by the supported group we met travelling towards Oban. As they passed I increased my pace and got onto the back of these three riders (they had no panniers!) CFE did the same behind me. This was pleasant as we were moving at a good pace into the wind with some shelter. What proved to be CFE's downfall occurred next as there was a split in the group as a guy on a De Rosa sprinted off the group. Not wanting to be a cissy I went after him. The group split as the road turned downwards approaching Reay. Despite my weight penalty and lack of aerodynamics I could only get to within 20 metres of the De Rosa rider. I was unable to catch the De Rosa (very similar to chasing Kevin Haynes along University Boulevard!) so I slowed my pace to then be overtaken by a Specialised S-Works. I thought I had done well with my panniers but I only succeeded in causing CFE to suffer for the rest of the ride to JOG! CFE decided that he no longer wanted to be a member of the T.W.Ats!
Arriving in Reay we stopped at the village shop/petrol station and sought a "meal deal" only to find out that they were out of sandwiches. As his supplies consisted of rolls, cheese, ham, crisps, coffee etc, we made our own sitting on a picnic bench just behind the petrol pumps. It was in the sun and sheltered from the wind so it was welcome. We certainly found some excellent dining facilities on our trip!
We passed through Thurso and re-fuelled at Tesco as we understood that there was very little at JOG and we then had to cycle onto Wick.
The rest of our pilgrimage was again into a headwind and as I was feeling strong CFE was happy for me to lead. We decided that we were all going to arrive together so within 5 miles we found a sheltered place in the sun and lay down and waited for OWO.
Together we arrived at John O'Groats, like a three horse posse riding into town and staked our claim to being members of the LEJOG club!
OWO had said to me "It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey" - He was mighty glad to reach JOG though!
Despite a very cold wind and a photographer who didn't like to do things quickly we had the obligatory photos at the post.
Several other cyclists were also arriving and had a welcoming involving champagne and cars to take them on.
We felt nothing. I had carried a half bottle of whiskey to celebrate our achievement but we forgot we had it such was the sense of anticlimax!
We had made it in 12 days and cycled 988.1 miles with all our gear on our bikes.
The final comment was made by my scottish companions "Is that us?" - and it was.
Everyone had a smile on their face as the weather was good and only 74 miles to our goal. We did have another 16 miles after JOG as we had booked a B&B in Wick so that we could catch our 8.15 train from Wick the following morning. But it mattered not.
Porridge again on the menu and talk was all positive - we were going to make it.
We could have chosen the quick route up the east coast but we decided a route up the Helmsdale river valley and then turn right along the north coast.
Saying Hasta La Vista to Helmsdale we continued our jolly jaunt to John O'Groats. We set off at 8.45 without cold or wet weather gear. What a pleasant feeling.
We had definitely made the right route choice as the Helmsdale valley was a joy to ride. Fantastic countryside and the best road surface of our trip. We were stopping every 15 minutes or so for photographs. There was golden gorse, a vivid blue river, lochs, mountains, deer, scenic bridges with blue streams running beneath. What a choice of route.
We passed numeous lochs, curiously named Tout, Tin, Shut and Tite and Smith.
This nirvana went on for 37 miles and 3 hours 36 minutes until the sea was spotted on the north coast where we had to turn right towards our destination.
This is where the "fun" began as we turned into a headwind that being in a valley we were blissfully unaware of.
This was to be our final leg of 37 miles - oh joy! But I was feeling good.
We passed another couple of cyclists doing the same E2E but over 15 days. After stopping for another photo oppertunity and climbing out of a small valley we were passed by the supported group we met travelling towards Oban. As they passed I increased my pace and got onto the back of these three riders (they had no panniers!) CFE did the same behind me. This was pleasant as we were moving at a good pace into the wind with some shelter. What proved to be CFE's downfall occurred next as there was a split in the group as a guy on a De Rosa sprinted off the group. Not wanting to be a cissy I went after him. The group split as the road turned downwards approaching Reay. Despite my weight penalty and lack of aerodynamics I could only get to within 20 metres of the De Rosa rider. I was unable to catch the De Rosa (very similar to chasing Kevin Haynes along University Boulevard!) so I slowed my pace to then be overtaken by a Specialised S-Works. I thought I had done well with my panniers but I only succeeded in causing CFE to suffer for the rest of the ride to JOG! CFE decided that he no longer wanted to be a member of the T.W.Ats!
Arriving in Reay we stopped at the village shop/petrol station and sought a "meal deal" only to find out that they were out of sandwiches. As his supplies consisted of rolls, cheese, ham, crisps, coffee etc, we made our own sitting on a picnic bench just behind the petrol pumps. It was in the sun and sheltered from the wind so it was welcome. We certainly found some excellent dining facilities on our trip!
We passed through Thurso and re-fuelled at Tesco as we understood that there was very little at JOG and we then had to cycle onto Wick.
The rest of our pilgrimage was again into a headwind and as I was feeling strong CFE was happy for me to lead. We decided that we were all going to arrive together so within 5 miles we found a sheltered place in the sun and lay down and waited for OWO.
Together we arrived at John O'Groats, like a three horse posse riding into town and staked our claim to being members of the LEJOG club!
OWO had said to me "It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey" - He was mighty glad to reach JOG though!
Despite a very cold wind and a photographer who didn't like to do things quickly we had the obligatory photos at the post.
Several other cyclists were also arriving and had a welcoming involving champagne and cars to take them on.
We felt nothing. I had carried a half bottle of whiskey to celebrate our achievement but we forgot we had it such was the sense of anticlimax!
We had made it in 12 days and cycled 988.1 miles with all our gear on our bikes.
The final comment was made by my scottish companions "Is that us?" - and it was.
Day 11 - Fort Augustus to Helmsdale
30/5 Fort Augustus to Helmsdale
10 consequetive days cycling was taking it's toll as OWO had to be woken and infact everybody admitted to being weary.
Breakfast consisted of a strange porridge - very smooth, but nice. Talk of backsides was back on the menu with OWO suffering the most. My experience was only when sitting on the saddle for long periods I could feel my sit bones (was I getting heavier?)and today would be a long, long day.
Saying farewell to Fort Augustus we headed to Hemsdale with heads held high cycling over highland, Heath and heather. I preferred "headed honwards and hupwards to Helmsdale on the heast coast"!
The sloth had to be unleashed to cover today's mileage estimated to be 97 miles.
Fort Augustus would be a great place with the sun shining as there are numerous locks on the Caledonian canal joining Loch Ness, but today was cold, grey and spotting with rain. Apparently the Scots have a word for this "Dreach" Strange people!
The road out of Fort Augustus took us along Loch Ness which enabled us to do a spot of Nessie spotting. Needless to say Nessie wasn't spotted but we saw some outstanding scenery despite the murky conditions. There were photo stops along the way. CFE and I took the oppurtunity to buy two mascots for our bikes at Drumnadrochit - a small Nessie which was zip tied to our bikes. A larger Nessie was also purchased for my 10+ month old grandaughter, despite the weight penalty!
Just after Drumnadrochit disaster struck - We found OWO in mild hysteria. Whilst having a well earned rest his bike fell over and broke his satnav bracket. No matter, Super CFE and his sidekick TVR arrived to his rescue. After much faffing around with zip ties, repairs were completed and we were on our way.
Not far out of Drumnadrochit there was a huge climb which took us to Beauly where we felt a well deserve rest and lunch was due. CFE, who as you know had an eye for a bargain suggested visiting the Co-op for their extemely low priced "meal deal" whilst I searched for a comfortable bus shelter. OWO was still on the road. Re-united we ate in the salubrioius surroundings of Beauly's finest bus shelter.
After Beauly, we headed to Dingwall and then headed north up the A9. This was not fun. Straight into a headwind! It was hard, draining and sole destroying and the fast traffic did not help. At one point as more water was needed, CFE suggested we stop as we came across a roadside cafe. I did not wish to argue. In the cafe we met a guy who had ridden the E2E solo, but supported, over 16 days. We hit the road again into the headwind and after 5-10 minutes CFE exclaimed "There's OWO ahead" Well we felt embarrased as OWO had been fighting the headwind on his own so we pulled in front of him and gave him some respite until we reached Tain at about 5.00 pm, where we again stopped and availed ourselves of Co-op's meal deal. Unable to find a suitable bus shelter we found a pleasant garden to sit in. A young lad was playing on his bike and he came over to chat about football, cycling etc.
Setting off we passed the Glen Morangie distillery where the sign informed us that their whiskey was "Perfected by the 16 men of Tain" - The town looked larger than having only 16 men! Some very frustrated women we presumed. We then passed over the Dornoch Firth bridge and up along the east coast passing the retirement home for ex theives "Dunrobin Castle". The day was long and it was after 7pm when CFE and I saw a town in the distance and went for it, only to find it was Portgower and not Helmsdale (CFE hurled a volley of abuse at the road sign depleting even more of his dwindling energy supply). We trudged on and cycled into Helmsale 10 minutes later at 7.35.
Phoning ahead to see if anywhere would be open after 8.00pm to eat the landlady at our B&B informed us that La Mirage would be opened until 9pm and a hotel may still be serving food. Needing to eat we had agreed at Tain that in view of the late arrival we would go directly to "La Mirage" and order a fish supper (quaint scottish phrase for fish and chips). Yes, La Mirage was a fish and chip shop! For a bank holiday sunday evening it was busy! CFE and I ordered our fish suppers and waited along with others. One guy gave me his change as a donation. Before our order had been cooked OWO arrived and he managed to order his straight away so we all dined together in our sweaty cycling clothes in the chip shop.
Shattered, we phoned our landlady for directions and after finding the accomodation we decided we were not too tired to go for a drink despite cycling exactly 100 miles over 11 hours 18 minutes of which 7 hours 44 mins was rivet polishing time. Only 1068 meters of climbing today.
Just one other note for today was that when we walked into the public bar of one of the local hostelrys we were met by stares and silence! We felt as if we had walked into someone's front room as there was a TV showing Little Britian and the barman was playing crib with a customer. In a small room off the bar were a few guys all on laptops. Strange!
Despite feeling like aliens we ordered 3 drinks, drank up and quickly left to find a more welcoming establishment. We did and only managed one other drink. We could celebrate tomorrow as this would be our last day.
10 consequetive days cycling was taking it's toll as OWO had to be woken and infact everybody admitted to being weary.
Breakfast consisted of a strange porridge - very smooth, but nice. Talk of backsides was back on the menu with OWO suffering the most. My experience was only when sitting on the saddle for long periods I could feel my sit bones (was I getting heavier?)and today would be a long, long day.
Saying farewell to Fort Augustus we headed to Hemsdale with heads held high cycling over highland, Heath and heather. I preferred "headed honwards and hupwards to Helmsdale on the heast coast"!
The sloth had to be unleashed to cover today's mileage estimated to be 97 miles.
Fort Augustus would be a great place with the sun shining as there are numerous locks on the Caledonian canal joining Loch Ness, but today was cold, grey and spotting with rain. Apparently the Scots have a word for this "Dreach" Strange people!
The road out of Fort Augustus took us along Loch Ness which enabled us to do a spot of Nessie spotting. Needless to say Nessie wasn't spotted but we saw some outstanding scenery despite the murky conditions. There were photo stops along the way. CFE and I took the oppurtunity to buy two mascots for our bikes at Drumnadrochit - a small Nessie which was zip tied to our bikes. A larger Nessie was also purchased for my 10+ month old grandaughter, despite the weight penalty!
Just after Drumnadrochit disaster struck - We found OWO in mild hysteria. Whilst having a well earned rest his bike fell over and broke his satnav bracket. No matter, Super CFE and his sidekick TVR arrived to his rescue. After much faffing around with zip ties, repairs were completed and we were on our way.
Not far out of Drumnadrochit there was a huge climb which took us to Beauly where we felt a well deserve rest and lunch was due. CFE, who as you know had an eye for a bargain suggested visiting the Co-op for their extemely low priced "meal deal" whilst I searched for a comfortable bus shelter. OWO was still on the road. Re-united we ate in the salubrioius surroundings of Beauly's finest bus shelter.
After Beauly, we headed to Dingwall and then headed north up the A9. This was not fun. Straight into a headwind! It was hard, draining and sole destroying and the fast traffic did not help. At one point as more water was needed, CFE suggested we stop as we came across a roadside cafe. I did not wish to argue. In the cafe we met a guy who had ridden the E2E solo, but supported, over 16 days. We hit the road again into the headwind and after 5-10 minutes CFE exclaimed "There's OWO ahead" Well we felt embarrased as OWO had been fighting the headwind on his own so we pulled in front of him and gave him some respite until we reached Tain at about 5.00 pm, where we again stopped and availed ourselves of Co-op's meal deal. Unable to find a suitable bus shelter we found a pleasant garden to sit in. A young lad was playing on his bike and he came over to chat about football, cycling etc.
Setting off we passed the Glen Morangie distillery where the sign informed us that their whiskey was "Perfected by the 16 men of Tain" - The town looked larger than having only 16 men! Some very frustrated women we presumed. We then passed over the Dornoch Firth bridge and up along the east coast passing the retirement home for ex theives "Dunrobin Castle". The day was long and it was after 7pm when CFE and I saw a town in the distance and went for it, only to find it was Portgower and not Helmsdale (CFE hurled a volley of abuse at the road sign depleting even more of his dwindling energy supply). We trudged on and cycled into Helmsale 10 minutes later at 7.35.
Phoning ahead to see if anywhere would be open after 8.00pm to eat the landlady at our B&B informed us that La Mirage would be opened until 9pm and a hotel may still be serving food. Needing to eat we had agreed at Tain that in view of the late arrival we would go directly to "La Mirage" and order a fish supper (quaint scottish phrase for fish and chips). Yes, La Mirage was a fish and chip shop! For a bank holiday sunday evening it was busy! CFE and I ordered our fish suppers and waited along with others. One guy gave me his change as a donation. Before our order had been cooked OWO arrived and he managed to order his straight away so we all dined together in our sweaty cycling clothes in the chip shop.
Shattered, we phoned our landlady for directions and after finding the accomodation we decided we were not too tired to go for a drink despite cycling exactly 100 miles over 11 hours 18 minutes of which 7 hours 44 mins was rivet polishing time. Only 1068 meters of climbing today.
Just one other note for today was that when we walked into the public bar of one of the local hostelrys we were met by stares and silence! We felt as if we had walked into someone's front room as there was a TV showing Little Britian and the barman was playing crib with a customer. In a small room off the bar were a few guys all on laptops. Strange!
Despite feeling like aliens we ordered 3 drinks, drank up and quickly left to find a more welcoming establishment. We did and only managed one other drink. We could celebrate tomorrow as this would be our last day.
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