Ride stats - 94.3 miles, 3,330 feet of climbing, total time 7 hrs 51 mins, riding time 6 hrs 25 mins
Today's leg was the one that both Ian and Jeff had been looking forward to the most - they were not to be disappointed.
We left Woodvale B & B loaded up with croissants and carrot cake from proprietor Alison who also made double cream porridge for breakfast - the best we've tasted on tour.
While the boys set off in light drizzle, Julie and Joy went on a walk up to Balloch Castle and along Loch Lomond to burn off some calories and were greeted with their first sighting of the Scottish midges. A lovely walk after all of those days just sat in the car.
Ian and Jeff had a quiet start round the shore of Loch Lomond by some expensive looking properties before joining the A82. The ride to the first stop at Crianlarich took 2 1/2 hours alongside the shores of Loch Lomond. Although the weather was cloudy with intermittent showers it only added to the majesty of the views along the way before we started the first long climb up towards Crianlarich. The climbs today were very long and we had made the decision before we started to engage the "Granny" gears at the first sight of a long climb, a tactic that may have been frowned on by the Keepers of the Cog but one which was to prove a wise move.
Ian's hamstring had been giving him trouble all morning so when we stopped he asked Joy to try and loosen it up. This proved to be somewhat of a distraction to passing motorists!
The tea, coffee and cakes gave us a much needed boost but also attracted quite a few wasps, two of which hitched a ride with Julie and Joy and caused something of a panic (for Julie and Joy but we're also sure the wasps weren't too relaxed about it).
The next climb was again a long one but the granny gears made it an easy ascent and allowed the views of the glacially carved mountains to be fully taken in. The climbing was over for a while and we now had a long exhilarating gradual downhill section that put huge grins on our faces - this was proving to be the best day by far.
Julie and Joy were waiting at Black Mount Estate viewpoint to catch some action shots of the riders as they came uphill. They had a fantastic view and could see them coming for a couple of miles.
Another climb and a short photo stop for the Highland Welcome followed before we were again racing across the mountains towards Glencoe Gorge.
It's difficult to describe the emotions that were triggered for us here as the last time Joy, Julie and Jeff were here was with Vince. Tears flowed for our Great Man.
We stopped for a coffee in Glencoe and saw our north east friends and "offical photographers" ride past, a surprise as we thought they would be well ahead of us because their LEJOG schedule is one day less than us. We just caught them as they were being refuelled by Pete's wife Ali who kindly took a group photo of us all.
Ali then gave us a donation from them all for our cause - what a fantastic thing to do.
Having bid a final farewell to them we set off only to be caught up by them a few minutes later, forming a 5 rider peloton and blasting our way the next 10 miles to Fort William. The difference between sharing the riding as a 2 man and a 5 man group is huge as your effort goes from 50% to 20%. It was a real pleasure to meet such a nice group of people.
Our last 9 miles to the B & B was soon over but we pulled into the wrong drive with very loose gravel that resulted in Jeff having the first fall of the trip. Ian awarded 8 out of 10 for artistic merit while Jeff grabbed an ice pack for his bruised hand.
Before dinner we drove up to the national Commando Memorial a mile from Spean Bridge. The location near the commando's training area among the mountains has a special atmosphere and an added significance for the team. Julie's brother Keith is a major in the marines and his son Chris, also a marine, was injured whilst serving in Afghanistan. The memorials in the garden of remembrance include one for Adam Brown , a school friend of Ian's son, who was killed serving in Afghanistan in August 2010. This sombre place reminds us all who the real heros are.
Tomorrow we are joined by Ian's wife and fellow team member Jill and a late but very welcome addition to our team Joanna, Julie and Jeff's daughter who are both travelling up on the overnight sleeper.
Sent from my iPad
Today's leg was the one that both Ian and Jeff had been looking forward to the most - they were not to be disappointed.
We left Woodvale B & B loaded up with croissants and carrot cake from proprietor Alison who also made double cream porridge for breakfast - the best we've tasted on tour.
While the boys set off in light drizzle, Julie and Joy went on a walk up to Balloch Castle and along Loch Lomond to burn off some calories and were greeted with their first sighting of the Scottish midges. A lovely walk after all of those days just sat in the car.
Ian and Jeff had a quiet start round the shore of Loch Lomond by some expensive looking properties before joining the A82. The ride to the first stop at Crianlarich took 2 1/2 hours alongside the shores of Loch Lomond. Although the weather was cloudy with intermittent showers it only added to the majesty of the views along the way before we started the first long climb up towards Crianlarich. The climbs today were very long and we had made the decision before we started to engage the "Granny" gears at the first sight of a long climb, a tactic that may have been frowned on by the Keepers of the Cog but one which was to prove a wise move.
Ian's hamstring had been giving him trouble all morning so when we stopped he asked Joy to try and loosen it up. This proved to be somewhat of a distraction to passing motorists!
The tea, coffee and cakes gave us a much needed boost but also attracted quite a few wasps, two of which hitched a ride with Julie and Joy and caused something of a panic (for Julie and Joy but we're also sure the wasps weren't too relaxed about it).
The next climb was again a long one but the granny gears made it an easy ascent and allowed the views of the glacially carved mountains to be fully taken in. The climbing was over for a while and we now had a long exhilarating gradual downhill section that put huge grins on our faces - this was proving to be the best day by far.
Julie and Joy were waiting at Black Mount Estate viewpoint to catch some action shots of the riders as they came uphill. They had a fantastic view and could see them coming for a couple of miles.
Another climb and a short photo stop for the Highland Welcome followed before we were again racing across the mountains towards Glencoe Gorge.
It's difficult to describe the emotions that were triggered for us here as the last time Joy, Julie and Jeff were here was with Vince. Tears flowed for our Great Man.
We stopped for a coffee in Glencoe and saw our north east friends and "offical photographers" ride past, a surprise as we thought they would be well ahead of us because their LEJOG schedule is one day less than us. We just caught them as they were being refuelled by Pete's wife Ali who kindly took a group photo of us all.
Ali then gave us a donation from them all for our cause - what a fantastic thing to do.
Having bid a final farewell to them we set off only to be caught up by them a few minutes later, forming a 5 rider peloton and blasting our way the next 10 miles to Fort William. The difference between sharing the riding as a 2 man and a 5 man group is huge as your effort goes from 50% to 20%. It was a real pleasure to meet such a nice group of people.
Our last 9 miles to the B & B was soon over but we pulled into the wrong drive with very loose gravel that resulted in Jeff having the first fall of the trip. Ian awarded 8 out of 10 for artistic merit while Jeff grabbed an ice pack for his bruised hand.
Before dinner we drove up to the national Commando Memorial a mile from Spean Bridge. The location near the commando's training area among the mountains has a special atmosphere and an added significance for the team. Julie's brother Keith is a major in the marines and his son Chris, also a marine, was injured whilst serving in Afghanistan. The memorials in the garden of remembrance include one for Adam Brown , a school friend of Ian's son, who was killed serving in Afghanistan in August 2010. This sombre place reminds us all who the real heros are.
Tomorrow we are joined by Ian's wife and fellow team member Jill and a late but very welcome addition to our team Joanna, Julie and Jeff's daughter who are both travelling up on the overnight sleeper.
Sent from my iPad
Hope Saturday's ride goes well ... the loch ness section is a real twisty traffic challenge! Your penultimate day will be a pleasant contrast. Good luck with the weather, we'll follow your progress as we continue walking the Great Glen Way.
ReplyDeletePhil & Anne (fellow B&B guests, Spean Bridge)
A fantastic day in prospect along the banks of Loch Ness - we hope you will be keeping an eye out for Nessie!
ReplyDeletegood cycling and best wishes from all at The Neuro Foundation
Lovely to read about your day yesterday. We could tell from the very descriptive piece, why it turned out to be such an emotional but good day for you.
ReplyDeleteA big welcome to Jill and Joanna today. We hope you enjoy this experience, and we will be looking forward to photos of Nessie later!
Hello to Robin, (aka Mr Fish.) His traffic and weather reports must be invaluable to you up in that area. x
Keep going, not much more now, you are all stars in our book. Back to Glympse for us now!!! Love Cherry and Geoff xx
Wow!!A very moving read.
ReplyDeleteYou make it all sound so easy, never any complaints. You guys are truly amazing....sounds corny, but you are.
Much love to you all!
(Hope J & J are keeping a blog too, I think it would be hilarious to read!)
Hope you have another good day today, minus the midges and wasps!. Really loving the blog.
Your 'Lil Cous TC :) xxxx
Really good effort, what a journey you are all having. Really gald you made it to the Commando Memorial and hope it gave you a little inspiration to push on to the end.
ReplyDeleteKeep the peddals turning,
Somerset Base Camp (that' a long time ago now!!!!)
Keith, Linds, Mike and Archie