Route:
After the epic squadron night fly into Kingussie the troops are divided on the final destination for today. I wanted to go until Helmsdale, about 108 miles while Ben was happy going to Brora, about 97 miles so Angus suggested we decide at lunchtime.
We had the second cleanup of the trip, giving the chains a good de-greasing and some GT-60 all around the moving parts. Then, as the rain stopped, lucky us, we set off.
After the ascent in the dark last night we more or less figured there would be a lot of snow on the ground and indeed there was.
We had a tea stop in the Scottish sky resort of Aviemore which according to Sue's son - from the Osprey Hotel where we stayed in Kingussie - is having the best season in the last five years. Angus said it was dangerous to stop but still we all had a cuppa. It was interesting to feel that resort vibe in Scotland, with the obvious snowboarders walking around town. Cafe Bleu had live slope webcams and the town was full of security, because of the Labour Party Conference - Gordon Brown was supposed to come in the afternoon, to state that the SNP was a threat to Scottish prosperity.
After Aviemore we did a fair amount of climbing and at this point noticed various signs to cycling routes. They added some mileage but lots of scenery. We managed to lay down some fresh tracks on up to two inches of snow. Now that was really unexpected.
On the downside Henry picked up two more punctures, taking his total tally to five. The rubber does not deal with snow very well which made me wonder at what temperature are tires designed to function. Continental are you listening? We now have a new cycling in the snow sport and need advanced designs haha.
Just before Inverness we came upon the ancient Clava Cairns, supposed to be between 3 and 5 thousand years old. And they had stone circles around them, sun worshippers that the people of the land were.
Then we wondered, when would we see the sea? We expected it to appear after every bump and it indeed appeared.
So did Inverness, where we stopped for lunch in a cafe by the bus station.
It was a popular hangout. Good food at good prices. The building dated probably from the 50's or 60's.
It was a quarter circle shape with a high ceiling and large windows. On the mezzanine balcony were on display
4 very stylish Italian motorbikes. Angus, who also rides motorbikes pointed out the funky exhausts.
Altogether the arrangement looked bizarre and not quite compatible with the clientele and Angus concluded that people like to show off their riches.
After a big lunch we worked out the remaining mileage and that we would not manage our original target - Helmsdale - at a reasonable time, so settle for Brora.
Now Brora merits some background info. When Henry and I plotted the stages for the first time we had no means of measuring accurately the mileage for each stage so we used a piece of dental floss that on the map scaled to 100 miles. Unlike other stages, the eight dental floss measurement did end on Brora.
We left Inverness and stopped for a photo shoot next to a sign that read John O'Groats 120 miles.
Now, with the Grampian mountains behind us it seemed like we would make it for sure.
Across the suspension bridge we went and followed the cycle lane number 1 along some beautiful country until
we decided that it was sending us the long way around, when we rejoined the A9 over the next bridge
and carried on B roads and country lanes. By then the landscape's overwhelming beauty put me off taking anymore
photos. We went by and over so many stone bridges that I gave up for the day. No, I lie, I did do some night
shots for documentation's sake.
By the time night fell we got off the country lanes and once again landed on the A9 in the town of Tain where
it started to feel like deep Scotland. In the coop we had our early evening feed. We looked a little bit
like astronauts walking between the shelves and a scottish toddler came up to my thigh and pulled my tights
to figure out what material they were made of - while mildly admonished by the adult accompanying her.
After a couple of hours riding in the dark with some stunning night time views of the coast line, with city lights and lighthouses, we arrived at the Sutherland Inn - Brora. And were "fed and watered" grandly. With 12 oz sirloin steaks and whiskey.
The effort is starting to show. The after ride high is lasting less and less.
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