Before I go on I should say that I am having a great time e on this ride, when it's tough I am glad to get to the end of the day and catch up with everyone and try and have a quick look around wherever we are and I enjoy having ridden that day. When it's not tough I enjoy the ride, and getting I at the end of the day and catching up with everyone. I have great travelling companions, have met some very good people and really delighted that I embarked on the trip.
Now, today was horrendous. If you look at the profile you will see why .. climbing pretty well all day. The rain held off for most of the day, got wet towards the end with misty drizzly rain in low cloud, and the temperature was low - didn't go above 10C and at the top of one hill it was 2C. The WORST thing was the wind, straight off the Arctic and into our faces strongly blowing all damned day. Very disheartening.
When I got to the first tea stop I advised Peter that he might as well cancel my dinner reservation as I had just worked out that I wouldn't arrive before 8.30 at this speed. The wind was bound to improve as we went down lower over the hill, like I believe that. Shortly travelling uphill at 2.2 miles per hour I got off and walked for a while at 2.8 mph. It was right that the wind abated a little lower down, but not enough to really benefit from the downhill run. Still had to pedal.
The whole day was like that, with the weather closing in on the last, worst hill. When I finally reached the top of it I was worn out, cold and damp. The downhill run into Tomintoul was not good, rainy, windy and I was relieved beyond belief to arrive at around 6.1 5pm and get into a hot bath to recover.
Then a single malt local whiskey helped further. We had been asked by tonight's restaurant to pre-order a couple of days ahead and I had no idea what I'd ordered. . I just hoped it would be something I wanted. Looking at the list didn't help. I'd ordered "Fresh and wild" entree and "One eyed Jocks". Turned out very well, goat cheese and caramelized onion tart followed by cod atop a bean and chorizo cassoulet.
I fell into bed and was almost willing to get up and do it all again in the morning as the forecast held no wind, no rain and the profile of the hills was more friendly. As Anna pointed out we were at the highest village in the Highlands so it really had to be downhill from here.
Just after lunch I saw Lauren fall heavily onto the verge in front of me landing on her knee and shoulder so she had to stop and get into the van. I rode most of the afternoon alone and missed her company on the road.
All that said I knew it would have been a beautiful ride in better weather. Perhaps we should have come in the middle of summer - oh, wait ... we did. Melbourne had a better forecast on this day. We rode through some spectacular countryside and I began to think that Heathcliff might come riding by at any minute, or the Hound of the Baskervilles. ...
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