http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2290799
In the Tour De France riders would have had at least one rest day by this stage of the journey. Not so for us, although it is fair to point out that they go a bit faster than me. Today at 72 miles is the shortest leg of the journey so as close to a rest day as we have come. Then why do I feel so exhausted? (the interesting thing about that last sentence is that I pre-wrote some of this post before we left home yet it is entirely accurate, just call me Mystic Meg. Or don't)
Last night was spent in the Argyll hotel in Inverary, if you are ever travelling in the region and have some time to spare which will give you the chance to pop in I can highly recommend that you don't bother. Easily the worst digs of the trip. Still the view out the front was nice.
Today was another short day with a mere 72 miles covered resulting in us actually arriving at the hotel at a reasonable hour and with time to shower for more than five minutes. This was nice. We started not too early after some breakfast haggis. The ride out of Inverary goes immediately up quite a steep, but thankfully short, climb. Once that was out of the way there was a decent long descent on which I set a new speed record for the trip of 43.8 mph, actually probably my all time bike speed record. The other good thing was the sun was out.
The sun being out was all well and good but, and this is where the title of today's post comes in, as soon as you hit some shade it got cold meaning it was sometimes close but never actually Phil Collins conditions (no jacket required.)
Today I had a bit more time to think about the Proclaimers, not any of their songs specifically but the Proclaimers themed film 'Sunshine on Leith.' If you are a fan of either the Proclaimers or really really unsubtly scripted light entertainment then I can highly recommend it.
Just after the Oban turn my team insisted I pose for the following picture, funnily enough it is similar to one I took last time I was in the area.....
Lunch stop was at a coffee house / cafe which offered haggis panini which they claimed were award winning. They were all right I suppose. The important point being that today I hope to achieve the trifecta of haggis for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The last time I was in Fort William was a few years ago as part of a three peaks challenge, on that occasion I was accompanied by a few of the same chaps who are taking part in LeJog with me. Step forward Darren and Dan. On that occasion we had been celebrating another team member's birthday the night before and I had really really overdone it. Walking up Ben Nevis, the first of the three peaks, was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life, I could best have been described as a sweaty mess, the shirt I was wearing that day later dissolved. That was then, this time is different.
Well I say it is different. Off to the bar now nice and early......
For regular updates follow me on Twitter.
Twitter: @BigBensBike
To make a donation to Prostate Cancer Research and read a bit about why I chose that charity see my page at:
Just Giving: http://www.justgiving.com/bigbensbike/
No comments:
Post a Comment