Lairg - Melvich (Friday)
Total miles 58.17; total ascent 2615 feet; average speed 11.0mph; max speed 36.6mph; total time in saddle 5 hours 3 minutes.
What a difference a day makes.
After a really good night’s sleep, we breakfasted, stocked up at the local Spar and set off around 9.30. The forecast was for a good morning but rain mid afternoon and this was 100% accurate. Essentially it’s about 100 miles from Lairg to JoG, and we decided to do nearly 60 today with a small final run tomorrow, when Larri is also due to arrive and hopefully cheer usover the finish line!
The morning/early afternoon’s riding was probably the best we’ve done on the trip. We took the A836 north from Lairg, which, within 4 miles becomes the trademark Scottish single lane with passing places. You know that when this happens the surrounding countryside will be wild and generally everything will feel remote and this was exactly the case today. Although there was no sun, the clouds were high in the sky and visibility excellent. There was also no wind whatsoever so conditions were perfect for us.
The A836 makes a gradual ascent to around 800 feet from a start in Lairg of around 100 feet, so it’s steady climbing for the first hour or so. The scenery was spectacular, we passed through peat bogs, logging areas, woodland, it was bleak but somehow comforting to see and experience so much of the great outdoors untouched by man. The odd car passed by but by and large we felt splendidly isolated and marveled at the wonderful vistas surrounding us.
When we did enter the infrequent areas of population I felt like a cowboy riding into town after a successful bounty hunt. Great stuff!
At Altnaharra we took the B873 and had the most fabulous, largely downhill run. - the best for me of the trip so far. From 800 feet we gradually descended over a distance of nearly 25miles and averaged just short of 15mph. The road surface was perfect and the whole experience splendidly remote. I’d recommend this piece of road to anyone with a bike.
We passed through tiny Hamlets, one in particular Crask, consisted of a farmhouse, a small bungalow and an Inn. Nothing more. Sheep and their lambs grazed at the roadside and Loch Naver was beautiful, everything Loch Ness is, but smaller and far more unspoilt by tourists and the thunder of traffic.
Eventually we rejoined the A836 and turned left to effectively traverse the north of Scotland. The sea came into view and I for the first time the magnitude of what we are about to achieve began to dawn on me. As we descended into seaside village of Bettyhill and saw the road climb up the cliff the other side we could have been back in Cornwall two weeks ago to the day. A huge stretch of golden beach with waves crashing down, a small café and hotel served to further strengthen the uncanny likeness, hard to comprehend that Cornwall was some 850 miles below us as the crow flies!
Speaking of miles was passed the 1000 mark today and, all told, the journey should clock in at around 1060. This is all the more remarkable when I consider that my general fitness seems to have improved as we have got into week two and I seem to have got through completely unscathed by fatigue to knees, shoulders etc and other such cycling related aliments (arse issues aside of course).
So as I write this on the bed at our guesthouse in Malvich, I contemplate completing this amazing challenge tomorrow. I’m not actually sure it will sink in for a while just what we have achieved and it might actually take a day or so to adjust to not having to cycle to a specific destination. I am proud of myself though, very proud, because right up until this moment I’ve never really dared to allow myself to believe that we will achieve this challenge.
PS if you are following this Blog and haven’t already, please pay a visit to my Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/Giles-Bowes – amazingly I have bust the target of £1100, but perhaps we might make £1500?
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