It was great not having to worry about wind speeds, rainfall, gradients, directions or very much of anything today. We took a stroll the 2 miles along the bay to Scrabster, watched the fishing boats and harbour activity before taking a bowl of soup at the hotel restaurant. There were magnificent views of Dunnet and Orkney. Waves crashing against the cliffs sending great plumes of spray into the air.
On the walk back (in the rain, somewhat inevitably) Orkney had completely disappeared from view, shrouded in mist, such was the rapidity with which the weather changed.
In the evening we met up with some friends for dinner (salmon in a lemon and caper sauce). Walking back to the hotel in the evening felt like midday, the days are so long. The light up here is amazing, it feels like late afternoon at 10:30, and at 4, it's already daybreak.
What about the ride? I'm still processing the experience, so more on that later, possibly when I have a real keyboard, rather than the on-screen thing on my mobile phone. In the meantime, here's some details that didn't make it into earlier posts.
Distance travelled: 997 miles (approximately, neither of us had a cycle computer)
Time taken: 14 days
Average daily mileage=71.2
Shortest day =36 miles
Longest day=90 miles
Hours riding: about 8 hours per day, 9.5 including breaks= 112 hours total riding time.
Turns of the pedal crank= 537,600
It was fun seeing where our bikes ended up staying the nights.
Tregony: annexe (would make a great
place for a holiday.)
Tavistock: Garage.
Taunton: relaxing by the pool.
Monmouth: Beer cellar
Tern hill: old farm outhouse
Old Langho: hotel housekeeping store.
Penrith: garage.
Moniaive: barn that was flooded in the morning, so our bikes were brought in for us and put in the bar.
Auchinleck: ballroom, secured to the bar.
Crieff: shed that was one half full of tools(his), the other half was a studio where the artist made the most amazing mosaics (hers).
Kingussie: shed overnight, bikes brought into the lounge in the morning.
BonarBridge: shed that was home to some swallows, feared missing in action in the high winds
Thurso: Boiler room
I realised that I hadn't posted the map for yesterday, so I've remedied the situation today.
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