Day 11 - LEJoG

Well here we are in the centre of Scotland's single malt Whisky country, Grantown-on-Spey. We rode across the Cairngorm national park today and as you'd probably expect in this area it started just as we waved goodbye to Joyce and the Wing Commander and stopped as we rode into town here. The rain that is. Oh the hills were there too but the rain was more prominent today (Gary would suggest otherwise). We were soaked to the skin and I was actually glad of the hills to keep me warm pedalling up them.





First we rode up past the Glenshee ski centre at 2150ft then a long descent down to Braemar which was long, fast and cold. Gary has the equivalent of several copies of L'Equipe up his jumper and didn't feel it quite like I do. He wasn't as keen then as i was to stop for the hot chocolate I was longing for to warm up. So we pressed on past Balmoral castle and turning left on the road to Tomintull where we almost ran over a red squirrel. My first sighting ever as far as I can recall.

Before Tomintull the wet road rose up steeply through forests before we passed the tree line to more exposed valleys which looked as though the glaciers had only just melted away. The roads seemed to just disappear vertically into the cloud. They were reminiscent of that scene in 'Inception' where the street folds in half and half of it points straight upwards.

















It was quite stunning and the enormity of it was somehow more impressive as we moved more slowly through it feeling in our legs the size of the slopes and the length of them.












With few landmarks In the barren landscape there was still no doubting that we were in Scotland. The Heather and Thistles were everywhere.






A few miles from Grantown on Spey we had to stop to let the Locals pass. Then headed down into the noticeably warmer valley to the Dunallan Guest house where we have the Honeymoon suite!






Imagine my delight arriving as a very cold wet bedraggled cyclist covered in road dirt to see this...





Tomorrow we are off to Bonar Bridge our last 100 mile ride. So now its time for my second favourite hobby, sleep.

Location:High St,Grantown-on-Spey,United Kingdom

Day 10 - LEJoG

Wow, almost up to date again. Looking at the blog posts i can see hundreds of typos and some pretty poor English. Bit hey they are more a stream of thought at the end of a long day so don't hold it against me please. Any spare time is for sleep.

Yesterday morning we left Edinburgh perfectly refuelled by Rob's roast potatoes and navigated our way out of the city. The ride took us through the estate of a stately home and along the edge of the Firth of Forth to the Forth road and rail bridges. Sure enough a lot of painting was in progress.





We rode through a very quaint little town at the foot of re bridges across old cobbled streets. You wouldn't even know it was there crossing by car or train.
Like the Severn Crossing there was little wind and the only real movement coming from the vibration of the bridge as large vehicles passed.



The weather though overcast was still dry and perfect for cycling. We stopped at a bike shop on the other side of the bridge to get some air and to buy a folding tyre. We were headed to remote areas and it seems sensible to have everything we need to fix the stuff we can fix. We also carry some chain repair equipment and the usual inner tubes etc.

We were headed to the Spittal of Glenshee ad rode almost north from the bridge up to Perth and then on to Blairgowrie. We stopped for coffee and cake at Loch Leven's cashmere factory shop and Gary bought me a beautiful scarf as a memento of our ride. I think he's just glad to still be alive. They were pretty easy miles to Blairgowrie although the road surface all day was quite broken and rough tarmac which seems to suck the energy from your wheels and makes coasting impossible. From Blairgowrie we started the climb to Glenshee and the roads kicked up relatively gently, winding their way gradually up. Hardwoods gave way to pines and Heather replaced shrubland. Even the Cows hinted at the area we were headed to.






Our stop was 81 miles from Edinburgh in the Cairngorm National Park at Dalhenzean lodge a 300 year old hunting lodge now run as a B&B by Mike and Joyce Purdie.



I should say Wing Commander Purdie, ex air force who gave us a very comprehensive tour of our room and how everything worked.


His uniforms still proudly hang in the hallway. Later he very kindly dropped us 2 miles up the road at the Spittal hotel to eat. It was 18.29hrs but we were allowed to call it 18.30hrs. We made plans for the rendevouz to get back and ate in one of the strangest places so far on the trip. The place was a cross between a hunting lodge and a cowboy saloon. The clientele were the cowboy equivalent of Woolworth's best customers who all sat staring into their deep fried potato wedges except for one Husky dog howling persistently in the corner.

We retired to bed at the earliest opportunity after a bit of homework on today's ride. We are headed over the Cairngorms to Grantown on Spey. The road at the highest is 2100ft and we are now at 1200ft so not too bad. I think we will be distracted by the scenery and will hopefully enjoy the hills today. 60 miles should be easy after recent days, shouldn't it....?

Location:Edinburgh

Day 9 - LEJoG

What a difference a day makes!

We had breakfast with a young Danish couple who like us had turned up late and been taken in by Deborah. They were in a car though (sensible people I hear you cry). They had just been on a walking tour of Greenland! (ah ha not so sensible after all then). Knowing that this was day number 3 of 100 mile rides and that we were to stay with Garys friends in Edinburgh that night I realised 2 things.
1. It would be impolite to turn up after midnight.
2. Gary was becoming a suicide risk if subjected to another onslaught of hills I think he might have jumped from one of them.

A quick review of the route and maps made me take a slight detour along a B road and onto the A7 to cut off some undulating country lanes. We made some rapid progress on these good roads which were remarkably quiet. It was early Sunday morning though to be fair. With a little more consideration I realised that if we continued on the A7 and it remained as per the section we had done we could reduce our time to Edinburgh by at least a couple of hours. So that's what we did.












While everyone slept we entered Scotland (woof! for Dan).

The road wasn't flat and we climbed to 1000ft a couple of times but at gentle gradients and some long smooth wide roads to descend on too. We flew along notching up miles at a rapid pace and both feeling a lot better for a good nights sleep.

The scenery was spectacular and before we knew it we were rolling alongside a tributary of the Tweed and only 20 miles to go by mid afternoon.












This called for a cake stop.
As if by magic the Cloudhouse cafe appeared in Stow with more cakes than you could shake a large stick at.












I couldn't resist a slice of the coffee and walnut which was so big I had palpitations on the run into Edinburgh from all the coffee!












My legs were possessed with energy after that and with rolling fast roads and a tailwind we were flying along continuously at 22-24 mph. I had one of those moments on the bike where its such good fun and so fast up and down that I can't help but chuckle out loud to myself.

The ride into Edinburgh city centre was easy and we crossed a bridge in town with a view of the castle.












The castle being famous not only for it's centuries of history but also as the place where dad proposed to mum many moons ago. That pics for you Wrinkles! X

Robert and Christina Outram live rather appropriately on Scotland Street fantastically close to the city centre and with fabulous views of the city from their 3rd floor apartment.












Rob cooked a roast dinner and we all relaxed into another evening with friends.

It had been a busy few days but I finally managed a few minutes before bedtime to catch up with some of my all time, Top Banana best friends ever, Joe and Annie Chester. Joe will I am sure, be hot on my tail doing this ride soon as he tells me he can now ride 3 miles on his bike. Top Banana Joe. Big hugs and well done xx

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Location:Warwick Bridge, Nr Carlisle