Adventuring

Day 12 83 miles 1470m ascent 3280 calories A Scottish 'coast to coast'. Mixed day of wet fast riding, a mechanical issue, 9 miles of undesired slow off-road, followed by an exhilarating finish! Lock Linnhe  Dad & I had breakfast, anticipating some rudeness from the hostess. Fortunately she was pleasant enough, & I had some beans on toast, plus a bowl of muesli with my own milk. Because we hadn't been allowed to take wet things into the B&B (...!) the padding around the inside of my helmet was dripping wet as I touched it, as were my cycling shoes. So infuriating & an uncomfortable way to start the day! Greg pointed out we should've just used his hostel's dry room. We set off later today, probably around 0915, & despite the horrific weather warnings, we didn't face too much windy wrath except for the first few miles of headwind, until we reached Glencoe's western edge. The views were stunning, now that we could actually ...

Day 11 69 miles 890m ascent "This weather can only be described as biblical" Double espresso, layering & good company are the only things that got me through those last 30 miles. Monsoon weather over Glencoe mountain resort Awoke feeling pretty rough - full of a cold (thanks dad! Ha), but started out with the multiple coffees I now require to get me through. Dad had collected two cartons of soya milk from the kind folk at the previous two B&Bs, so fortunately I was sorted when this B&B revealed they had forgotten I was vegan. I still had a nice enough bowl of porridge & beans on toast before meeting greg at 0900 & setting off. The rain started pretty sharpish, so we were faffing quite a bit for the first 10 miles - layers on, then off, then on again. Until it began to pour with a persistent rage. I also had some front brake issues which were a little annoying, such as squealing & the front wheel not free spinning as much as it shou...

Day 10 79 miles 870m ascent  Further heavy rain but a productive morning, lunch in Glasgow, then a few flat tyres & late arrival to Loch Lomond. Pressure was on this morning - A) for Greg not to be late B) for us to crack out the 57 miles to Glasgow for lunch (to meet my friend & get to Balloch not too late,  for some chill/exploration time). We were totally on it, & left by 0800 into the pouring rain, only this time I was wearing my raincoat ;). I've also had to ditch the water-resistant leg warmers for now, as they worked great except they were rubbing on the back of my knee giving me some sores, no matter how much cream I used (cycle touring is physically painful! ). This one road...forever, & ever,  & ever... It was pretty much the same road again this morning however, with some misty views of surrounding mountains, and lots of nice conversation which passed the time. Come mile 30 we had a 10 minute snack, & start...

Day 9 73 miles 1070m ascent 5h 25min 2724 calories A mixed day: leaving the northern Lakes, a stop in Carlisle, then crossing the border to endure a hard afternoon. Sadly due to my father being unwell, & having to share a double bed by mistake - his coughing fits/constant restlessness caused me to set up camp on the floor! It was a little hard,  & he did stand on me in the early hours...but other than that, it was a fine night's sleep! Breakfast at the B&B was lovely (compared to yesterday's), with the couple being helpful, chatty, & interested in what we were up to. I went into Keswick town to pick up Greg, who had stayed at the YHA, which by the way had the most legendary sounding receptionist (he had called all the town's restaurants to find somewhere vegan for Greg!). It was raining but we had all of our kit on, & continued up country roads, up a 3-summited climb  (which wasn't too bad). This gave us a view of the expansive flat...

Day 8 72 miles 1600m ascent 5h 54 min 3000 calories My favourite day by far! With a few hiccups along the way. Confrontation at breakfast, stunning scenery out of Bowland & into the Lakes, a maggot at lunch, & lots of rain but even more stunning views. Oh, & FIVE rainbows! Dad & I sat down to breakfast at 0800, and were greeted by a lady. I asked re: soya milk & she responded patronisingly, but that yes they had some. The coffee machine started leaking, & as I informed her she begun speaking down to me as I must have been doing something wrong/was an idiot (until she realised it had just started pouring everywhere by itself & I was trying to help). My breakfast order was taken with rolled eyes and further appalling responses. As she was joking with the table next door, it became clear she randomly had an issue with me. Normally I'm too nice & tolerant,  but there becomes a point where I need to show some self-respect, so I spoke to her...

Day 7 64 miles 4h 50min 1283m ascent 2600 calories Today was a shorter day up through urban Lancashire and into the AONB - the forest of Bowland. Greg's morning view (jammy sod!) We pushed our planned start back to 0830, & I went for the holiday Inn breakfast at 0800. I got a text from Greg saying he was here & on time for once... bless him,  actually 30min early! So sadly he had to wait. Dad was pretty stressed at the breakfast as 2 coach tours had arrived, making the buffet a bit of a fight for food, service, & to hear one another speaking. I reminded him that it would probably be the busiest place we'd be in for a while! Oh also the 2 chaps we had met on day 5 came over to me at breakfast! They were having to go home halfway, but wished me the best of luck & will be back next year to complete it. Anyway dad & Greg met, & we went on our way north of Runcorn,  leaving dad to have his chilled morning before his short motorbike ride to our...