About three months ago when Speedy and i were syncing diaries for training i thought it would be a good idea to plan a significant cycling milestone for my birthday weekend rather than spending it indulging. So this is how i chose to celebrate me turning 35.
This weekend was to mark our longest rides back to back, Saturday 110 miles from Avoch - Durness and on Sunday 104 miles from Durness to Beauly and what a delight it was...
Saturday we met about 7.45am, We left the rain clouds behind us hovering over Inverness whilst we cycled North towards beautiful blue skies, we cycled over the Cromarty Bridge, through Evanton and over the Struie to Bonar Birdge, perfect cycling, and a lovely tail wind pushing us along. At Lairg we met up with a different support team, my mum, dad and heidi, we figured it was about time to find out if dad was up to the job as official lejog support team, only kidding dad, kind of ;-)
After a soup stop in Lairg we were on our way again. The further we cycled the better the weather got and the layers kept coming off, 40 miles 50 miles 60 miles we seemed to be clocking up the miles pretty effortlessly, such a joy after the last few horrible long rides.
The support team were also clearly getting into the swing of things ......At one point we found them writing us messages in chalk on the road which was just fab for morale, at another we found them paddling in a nearby stream, at another they were chilling in camping chairs at the side of the road waititng to give us a cheer as we passed ..... good work guys ;-)
My first signs of tiredness started to show at about 70 miles so we stopped to fill up on energy gels and tablet which got me through the next 20 miles to Hope, but at 90 miles i was starting to wilt. For a moment my mind was taken of my tiredness, as we cycled in to Hope we saw the biggest stag in someones garden just standing there, so big and confident, looking straight at us, we both had to have a double take, it was stunning.
Hope = Coffee Time on the grass at the side of the road as i was starting to get wobbly legs. The support filled us with caffeine, bananas and sweets, i had 20 miles to go, we took it slowly up the hills, the sunshine was beautiful on my skin, the views turned form being stunning to breathtaking, we had one last cheer form the support 10 miles from Durness, which was just what i needed to see me through to Durness. Day 1. Avoch - Durness ....Done ;-)
Pics at 100 miles .....
Sunday - I woke early in Speedys caravan to hear the rain bouncing off the windows, uhh ohhh ....not after such a lovely day yesterday. This is so typical of Highland weather. 7.30 time for porridge 8.30 time to hit the road, we left Heidi and Mark in Durness to explore the beautiful beaches whilst we rode of into the rain ;-(
The last time we cycled this road we were on our way to Ullapool and the wind was horrific, so although it was raining it was still so much easier than our previous ride. We cycled a drizzly 15 miles before having a banana stop, then on we went till we reached the Overscaig Hotel. If you are ever passing then stop for the Lemon and Coconut cake it was Yummy with a capital Y ( and this from the girl who doesn't really do cake )
We got back on our bikes pretty quickly, the rain had stopped but the midges were out in force. we cycled back towards Lairg but on our way passed a pine martin and an eagle ( i think ) .....just beautiful....
We climbed up the Struie and then followed our tracks back through to Evanton. One last climb in to Dingwall and we were almost home. At 100 miles we hit Muir of Ord then we rode the last 3 miles at speeds of aprox 28mph.... sprint finish ;-)
This has been undoubtably my favourite cycling weekend so far, i've had it all Sunshine, Tail Winds, Fab Cake, Beautiful Wildlife, Stunning Scenerny, Beautiful Beaches, Great Support and the best training partner you could find, as always, thank you Speedy for keeping me going.
However, I have managed to collect a few war wounds, some sunburn, some midgy bites, some blisters, and a sore bum ..... 214 miles cycled, 8080 calories burnt, 15 hours in the saddle......knackered but delighted x
Lets hope for 11 days like this when we do end to end ............
People often ask me what do you find to talk about after so long on the road, well.... some of its nonsense, some of it's lejog plans, some of it's just quiet time, but a lot of this weekend was good old ' i spy ' ............. i spy with my little eye something beginning with H ???
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