The plan was to stop in Inverness for breakfast and at 35 miles in to a 100 mile day it felt good. So we found a cafe and ordered plenty of calories and slow burning carbs (and a cup of tea), this is the benefit of these trips, you can eat anything you want and pretend it's energy. A young woman (about 25) came across to our table and sat down, she had seen the bikes and she herself was touring. She was a Kiwi who had caught a flight to London with her bike then came North to cycle through Scotland on her own and camp rough, quite a brave thing to do on your own I was thinking. Her plan was then to catch a flight from London to Nice then walk up and down the harbour until she found a deck job on a yacht .......... I looked at John and thought, best get on with our dreary lives and make a move to Fort Augustus. Great meeting people though and hearing their stories. 

 

We set off to do the 30 mile run down the side of Loch Ness, we had purposely avoided the West side which is the tourist route and tracked down the quiet but higher Eastern road. It proved to be the right decision as it was a pleasure to cycle, no traffic at all, stunning loch views, we were in our element. We hooked up with a local cyclist for about 5 miles and had a good chat before he turned back to Inverness and then we cycled a series of incredibly steep but short inclines, you know the kind you have to zig zag across the road to get up, it was ok though. 

 

There are a few pubs along this route which would be a good lunch stop for anyone thinking about it, eventually you gradually climb up to about 1100ft and reach a summit which gives spectacular views of the baron countryside. Then comes what I think was a terrifying descent with plenty of blind corners and gravel patches but bobsleigh John disappeared again, I dont think I saw him until the bottom of what turned out to be a 6 mile descent, welcome relief but I prefer inclines to declines. A bit of advice if you are doing JOGLE, definately take this route down Loch Ness it's just simply too risky to take the busy A-road. If you are doing LEJOG, i'd probably still do it to avoid the traffic but brace yourself for a leg sapping climb from Fort Augustus to the top, but then you can then look forward to a 10 mile gentle decline and a flat run in to Inverness. 

 

A welcome break at the locks on the Caledonian Canal, a plate of soup and a coffee whilst we listened to the obligatory piper pacing up and down for the tourists (like John). We then continued down the Great Glen made up of  Loch Ness, Loch Oich, Loch Lochy and Loch Lhinne, one of my favourite streches in all of the British Isles. I loved it being in the element of my home country in such spectacular scenery with the freedom of cycling in good weather. 

 

We stopped briefly at Spean Bridge war memorial which commemorates the British forces who trained in these parts prior to and during WW2. Then the last 10 miles to complete our first 100 miler in to Fort William. The rather impressive hotel was easy to find on the Loch shore and then in to town for yet another big meal and 2 pints of full fat coke. I had checked with every accomodation provider prior to starting the trip that they had provision for keeping bikes overnight, only on a couple of occasions did I have to take the bike to the room but again best to be prepared on all of the logistics, you'll enjoy the trip more if you put in the time and effort beforehand.

 

This was a much better day than day 1. My confidence had felt a bit bruised after yesterday but to put in a confident 100 miler although quite tired toward the end I was more optimistic for the what lay ahead. Tomorrow was up over Rannoch Moor and past the Ski Centre, another 1100ft climb but all through the planning I had a gut feel this would be my best day, the one I was looking forward to the most through my favourite part of the country.