Cycling John o'Groats to Lands End
End2End : 14th June - 23rd June 2014 (c950 miles, unsupported)
Day 3 - Fort William to Dumbarton
After a good sleep in a very comfortable bed, still with aching legs and an increasingly sore neck I woke up and looked out the window, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Not a cloud in the sky, sun shining over the Loch like it was just meant to be. The last time I had stayed in Fort William I was walking from Loch Arkaig to Inverie on the West Coast, a 2 day mountain walk over c20miles and 3 Munroes, it was the same that day too. They reckon you can see the summit of Ben Nevis on 1 out of every 10 days, the cycling gods must have been with us?
We had a quick breakfast and then saddled up the panniers ready for the off. Cycling the first 9 miles in a Southerly direction with the hills to our East sheltered us and put us in the shade, it was cold and you really noticed the difference when you popped out in to the sun now and again, it was like turning a heater on.
Route: Day3
Activity: Cycle
Started: 16 Jun 2014 06:39:51
Ride Time: 6:10:59
Stopped Time: 3:05:16
Distance: 88.11 miles
Average Speed: 14.25 mph
Fastest Speed: 32.13 mph
Ascent: 6771 feet
Descent: 6819 feet
Calories: 5151
Temperature - 17oC
Weather - Mostly Sunny
Wind - 6mph SW
Humidity - 94%
Sunrise - 04:16
Sunset - 22:17
You could hardly complain though as we stared in almost silent amazement at the mirror effect of the Loch, with the odd fish jumping, rarely will you see this place like this and it was a true joy to be there, any aches and pains didn't matter for this period of time. Cycling down to the Ballahuilish Bridge was something I wont forget. We then hung a left at the bridge and headed on the long incline to Rannoch Moor, across the top at 1142ft, past the ski centre and then down the long winding decline in to Tyndrum. There are two ends of the spectrum to how enjoyable this 34 mile section of raw Scottish wilderness could be, there is the end that we saw it at, 22oC, still air and no clouds and there is the other end which I can imagine would be a very different experience indeed. Either way, freewheeling in to Tyndrum for a large Scottish lunch at 'The Green Welly' is a must stop for any traveller no matter what form of transport they choose to use. We were eating a lunch of Scotch Broth, Lorne Sausage on a roll washed down with a full fat coke, coffee and a flapjack. With only 40 miles to go to Dumbarton, I dont think I could be feeling any better than I was at this point of the ride.
We set off down the road to Crainlarich where in years gone past I would have carried straight on to Stirling but instead we hang a right heading South for the equally stunning run down the side of Loch Lomond. A word of warning though it is a busy road so avoid peak times, you will also have plenty of European tourists/motorbikes on this road. Even though it was very sunny you need to be seen, wear bright clothing and have your strobes on (a good set), do anything you can to be seen and if the worst happens you know you've done your best. The amount of riders I see on the road these days with really poor lights and wearing dark clothing ... you arent doing yourself any favours!
We stopped at the cafe park just at the top end of Loch Lomond next to the Hydro Electric installation for an Ice Cream and a sit down. This stop would have qualified for 'sunbathing' as a number of people were doing on the jetty stretching in to the glistening waters of Loch Lomond. We then got back on the bikes and put our head down for the last 25 miles to the Premier Inn just on the edge of Dumbarton. The hotel was on the road we were cycling on on so there was no pressure in finding the place, in fact we would trip over it.
We arrived at the hotel shortly before 16:00 which allowed us to have a bit of break and a lie down before dinner. The real benefit of a Premier Inn is they have good beds, hard pillows and a bath, just what you need. This was the first bath on the route so I filled it full of piping hot water then threw myself in it for the best part of an hour. We had by now cycled 275 miles in 3 days so this was a welcome treat. Reflecting on what was a fantastic day I listened to some music and looked up tomorrow's task of trying to navigate Glasgow before making our way to just short of the English border.
