We got away sharp about 8.30 and headed off up the road. Over Drumochter - long climb but not steep. Got buzzed by a low flying jet. Sustrans marketing department have done a good job calling something more akin to a cart track in places a cycle path.
About to take the distillery tour - but this won't get posted until later as there is no t-mobile coverage, just for a change. I shall not be renewing this particular contract!
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Dalwhinnie
...... It'll just be the two of us....!
Sandy
Monday, 14 June 2010
Day 10 - Edinburgh/Dunfermline to Blair Atholl
After a night in our own beds it was time to hit the road again. Sandy got a lie in since I had to make my way to Dunfermline - a mere 17.5 miles. It was beautifully sunny first thing as I set off shortly after 8 a.m. It was a strange feeling cycling the route I have taken many hundreds of times on the way to work at Agilent. I stopped briefly to take a photo as I passed. The site will be vacated at the end of July.
On to the Forth Bridge. Believe it or not I have never cycled over it before. I have cycled on the other side of it but not over it. I didn't realise that the East side cycle/walkway was closed so because of the route I had taken I had to cart my bike down the steps and under the subway to the other side. Not impressed.
From there it was a straightforward run through Inverkeithing and to the edge of Dunfermline to Sandy's house. Time for a quick cup of coffee (no cake :-)) and a bit of adjustment to the rear gears before setting off again using Sandy's local knowledge to pick the best route. At one point he did offer hills or distance - I chose hills on the theory that if you have an up eventually you get a down. In fact there were four ups before we arrived in Kelty.
We stopped for coffee, toasties and cake in Kinross where the proprietor recommended a b&b in Blair Atholl. He also recommended a place to eat. We mentally filed the information for later. We pushed on - Bridge of Earn and then Perth, recognisable territory from our trips around The Tay a few years ago.
From Perth we looked for the cycle route up by the A9. It was not well signed (big understatement.) We followed a cycle route towards Luncarty which was heading in the right direction, but we didn't pick up route 7 or 77. In retrospect I should have dug out the map I have of The Salmon Run since that covers the Pitlochry to Perth section.
The upshot was that we eventually ended up on the A9 with no alternatives. Not a pleasant option. We did a few hundred metres with the high speed traffic before we managed to turn off. The back road added a few miles, but still preferable to the main road. In the process we found the cycle route we had been seeking and followed it from here to Blair Atholl.
The route was fairly uneventful up to Dunkeld. It got fairly overcast and cold for a while although the sun did come out again later. We tracked the A9 up the Tay Valley - when we got to Birnam/Dunkeld we looked for a tea shop. My energy levels were getting low but there was nothing obvious so we pressed on towards Pitlochry. The route out of Dunkeld was ridiculous. The proper route is signed through the grounds of some stately home/health farm. The alternative route went by the road. It started off ok - along tarmac, then as we got close to the house it started to degenerate and the next section was slow going along a track more suited to mountain bikes. When we re-emerged on the A9 we had to make our way in the wrong direction before getting back onto the backroads again.
The ride into Pitlochry was uneventful. We passed the PGL centre at Dalguise along the way. My legs were getting weary by the time we found the cake and coffee shop on the way into town. We took the opportunity to phone the b&b we had been recommended. They had space so we booked it and set off.
We arrived to be greeted with scones and tea in the garden. Fantastic and very welcome. As I said earlier we had to fight off the blackbirds - one of which almost got away with a scone. Another great b&b.
We showered and headed down to The Atholl Arms for tea. Sandy knows this place well having been here on holiday a number of times in his youth.
I phoned Robbie in Inverness who we are staying with tomorrow night.
Now watching Italy vs Paraguay.
We are hoping to be away about 8.30 a.m. tomorrow.
Covered 85 miles today - tomorrow is our last big day at around 80 plus miles.
Beer blog update
Sandy
Where's ma dinner.......
Fine easy ride, sunshine, flat-ish, some big hill tomorrow before Inverness, 4 days to go. Running out of punchlines, has anyone guessed any of the jokes?
Sandy
Yet more tea and scones
Just arrived at Dalgreine guest house in Blair Atholl to be welcomed with tea and scones. We are having to fight off the blackbirds who are very tame!
Kinross - Yet more coffee and cakes :-)
Well it is 4 hours and 30 miles since breakfast after all so time for a cheese toastie and a piece of lumpy bumpy cake.
Sandy took us along the narrowest, bumpiest, grassiest path so far - think I will call it Sandy's revenge - but it did save us about half a mile. Who needs tarmac!
...... The other two are meat substitues....!
I used to work here...
Agilent in South Queensferry. Sandy still does.
Beautiful sunny morning. On my way to meet Sandy in Dunfermline.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Some photos from the first 9 days. These are off my proper camera as opposed to my or Sandy's phone, so there may be a few duplicates.
Waiting for train in Edinburgh.
View from Sennen in the direction of Land's End.
Old Success Inn where we stayed the night before we started
at the bottom of a very steep hill. We helped one of the teams doing the pub quiz with answers like Dot Matrix printer and Stephen King.
At the start - ready to roll.
We paid for the official photo which allowed us into the inner sanctum next to the signpost - and the photographer then offered to take photos with our own cameras.
View from The Lizard - most southerly point in the UK.
The King Harry ferry.
We rigged up a sort of single speed option before catching this for the short ride to the other side.
The Elerkey Guest House in Veryan where we stayed the first proper night - we were pleased to see this after 15 miles of limping along with a broken bike - coasting the downhills, gentle pedalling on the flat and pushing the uphills - of which there were plenty.
Even better - it was just across the road from the pub and we made it before they stopped serving food :-).
Sandy doing the beer blog in Ross on Wye
Bailey the dog who lives at The White Lion pub in Ross on Wye. There are signs around the bar introducing him but also pointing out that he gets fed twice a day despite the "They never feed me big brown eyes." He tried it on with us as well. He is what I would describe as "well built". A very friendly dog.
A dragon fly. I was trying to catch one in flight but they wouldn't cooperate so this will have to do. It started to rain for a few minutes which probably discouraged them as well.
People paddling on the rather muddy looking river Severn in Ironbridge.
Yes, it's a flock of black sheep - wonder who the white sheep in the family might be?
The Anderton boat lift that moves boats between the River Weaver (long way down) and The Trent and Mersey canal. No boats being transported as we were going through but seems to be a popular attraction judging by the size of the car park.
A very low tunnel under the railway on the cycle path into Preston. This is only about 6 foot high if that - there is no warning sign saying dismount on the other side. That said, the path is excellent otherwise.
Swan with cygnets on the Lancaster Canal.
On top of Shap. The memorial stone is for those who have helped stranded travellers and kept the way open in days gone by.
Waiting for train in Edinburgh.
at the bottom of a very steep hill. We helped one of the teams doing the pub quiz with answers like Dot Matrix printer and Stephen King.
At the start - ready to roll.
We rigged up a sort of single speed option before catching this for the short ride to the other side.
Even better - it was just across the road from the pub and we made it before they stopped serving food :-).
People paddling on the rather muddy looking river Severn in Ironbridge.
Swan with cygnets on the Lancaster Canal.
Day 9 - Langholm to Home (Edinburgh/Dunfermline)
The other entries for the day pretty much sum it all up.
I did a whisker short of 74 miles for the day and I think Sandy did about 92 - I get to do the extra tomorrow.
Average speed for the day was pretty high at around 12.4 mph - largely helped by the long downhill sections.
I am up to 662 miles - Sandy about 20 more than that.
We left Langholm at about 10 to 8 - thanks to our hosts for getting up to feed us breakfast at 7. We got a few miles in before the rain started. The most bizarre part of the day was the Tibetan centre about 15 miles up the road. It was well defended by vicious attack midges, so we didn't pause for too long!
In the entire distance of 45 miles from Langholm to Innerleithen we saw no more than 30 cars on the road - and only 2 (and a fox) in the first hour. This qualifies it as the quietest stretch of road so far.
It was great to meet up with Bill, Pete and Sid in Langholm. Bill and mutual friend Ray did LEJoG last year and Pete and I joined them for the section from Innerleithen to Edinburgh. That was a lovely sunny day and I was on my road bike - a much quicker riding experience.
I didn't get to watch any football tonight - having hummed and hawed a bit I decided to fix the bike - of course things are never quite as straightforward as they should be. The new hanger is certainly the right part but there has obviously been a slight tweak in the frame and I can only fit one of the two bolts that hold it in place. It seems to be secure though, so I've fitted the new rear mech and now I've got a full range of gears again. Tyres are blown up as well, so ready to roll first thing in the morning.
I shall take the emergency replacement rear mech hanger that I bought in Halfords in St Austell with me just in case :-).
No beer blog tonight - unless a glass of Rose wine counts? No, I didn't think so :-).
I did a whisker short of 74 miles for the day and I think Sandy did about 92 - I get to do the extra tomorrow.
Average speed for the day was pretty high at around 12.4 mph - largely helped by the long downhill sections.
I am up to 662 miles - Sandy about 20 more than that.
We left Langholm at about 10 to 8 - thanks to our hosts for getting up to feed us breakfast at 7. We got a few miles in before the rain started. The most bizarre part of the day was the Tibetan centre about 15 miles up the road. It was well defended by vicious attack midges, so we didn't pause for too long!
In the entire distance of 45 miles from Langholm to Innerleithen we saw no more than 30 cars on the road - and only 2 (and a fox) in the first hour. This qualifies it as the quietest stretch of road so far.
It was great to meet up with Bill, Pete and Sid in Langholm. Bill and mutual friend Ray did LEJoG last year and Pete and I joined them for the section from Innerleithen to Edinburgh. That was a lovely sunny day and I was on my road bike - a much quicker riding experience.
I didn't get to watch any football tonight - having hummed and hawed a bit I decided to fix the bike - of course things are never quite as straightforward as they should be. The new hanger is certainly the right part but there has obviously been a slight tweak in the frame and I can only fit one of the two bolts that hold it in place. It seems to be secure though, so I've fitted the new rear mech and now I've got a full range of gears again. Tyres are blown up as well, so ready to roll first thing in the morning.
I shall take the emergency replacement rear mech hanger that I bought in Halfords in St Austell with me just in case :-).
No beer blog tonight - unless a glass of Rose wine counts? No, I didn't think so :-).
The broken bit
.......use the forks luke, use the forks.
Darth: I know what you've got for Christmas
Luke; dont be ridiculous, how could you know that?
Darth: I've felt your presents.
Anyhoo, big day getting home, 92m, and a huge 1600m of climbing, but it felt good. The bike will get a full service overnight by the bike repair fairies, although they usually leave the tyre pressures and chain lube to me.
Great to see loads of folks out supporting the ride home. Bill rode all the way from Innerleithen to Dunfermline, Pete rode from Edi to Inners and back with us, Sid met us for lunch and my sis Anne, Steve, Erin and Beth met us in Bonnyrigg for photos. Thanks to everyone else for the texts and emails, the support has been amazing. Only 5 more days to go.
Sandy
Home - for me at least. Sandy should be in Dunfermline shortly.
One of Sandy's friends, Sid met us in Innerleithen most unexpectedly and we retired to the Whistle Stop Cafe for lunch. We had made good time and got there shortly after 11.30 where we waited for Bill and Pete who were going to accompany us back over the hills towards Edinburgh. Bill turned up shortly afterwards - Pete was still a bit away so we decided to meet him on the way up the road. It was great to have the company. The rain had pretty much stopped by this point as well.
This is the section of road where Pete and I met the naked rambler a few years ago. He was on his way to John O'Groats - although it took him a bit longer than we are planning. Partly because he spent so much time in the cells along the way. I should think he got a bit cold if the wind were anything like we experienced coming over Shap.
A couple more steady climbs and descents and we were on the mostly downhill stretch into Bonnyrigg on route 1. There we were met by Sandy's sister and family. We chatted with them for a few minutes. At this point Pete took his leave since he lives just up the road from here and the three of us continued on into Edinburgh, arriving at my house just after 3.30. I dumped my paniers and guided Bill and Sandy the first section towards the cycle path and then came home to see the family and try and book the train back from the North of Scotland next Saturday. We had delayed doing this because of not being certain what day we would make it.
This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. Finding phone numbers on websites was the first challenge - got through to a foreign sounding gentleman who was less than helpful - when I spelled Thurso he thought I meant Thirsk. Hmmm....Tried a different train company and got through to the same guy. Then tried booking directly on East Coast trains site where it seems you can book bike spaces on line. Only availability appeared to be Thurso at 06:48 a.m. Sandy is going to hate me for that - but needs must. Confirmation email has no mention of any bike booking - so if there is any problem there is going to be some major aggravation at Thurso station early next Saturday morning.
Now it's bath, washing, food, bike fixing and maybe football watching time.
One of Sandy's friends, Sid met us in Innerleithen most unexpectedly and we retired to the Whistle Stop Cafe for lunch. We had made good time and got there shortly after 11.30 where we waited for Bill and Pete who were going to accompany us back over the hills towards Edinburgh. Bill turned up shortly afterwards - Pete was still a bit away so we decided to meet him on the way up the road. It was great to have the company. The rain had pretty much stopped by this point as well.
This is the section of road where Pete and I met the naked rambler a few years ago. He was on his way to John O'Groats - although it took him a bit longer than we are planning. Partly because he spent so much time in the cells along the way. I should think he got a bit cold if the wind were anything like we experienced coming over Shap.
A couple more steady climbs and descents and we were on the mostly downhill stretch into Bonnyrigg on route 1. There we were met by Sandy's sister and family. We chatted with them for a few minutes. At this point Pete took his leave since he lives just up the road from here and the three of us continued on into Edinburgh, arriving at my house just after 3.30. I dumped my paniers and guided Bill and Sandy the first section towards the cycle path and then came home to see the family and try and book the train back from the North of Scotland next Saturday. We had delayed doing this because of not being certain what day we would make it.
This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. Finding phone numbers on websites was the first challenge - got through to a foreign sounding gentleman who was less than helpful - when I spelled Thurso he thought I meant Thirsk. Hmmm....Tried a different train company and got through to the same guy. Then tried booking directly on East Coast trains site where it seems you can book bike spaces on line. Only availability appeared to be Thurso at 06:48 a.m. Sandy is going to hate me for that - but needs must. Confirmation email has no mention of any bike booking - so if there is any problem there is going to be some major aggravation at Thurso station early next Saturday morning.
Now it's bath, washing, food, bike fixing and maybe football watching time.
Does the Dalai Lama come here on holiday?
Tibetan tea rooms in the middle of nowhere - if nowhere had a middle (very Zen).
(On the road from Langholm to Innerleithen - 45 miles on breakfast and one snickers bar)
Innerleithen
A fairly early start after an excellent breakfast. A bit of a climb to start which got the heart rate going before the rain started. Then some long climbs followed by some really good descents. Miles at a time. Best road surface by far for about 20 miles thanks to the timber industry. We are now in the Whistlestop cafe with Sid awaiting Bill and Pete who are going to cycle the next stretch with us.
Saturday, 12 June 2010
Day 8 - Kendal to Langholm
66 Miles and what must be the best b&b so far by miles.
The high point of the day was literally Shap which came at about 10 miles. Not big girlie Shap that you cross on the M6 just off to the East but proper men's Shap on the A6 with a strong north wind in your face.
The rest of the day was downhill all the way with a few little bumps. The cycling was largely uneventful. We did at least an extra half mile because of the one way system in Penrith. Rubbish cycle paths through Carlisle - 6 inches wide if that and dug up and bumpy.
We took the A6 as far as Carlisle and the A7 to Langholm. They were not too busy although the traffic was pretty quick, but not many trucks. We stopped to take the obligatory photo as we crossed the border.
We arrived at the b&b at about 4.15 p.m. it is owned by a couple who did the end to end a few years ago. Talk about being spoiled. Chocolate buns, our own sitting room, breakfast at a time of our asking (7 a.m. since it is a long day for Sandy tomorrow.) We talked cycle paths and the like with the owner for a while before retiring for a shower. Now about to head over to the Douglas Hotel for tea.
Easy day
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