Day 14 (Stage 13) Helmsdale to John O' Groats

Our final day on the bikes with only a short stint of 55 miles to the finish line. Starting off in drizzle and mist the weather cleared for a time and we even had a short period of sunshine before the rain returned.  There were a couple of cheeky climbs at the start to warm the legs up one even had a steep alpine style switchback, after which the roads evened out and were reasonably undulating. Fairly barren views of coastline appeared as the cloud lifted, we worked together rotating at the front of the group to maintain speed through the wind.  Almost giving the impression of a proessional bunch of cyclists!  Jan was hampered by a slow puncture only a few miles from the finish but the support team did well to provide a quick wheel change to maintain momentum.  All in all a successful day with us all reaching the finish safely having ticked of End to End in the taskbook of things to do. What's next?

Day 13 (Stage 12) – Inverness to Helmsdale

We left Inverness in favourable weather conditions with some great views over the Beauly Firth as we crossed the bridge out of the city.  We crossed the Cromarty Firth on our fourth ferry of the trip.  On reaching the other side the weather began to turn and increasingly worsen throughout the afternoon and the last 10 miles were a particularly hard slog up the coast into wind and into rain; it was a relief to finally reach the Hostel at Helmsdale and warm up after 70 well earned miles.  The general impression of the East Coast after the spectacular Highlands can only be described as ‘bleak’.  Tomorrow leaves us with a dilemma for the final day with two options: 1) 55miles into a strong headwind all the way to the finish or 2) 70 miles following an inland route with the last 30 into wind..........

Highlands Day 11

Royal Marine Memorial at Spean Bridge

Day 12 - Glencoe to Inverness

An outstanding day leaving the big mountains of Glencoe behind under clear skies. At every turn another stunning vista appeared as we headed along Loch Leven, Loch Lochie the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness. By cycling from Fort William to Inverness we also ticked off a Coast to Coast by seeing both the Atlantic and North Sea in the same day. With only 2 days and 150 miles, left to go we feel like we really have covered some distance now. A highlight of today was taking in the Royal Marine memorial at Spean Bridge. Photos to follow....

Climb out of Tyndrum

Tommo & Jan

Day 11 – Helensburgh to Glencoe

A game of two halves, we sped along the edge of Loch Lomond averaging 16 mph in sunshine and light airs, leaving us plenty of time for a coffee stop and ‘tiffin’ in Crainlaroch, very important to fuel the machine!  We entered the Highlands proper with some fantastic views on the climb up out of Tyndrum and up onto Rannoch Moor. Quote of the day from SOO ‘It’s all downhill from here into Glencoe’ followed by a 5 mile climb into 25mph head winds and driving rain and a further 8 mile descent into Glencoe with continued strong winds and freezing cold rain.  At one point it felt like I was peddling just to stand still.  Apparently the views into Glencoe are stunning but it was hard to see much through the spray from the riders in front! Stats: 68 miles, Ave Spd 14.2mph, Total Ascent 1100m.

Day 10 - Rest Day

Today was an enforced rest day owing to strong winds over the high ground we would have been riding. It is still raining but weather forecast to improve. Today has given us a useful opportunity to maintain our bikes, collect spares, do washing etc. Most of us had a quick spin on the gym bikes to keep our legs ticking over. The plan has just been finalised and we'll be sticking to the original planned distances meaning we'll be finishing on Saturday 17 th, to travel back home on the Sunday.