Golspie




Golspie

Originally uploaded by Andrew Birkett

View out of bnb window in Golspie. Today was flat and fast. Gradual inclines up followed by long gentle slopes down. The Black Isle in particular appears to be pretty much symmetric in this regard. I followed the NCN out of Inverness. Some of it runs alongside the A9, which is a dual carriageway at that point, but some of it is on quiet lanes. After a few miles, the cycle route heads off west towards Dingwall so I continued on the main A9 which was suprisingly good for cycling – lots of space, good visibility and fairly gentle ups and downs. A fine drizzle and overcast skies were the only downside. Despite not leaving until 10am (busy discussing hub gears with bnb owner!) I was making good progress so decided to aim for lunch in Tain, which was maybe 35 miles away. I got there at1245, even after some food shopping, so I must’ve been fairly whizzing along.
A toastie and hot roll was all I could find for lunch in Tain, but was very tasty.
With only 16 miles left for the afternoon, I lowered the pace to save my legs for tomorrow’s 72 mile hilly finale. It was much colder, with the drizzle turning into mist on the higher ground after Evelix. Still, it was nice to have a short fast day and to get in early.
On the last few miles before Golspie, I startled a walker by shouting hi, and then later met his walking partner, Andrew, waiting for him in a bus stop on the edge of Golspie. Turns out, they started their LEJOG journey in March! They still have 4 days to go, and it’ll take them 66 days in total! Wow!