Thursday 31 March 2011

Fort William to Ardlui






Wednesday 30th March 2011


58.93 Miles 5hr 24mins 10.91mph Average Speed 245.55 Total Miles


We fuelled up with a cooked breakfast then left at 9am continuing on the A82 South alongside the shore of Loch Linnhe. It was still grey and with the weather forecasting rain all day we set off with waterproofs already on. The first 15 miles was flat and very picturesque. We made good time and stopped in Glencoe for a cuppa tea and homemade scone. We sat in almost silence as there was a definite feeling of the calm before the storm!


We set off in the rain and headwind and began climbing gradually up into the Glencoe mountain range with the three sisters towering above us in the clouds. The road turned steep and snake like as we fought our way through the conditions up and up. The views were breathtaking, literally! With nowhere to stop to take a break from the rain and wind we were forced to plod on as it was too cold to stand still.


All our clothes were soaked on the outside from the rain and soaked on the inside from the sweat. Dad could not see with his glasses on or with them off! We took a short break on the top of the first hill at 1,000ft. We put another layer of clothes on and warmer gloves for a short dismount before climbing again up to the summit at 1,142ft! At his point we were sitting in the rain clouds with a great view of the three ugly sisters! From here we had a fantastic down hill but it just meant no pedalling which meant we froze!


The downhill lasted for a good 10miles into the next town of Bridge of Orchy where we had done a total of 40 miles and it was a sight for sore bums! We piled into the bar and stripped off changing into dry clothes and standing under the hand dryer in the loo for a good half an hour! We had lunch here and stayed until we were warm and feeling revived. We were thrown out when dad started snoring in the restaurant!


The weather actually cleared for a bit as we set off and climbed the final hill of the day up to 1,000ft. The line on our map looks as though it is a vertical climb but we were pleasantly surprised to find that the road was a gradual climb. With a downhill pretty much for 15 miles we rolled into Ardlui at the tip of Loch Lomond in the rain again. We arrived at the Hotel Sam had booked which was so nice and warm! We even had a bath to relax the muscles before meeting in the bar for a delicious dinner.

1 comment:

  1. Hey guys,

    You're doing so well. I'm loving reading the blog every day. In sympathy with you guys I rode in to work from Gravesend this week (once!), although my sympathy is all used up now though!
    Best of luck with the next few days

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