Journal Part 9 & 10
Saturday 8th August 09
When waking up this morning in the B&B, it still felt good to have reached Scotland in one piece. The weather was gorgeous again, and there was a bit less traffic. The Dyke Cross Farm B&B was brilliant, it was like going home, after all the sparse youth hostels. The owner was the Scottish version of my mum. The rooms were lovely and the food was great. We were sorry to leave. We had quite a short cycle today of 49 miles, round the west side of Glasgow and up to Loch Lomond. Because of this shortened route, we had a more leisurely breakfast and left around 9.00am, quite a late start so far for us.
We reached Loch Lomond hostel around 4.00pm. It was a fabulous castle of a building and rather grand, although as usual the bedrooms were basic and not the most comfortable place to sleep. Ah well, we had a great dinner of Lamb Tagine and were entertained by some you German tourists. A great night and because we finished the journey so early we felt like we had a mini holiday.
We also found out this evening that we were mentioned on Radio Orkney yesterday, our celebrity status is rocketing skywards!
Cycling through Strathaven, and the edge of Glasgow was straight forward, and while heading towards Erskine, we met a young chap in his 70's, called Dave. He was born and bread in Erskine, and was out cycling for the afternoon. He told us some great yarns about the war, and incidents that occurred in Erskine. The three of us then cycled together for about 3 miles, before we left Dave at the Erskine Bridge.
Like the Seven Bridge, whilst stood on the Erskine bridge, you can feel the ground move beneath your feet, when the traffic pass.
This bridge also had a footpath and cycle lane, although there were plenty of stones on both.
Sunday 9th August 09
After enjoying another good breakfast, we headed for Glencoe. Malcolm was only 6 miles into today's journey and got another puncture. as expected the views were fantastic. The hills were very few and far between, and this made the day even more enjoyable.
We made it up to the top of the Glen Coe road and had a cheeseburger and it felt glad to be alive. Fabulous views and a scorching hot day. The weather brought out the tourists though and the roads were busy today. It feels we're nearly there with only Inverness, Helmsdale and then John O' Groats and then a beer!!!! Or perhaps a physiotherapist! My knees are feeling the strain now. I asked a pharmacist for advice on what to take for my knee. She said I needed to rest it, but since that wasn't possible all she could offer was anti-inflammatory and a knee support. Hope it holds together for the rest of the trip. It feels like the journey has gone really quickly and it has been great fun so far.
We arrived at Glencoe just after 5pm and 65 miles later. At this hostel we just met a chap in his 70's who was doing the Isle of Wight to Isle of Skye bike ride. It's good to know I can fit in a few more adventures in before my retirement. Mount Kilimanjaro anyone, or even cycling the length of the Rhine?
