Day 11 done: Stirling to Glencoe

After yesterdays relatively short cycle we knew that we had a tough days cycling ahead of us. When the shop assistant at the Stirling cycle shop said "expect a few hills" you know he's not kidding. After a quick breakfast we were on the road at 8 am passing by Stirling Castle and King's Knott on the way out of the city. Both Dicky and myself were hoping that the blog would write itself this evening if Ace's optimism backfired. He mentioned that today would be an easy one to navigate and confidently packed the maps away saying he would not need to refer to them again today!

We were all eager to test ride our new cold weather kit purchased in Stirling. Dicky's new Fame-esque knee and arm warmers have resulted in him looking more camp than Mr Motivator from GMTV. I was looking forward to the extra protection the cycling waistcoat will provide on the steep declines; albeit concerned that my Scottish themed design might get me in trouble when cycling back in London.

The morning's climbs were a series of long pulls (for all your cycling buffs) that, whilst not lung busting, were testing some tired legs and keeping the speed a lot less than on previous  days. I was regretting my decision of a light breakfast and definitely found this the toughest morning. Apart from the spectacular scenes you could tell that we might be getting a bit bored of the whole cycling thing.

Our main interlude that broke up the morning was meeting Mark Osborne whilst on the road. He quickly put our challenge into perspective. Mark had just returned from Turkey after getting shunted by a car 3000 miles into his round the world cycle attempt (you can follow Mark's adventure on  http://mskworldcyclingtour.co.uk/). Only 7 weeks after breaking his fibia he is back on his bike and road testing his leg before starting again. The comedy sight of him using one of his water bottle holders to store his two pints of milk was something to behold, as was the amount of gear he had on his pannier racks for camping wild in the forests.

After our frequent but short refuel stops during the morning, including the 11am one where we interrupted Mike's power nap, we begun to climb through the mountain ranges that were looming on the horizon all morning. Quite simply, it was the most picturesque day of cycling that any of us have done to date. We passed a succession of streams, lochs, waterfalls and bogs that even my bad joke about lochs being quite similar to lakes couldn't spoil. The only concerning point was the dark clouds forming in the direction we were cycling and the fact that visibility was beginning to shorten.

Embarrassed by his 'East is West' debacle yesterday, Dicky treated us all to a master class on geographical terms throughout the afternoon. U-shaped valleys, terminal morraines and interlocking spurs were all reportedly spotted on our route. Both Ace and myself are hoping that we score top marks in our homework tonight. 

Similarly, both Ace and Dicky stepped up their campaigns to replace me as the Poet Laureate of the tour. Dicky's limerick "20 more miles of sorrow, 20 more miles on this old bike, I hope I get there tomorrow" was something to behold. You could also hear Burns turning in his grave over some of Ace's attempts. His most memorable being "you have to remember the site, sound and smell of this view" when riding along a particularly stunning Loch. That being said it is a shame that Valentine's day is still six months away as our better half could have been reading some impressive stanzas in the cards if it was soon...

With the clouds overhead we were treated to our first taste of Highlands weather as the heavens opened and continued for the remainder of our journey into Glencoe. Our final long pull of the day was ended by the welcome sight of a roadside cafe selling hot milky tea and Bike Mike's tuck shop open for business. The views and the calories were slightly tarnished by the coach load of Germans and a lone bagpiper. Although I seemed to be in the minority about my dislike of the bagpipes we all agreed about the coach load of German tourists. 

After 60 miles of climbing we were treated by 20 miles of flats and descents into Glencoe, which must rank as one of the most beautiful yet intimidating retreats. The village is located within a recess of two crossing ranges such that we have views of mountain tops and waterfalls from our rooms. It also seems to indicate that we might have a bit of a climb first thing tomorrow as well.

When we arrived at the accommodation we were all pleased to be faced with a log cabin resort that must thrive during the skiing season. Both Dicky and I were a bit glum faced that Ace's optimism regarding the navigation was realised. Boys being boys we resisted providing Ace with any credit and used the fact that there were only three roads to turn it on it's head. 

On retiring to the rooms to complete our post-game routines, Big Mike was caught having a lie down before the evening to recover from his tiring day at the wheel. His defence that the early start, tescos shop and the fresh air had hit him hard was met by deaf ears from the Defence's bench.

Once again Mrs Richards has done an excellent job with the choice of digs and we are eager to see what she can pull out of the bag in the one hotel villages of Beauly and Altnaharra. Will she be able to follow Annika Rice's example in building some new accommodation before we arrive?

We managed a bar crawl in the evening as they have two, I repeat two, bars. This fact made some of the one pub hamlets we have been staying at seem non-existent. We have also consumed our first portions of Haggis so all is good with the world. Ace might regret rooming with me after my Stornoway Black Pudding for starter and Haggis, Neeps 'n' Tatties for main. It might be a blustery night in Glencoe...

Tomorrow we head to Beauly. The receptionist warned "there's a lot of big hills that way" once you get north of Inverness so we all know what to expect...

Stats

Mile: 79
Miles total: 808
Miles to go: 215
Counties crossed: 2 including crossing into the Highlands indicating another major milestone reached. 
Strangest place to receive a promotion: Dicky by Loch Lubnaig

Richard Finn appreciation trophy: Flying Scotsman 8/10, Glencoe Stout 6/10, Nectar 7/10 and Red Culiin 8/10. The Flying Scotsman was taken through on the opinion of the expert witness, Big Mike, due to the tie.

We have begun a Big Mike Whiskey Trophy in honour of his support crew assistance. Scores will follow...