clairedavieswriter

Afternoon naps, good food, and lungfuls of sea air – nourishment for body and soul. Having clocked up 1,029 miles yesterday, this has been the perfect break before I embark on the last 155 miles of my journey. Thanks again, Sarah and Alan, and I can’t wait to see your house when it’s finished.

It had to be done. No, not for breakfast – I’m not a monster. This was last night’s supper at the neat and homely Glenan Lodge – luckily veggie haggis was available. Though to be honest, having endured the Slochd Pass squall I’d have settled for hot food of any kind, and I was mighty…

After a cosy evening by the fire, I woke refreshed and looking forward to pedalling on through the Highlands. Hopefully yesterday’s bonk was a one-off (if that sounds like an unduly personal non sequitur, you need to read yesterday’s entry). My self-catering breakfast was a banana and two portions of Oat So Simple, purchased in…

What a difference a day makes. If someone had told me this morning that I’d be singing to myself as I pedalled happily up the Pass of Drumochter this afternoon, I wouldn’t have believed them. Full disclosure: this morning I felt terrible – exhausted, crashing headache, fighting a cold. I didn’t know how I was…

It was a beautiful morning – mist cloaked the lower slopes of Ben Ledi, directly behind my hosts’ house – but another few degrees cooler. Time for the padded gilet and winter gloves. The knees braved the chill again: we’ll see how long that lasts. I started the day riding north with the sun on…

After the rather torrid journey into Glasgow, I wasn’t much looking forward to the journey out. I needn’t have worried: it turns out there are cycle paths after all, provided you don’t want to ride through the city centre. Through the slit masquerading as my bedroom window, I was pleasantly surprised to see blue sky,…

Overnight I learned that, just like the window and the WiFi, a full-size duvet does not come as standard in this all-expense-spared accommodation. It’s hard to imagine the procurement process: “Yes, that’s right – we’d like to order 200 duvets that are a foot shorter than usual.” I suspect only the most petite guests come…

Due to a particularly dreich weather forecast, our expectations for today were low, but the heavy rain never materialised and after a grey start… … we rode for much of the time under blue skies with warm sun on our backs. The wind swung in our favour and positively blew us north, so despite the…

There’s been an element of Schrödinger’s cat about my approach to this bike ride, because I’ve always held two entirely incompatible thoughts in my head at the same time: first, that I would do it, and second that I couldn’t possibly. The latter has prompted many ‘I can’t believe I’m here’ moments, none more so…

If yesterday was all about the views, today was all about the wind, the low cloud and the ‘not very nice out’ (cf ‘Day 5: cyclists’ terms for rain). Happily, today also featured excellent coffee and pastries – c/o Saddlebacks, a converted horse box (geddit?) on Langwathby village green. It had been recommended to us…