OK blog-following friends, it is time once again for June to post a double day's blog without sacrificing an entire night's sleep, so that can mean only one thing - it's photo essay time! Enjoy Peter' great pictures.
Sunday to Ardnamurchen Lighhouse with shuttle back, 35 miles and 3,060 feet of climbing!
Two views from the front door of the Strontian Inn, our home for 2 nights. Today would be the last bike leg for the 8-day group and it dawned sunny and dry. What a great start!
As Peter and I biked away we saw a gathering of young riders and their ponies. I found out there was a pony club show all day right across the street and I missed all of it! Just not enough hours in the day to get it all in.
Our single-track road to the lighthouse, no wider than a MN bike trail. It takes quite a bit of awareness to figure out the passing protocol. Thank god I'm fully adapted to right-eye rear view mirrors!
One of so many gorgeous views on this hilly ride - almost no flat stretches whatsoever! The ExPlus guides consider this one of the toughest ride days in the trip, but very worth it.
In the tradition of Experience Plus! Tours, we are all asked to find a person who enhances our travel experience, and in turn we give them an ExPlus bike hat in thanks. Hugh was my guy - he came up the road in his Wellies and started to browse the bushes behind us. I thought he was berry picking, but in truth he was an amateur naturalist looking for "slow worms" in the brush. Now it is up to you all to Google "slow worm Scotland" and find out for yourself what they are all about! A delightful encounter. I never saw a slow worm that day but did return to the same spot Monday and saw one!
None of my blogs are truly complete without a picture - or two or three - of sheep and hairy coos!
These are the coolest beasties ever. I'd like to get one for Bjorne :)
After lunch the scenery continued to be sublime, but clouds were gathering...
The little white spec to the left is A HOUSE! The glens were staggeringly beautiful and immense.
At this juncture we were hit with torrential rain that created rivers on the roadway, and immense waterfalls appeared everywhere! We got soggy, but with so much climbing we stayed warm.
Once the rain abated I was able to stop and visit with a local. No hat, but he and his pony friend got all my stash of sugar lumps!
This gives you an idea of what a Highlands traffic jam looks like.
We stopped to visit with a lovely lady training her 9-month-old Border Collie named Ruby to sheep. It was impressive to watch.
Made it to the lighthouse! Thank god they didn't have to sound the horn when I was in the line of fire.
Roy looks down from the top of the lighhouse, 152 steps up. It is still fully functional.
Quite a sight! The lighthouse is the only "Egyptian Style" of its kind, designed by Alan Stevenson, uncle of the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson. It was built in 1849 and is 36 meters high.
Peter strikes a lighthouse-worthy pose as he scans the Atlantic Ocean - we are at the most westerly point in the entire U.K. mainland!
The intrepid bikers celebrate their achievements over a long week of challenging Scottish terrain.
Our guides are the BEST! From left Rick, Lucy and Craig, the Scottish flag and celebratory whisky.
Michael showed us the resulting topo of the ride - over 3,000 feet of climbing in the 35 mile trip. We did return by shuttle bus to the Strontian Hotel to have our farewell dinner for the departing 4 riders and guide Rick. The blog would have to wait - we were given a very extensive quiz of all things both Scottish and about out group members, and our three teams duked it our with the winners being Danielle, Joy, Suzanne and June (aka "Team Fuzzy Unicorn") - the gals prevailed!
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Monday, Strontian to Armandale - The Isle of Skye
Well, the weather pattern has held true - if you start the day with fair weather you will eventually see rain in the afternoon, and conversely, if you start with rain you will eventually see fair weather. It is all mind over matter when the rain begins.
A very different sky view from the front of the Strontian Inn on Monday morning - drizzly stuff.
We sadly bid farewell to Suzanne, Michael, Brad, Roy and guide Rick as they headed back east to Edinburgh. The group of 8 remaining were a bit somber, a combination of the goodbyes, the rain, and the 50-mile ride to Mallaig and the ferry to Skye.
Rain means far fewer pictures but this church graveyard and WWI memorial arch were too interesting to pass by.
Water, water everywhere. The rains create stunning waterfalls all through the route, and they run hard and fast.
At times the ride was a bit of a slog due to the chilly temps and rain, but I was always cheered by the sight of sheep ranging the roadsides! Really appreciating my Showers Pass rain gear.
Peter gave his ExPlus hat to a Swiss bike tourist who was gritting out the climbs - she did not have a good bike, proper shoes or clothing, but she had a smile on her face anyway! Tough gal! We admired her grit.
Peter and I finally made it to our lunch stop in Arisaig around 1:30 pm with 40 miles of hilly stuff done. We had bowls of Cullen Skink - aka haddock chowder - and that set us totally right with the world. We came out of lunch to bright sunshine and clearing skies - AND a tailwind!
Post-lunch, ultra cute calf with mom - very new calf. They both had the exact same markings!
Lots of sea birds along the way - this brown gull was posing in Mallaig as we waited for our 4:30 ferry.
Our trusty ExPlus van and bikes on trailer expertly driven on the ferry by guide Lucy.
The views from the ferry were amazing! Skye here we come.
And finally the view of Armadale beachfront from the window of our room at the Ardvasar Hotel:
Hoping to have a watercolor from Peter to show you for the next post!
Good night and thanks for following along!
