Friday 8/1 and Saturday 8/2 - Newtonmore to Spean Bridge (39 mi) and Spean Bridge to Strontian (38 mi.)

The last two days of biking have been bookended by rain - on Friday morning we left our lodgings at Newtonmore as the rain fell steadily and the clouds felt almost near enough to touch.

The group pulls out the heavy artillery - it is a rainy start!

Our rain gear, purchased in 2009 for our England trip, is finally christened in Scotland!

The upside of rain in Scotland is the amazing transformation of the landscape - every turn and vista has an air of mystery and great beauty.

The skies began to clear in the afternoon, just after a lovely lunch (indoor this time!) at Tulloch Train Station, where a sleeper train to London leaves there each evening - it was so small you'd never believe any train came through, but it is quite busy! It also functions as a youth hostel.

Riding weather improved every mile. We were anxious to see the red deer that populate the area, so much so that road signs warn cars. (We finally saw two later in the day, deep in the woods.)

Red deer - where are they?

We also stopped to view the Laggan Dam, which was in a very low water mode.  Apparently rainfall in the Highlands, while copious, is greatly affect by a few weeks of fair weather.

Peter at dam - almost no water on the outflow side.

Dam topo -the brightly rubbed spot to the right side is Ben Nevis mountain

Our last few miles into Spean Bridge were met by fair weather - we stopped at the WWII Commando Memorial and Peter, dressed the part, posed for a picture:

Peter at WWII memorial.

The memorial is sited on a high point with amazing vistas, including views of the famous Ben Nevin peak (4,000 feet) - the peaks still have snow on them in August!

Our trusty steeds patiently wait for us.

We arrived at the Pines Hotel and after enjoying a clean-up and an ale, we were treated to a wonderful "private concert" by Sandy, an internationally competitive bagpipe player who is also very steeped in Scottish history.

The happy group poses with Sandy before he was off to a gig in Fort William.

The views from the Pines Hotel were glorious, and due to the clearing weather we were able to see Ben Nevis again at sunset.

The guides continue to do an awesome job caring for us and our bikes - here is a view of the bikes all cleaned at put to bed Friday night:

The food was again spectacular at the hotel and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting with guide Craig and fellow travelers Jamie and Joy (the Colorado couple). We've heard the the good weather will hold for at least a while tomorrow, so we are hoping for the best and carrying our rain gear along!

*******

Saturday's start was very hopeful - partly cloudy and little wind, and that wind was behind us. Before leaving the lovely Pines Hotel, I had to take a picture of the inhabitants behind the hotel that belonged to the proprietors:

True - not a one of them was happy with me taking their picture!

Our first leg of the journey was to Fort Williams, a bustling small city that is the capital of the West Highlands. We enjoyed the beautiful route that paralleled the Caledonian Canal (which connects 4 lakes to form a 60-mile waterway that connects the Atlantic to the North Sea):

Note Peter did not have rain gear on - yet.

There were wonderful vistas at every turn - a hallmark of ExPlus' incredible route planning:

Ben Nevis (again) with clear snow fields

Hairy coo!!!!

An unusual juxtaposition of sheep and rocky lakeshore

We had a short visit at the gorgeous ruins of Inverlochy Castle, a 13th century fortress that was once one of the most important in Scotland:

It is a real "fixer-upper"

We arrived in Fort William and met the ExPlus van at the waterside - the plan was to spent a bit of time shopping and hanging out until our noon ferry ride across Loch Linnhe and onwards to Strontian. After souvenirs were purchased, the guides loaded up our bikes on the little ferry and away we went for a 20-minute ride across the loch.

Bikes are on board, people are next!

Loch Linnhe through the prism of a bicycle wheel.

The weather was rapidly turning wet and windy as we finished lunch, so everyone donned their rain gear and headed out along the Ardnamurchan Peninsula towards Strontian, another 25 miles away on wonderful single lane roads that were often less wide than our Minnesota bike trails!

There was rain - lots of rain. And some more climbing. BUT - there was also a ferocious tailwind that lifted us (almost literally) up the 3 miles of hill over Glen Sanda and into Strontian.

For those of you who are thinking Strontian is a familiar name, it is actually the site where the element Strontium was discovered and mined from 1790 to 1930! So you are not going crazy.

Tomorrow we take a fabulous ride out to Ardnamurchen Point and the lighthouse, and bid a sad farewell ride to four of our bike clan and guide Rick who will be heading back to Edinburgh. At least we have another 36 hours as the clan of 13!