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!

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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!

Wednesday 7/30 and Thursday 7/31 - the EPIC climb over the Lecht Pass and onward to Newtonmore (and more climbing)

Well, the best graphic to start this blog would be the "day sheet" topographical profile of the ride we did today (Wed. 7/30). We get day sheets the night before each new bike day so we can either have sweet dreams, or perhaps nightmares:

We started to see more of the type of weather we expected in Scotland all along - windy, overcast and cool with the occasional spit of rain.  After stoking up on Scottish porridge and eggs we left the Glen Lui hotel at 9:30 AM and started a day that would eventually accrue over 2,900 feet of climbing in only 24 miles.

June in room window 

We had a great view

Peter was able to squeeze in a big of sketching time yesterday as well:

Ballater church turned B & B

For those of you who saw yesterday's "down, down, down and down" photo series, we started by climbing "up, up, up and up" the same route! We then turned northward away from yesterday's path and over a very picturesque stone bridge to start climb #1.

I'm the dot near the middle of the bridge

Bridge in context with where we were headed - UP

There were a few very steep but reasonably short climbs to start. I was glad to find I could pretty well judge when to call upon my very lowest gear - fondly known as "One One" - and save it for the grades approaching 15-20%. The wind was pretty helpful at this stage, and blew off the back of our left shoulder, acting a more a help than a hindrance. We could feel it getting stronger and stronger as the day progressed.

We were feeling cautiously optimistic about round 2 of climbing and stopped in a lovely tea shop around mile 12 for power scones and coffee. Word came down from our lead guide chalking the route that a truck hauling a huge load of water had become stuck trying to surmount the steepest grade (20+ %) which was navigable by bike but not by any cars, and they were backing up for quite a ways.  By the time we had finished our snack it seemed reasonable that we could make it through.

In the 2 or so miles from the tea shop to the massive start of climbing at Cock Bridge we experienced howling winds, wind-driven rain and temperatures that dropped at least 15 degrees in a matter of minutes!  We dug out rain gear and changed, only to have to take it off again before the big climb so as not to overheat.

Here is an inadequate view of what we tackled after Corgaff Castle (white castle in foreground) taken off a postcard, as it was raining sideways:

I apologize for the lack of photos from this point to the top - it was all we could do to stay upright and moving, and at one point between the crosswinds and the steep grade I peeked down to see that I was traveling at a blazing 3.6 MPH. No joke.

But make it to the very top we did, without a step of walking the bikes. Woo-Hoo! We were pretty proud of ourselves. The top has a ski area and chairlifts everywhere! We stopped for another snack and to regroup for the 7-mile downhill trip into Tomintoul - we put on lots of layers to stay warm.

The windmill is a good expression of height and copious wind!

Ski lifts and snow fence - aka at the top?

We were warned to be careful of sheep on the way down, as they can cross the road quickly and unexpectedly at any moment.  The warning was not unfounded and the sign was correct, except it should have said at least for 5 miles!

Truth in advertising - there are sheep!

The downhill would have been indescribable save for the continuing crosswinds which scrubbed our speed, which was likely a good thing for our safety.  At times we were having to pedal on the descent and were only going 10 MPH!  But the terrain and scenery were unmatched.

June and cottage - I'm the yellow dot.

We also entered serious Whisky Country - this road sign gives you an idea:

We arrived at the Richmond Arms hotel in Tomintoul, feeling very accomplished. Just to give you a bit of insight to the work of our fabulous guides, here is a shot from our window - as we cleaned up and rested they cleaned and lubed our bikes and put them away for us, and our luggage was in our rooms.  Awesome.

Peter was able to squeeze a bit more sketching time in a lieu of a nap - he is sketching our hotel:

The sketcher

The sketch

At 4:30 PM we gathered to have a singularly fantastic experience learning more about the "secret life of whisky" from proprietor Mike Drury at the Whisky Castle.  We sampled at least 6 different whiskys to learn about the effects of casks, aging and the evils of shortcutting the process done by huge corporate manufacturers, and were entertained to no end by Mike's wonderful banter.

Jamie, Jeff and Danielle contemplating whisky

So many choices!

No whisky for me, but I did get a "hairy coo"!

Great whisky label with dog Laddie - I met him at the shop!

All this fun was followed by a lovely dinner across the street at the Clock Tower restaurant.  We all greatly enjoyed our food, and we earned it!

Guide Rick, Jeff, Danielle, Guide Lucy and June

Guide Craig - our Scotsman

We loved Tomintoul's vibe and village architecture and wished we had more time here - that happens on every trip!

Time to get some rest before the next big climbing adventure tomorrow - we saw tomorrow's profile! While my writing might border on the overly dramatic, we are loving the biking and find the landscape literally and figuratively breathtaking - and we are so grateful to be here!

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Thursday morning was grey and ominous but no rain was falling as we departed the Richmond Arms. The day's ride was glorious even with some periods of rain - but no sideways wind! 

Total mileage was 46.5 and 2,000 feet of climbing. 

As pictures are worth so much more than words, and I'm so ready to go to bed, I will make this installment a picture essay - enjoy!

The glorious vistas of the Scottish Highlands.

We had more climbing to do, but nothing like yesterday and we all fared well. 

We could see the rain coming, and were ready with our trusty Showers Pass rain gear.

Even with the rain, biking through the Caledonian pine forests was incredible.

Peter and group enjoy a sheltered picnic lunch hosted by our guides at the 27 mile mark. The food was glorious - venison burgers and sausage with all kinds of trimmings and salads. But the true stars were the fudgy brownies - a universal opinion!

The picnic was so elegantly set up. We really enjoyed the break.

Before riding on I had to visit the Highland ponies. This grey mare was as sweet and docile as can be.

We took a wee detour to visit the superbly scenic Loch an Eilean, one of the most scenic lakes in all of the Highlands.

Our happy cycling group at the lake - from left Brad, Jamie, Michael, Suzanne, Roy, Joy, Peter and moi - we were missing Jeff and Danielle who had already seen the lake and were forging ahead - the benefits of chalk arrow navigating!

This wonderful castle ruin sits just outside of Newtonmore, our destination for the day.

June's idea of a total home run - biking, horses and Scottish castle ruins all in one picture!

Yet another sweet and wonderful grey mare. The horses are so social here!

We arrived at our accomodations at the Craigerne Hotel, cleaned up and enjoyed a thoroughly charming presentation by local Rob Ritchie on the history of shinty, an ancient stick and ball game that is a fusion of field hockey and hurling, and appears to be not for the faint of heart! I was totally enchanted by the weaving of stories and history. Newtonmore is the shinty epicenter of the world and the Scottish Highlands.

Our completely charming shinty guest lecturer Rob! Such fun.

We had dinner as a group in town and are so impressed with the quality and presentation of meals. Our service was also fabulous. At the end of the meal we started swapping travel stories and laughed long and loudly, pretty much clearing out the restaurant :)) All I can say is the best was saved for last, with Jeff telling of his "ladies bathing suit" adventure - you will have to ask him about it! 

We saw tomorrow's topo - flat with an ending downhill as we cross the Highlands watershed. 39 miles of glorious riding ahead!