Wednesday 7th August dawned, the 12th stage of our pilgrimage north. What can we say about today’s cycling? Something along these lines, in fact I think I did actually say this at the time; “I like a laugh and a joke but a Pantomime in August is a bit much”. Another comment I do remember saying was, “well this is a whole crock of shit”. The reason for such an assessment was that periodically during the day, the heavens opened and it pissed down with rain; not at all enjoyable. On our journey, we had gone from one extreme in the South, sweltering heat, to wet and cold in the North. Ah well, that’s long distance cycling for you, in the UK.
On the way out of Glencoe there was a bit of a cycle path starting at Ballachulish and ending at North Ballachulish which was, at best, indifferent and then we got on the A82 to Fort William. A road with wonderful views across Loch Eil. By now the rain had eased and we could see across the loch. It was flat and easy to ride but narrow and with all the dangers of coaches and lorries heading for Fort William. Once in Fort William the rain started up again. We pressed on, turning off the A830 which took us out of Fort William and we headed up some minor roads and the climbing started, but nothing compared with what lay ahead.
Fifty miles of cycling brought us to another fort, this time Fort Augustus, via Laggan Locks, where we caught sight of The Caledonian Canal. This is a wonderful example of 19th Century engineering, designed by Thomas Telford. Now the fun began. Just outside Fort Augustus lies the start of General Wade’s Military Road. I’m not sure if the good General had time on his hands and needed to keep his troops employed, hence he employed them as road builders, what I am sure of is that he chose a bloody silly way to get to Inverness. There is a flat route along the banks of Loch Ness. Perhaps there was no road that way in his day, or perhaps he studied Roman road building, i.e., go in a straight line no matter what you have to go over. We, like him, chose the silly route.
Let me tell you some more things about General Wade’s Military Road. It is the longest single climb on LEJOG, around five miles and parts of it have a gradient of 15%. It is therefore quite demanding at the best of times. These were not the best of times, for about half way up the ascent the heavens opened to such an extent that it was hard to see exactly where you were going. The first LEJOG I had to walk up the steepest parts of the climb. The second LEJOG, I actually managed to make it all the way up without dismounting. This was in part achieved by zig-zagging across the road to reduce the gradient of the steepest sections, whilst keeping an ear open for cars. This time, aided by my trusty Ribble, I managed to get up the climb in second, but nearly knackered the battery on my bike in the process.
At the top of the climb we stopped to eat and fuel up for the last part of the day which involved a steep descent, in wet conditions, through Whitebridge and then a gentle climb up and beyond Torness. Another steep descent followed through Dorres and then some lumpy riding which brought us to the outskirts of Inverness.
At eighty-three miles, it was a long and hard day’s riding without the complication of the rain. The upside was that Scott managed a whole day’s cycling without recourse to a cycle repair shop. Ollie’s repair work from the previous evening held. In the latter part of the ride the heavy rain had brought down a considerable amount of mud and stones onto the road which made for rather dangerous conditions. All in all, we were very glad to make it to the Youth Hostel in Inverness. Ollie worked his magic once more on the very dirty bikes and Julia and Mary cooked up dirty rice (tastier than it sounds!), followed by fruit tarts with custard. After a hot shower and a good meal, I started to feel human again. What, I wonder, will tomorrow, the penultimate day’s riding, bring? Not more of the same, I hope. We had been sorely tested but not been found wanting. “Anyone seen the weather forecast?”
Ezekiel's Wheels 