Nessie….the elusive monster!

I got off to a nice early start and Henri would head for Peebles via Glasgow today. The plan was for Henri to join me at the DWCup but he was not up early enough so I headed off on my own.

I stopped off at the course and went looking for a good vantage point but very soon it was raining a lot and I decided to head off. So after having gone halfway up the hill to find a good vantage spot I decided to head for Inverness and of course try and spot the Loch Ness monster en route. This ride turned out to be another great one once I got off the A82 main road. 

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Top of the Grampians.

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The wind must be very strong up here because I saw many uprooted trees and liked this one in particular with all the roots exposed and the hole created already filled with water.

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I rode the towpaths all the way to Fort Augustus. After enjoying my packed lunch and a hot coffee I followed the Great Glen way over the Grampian mountains. As usual you leave town  straight onto a climb and this was a proper climb ascending from 52 meters above sea level and topping at 2250 meters in 10 miles. I soon realised that my 35kg bike and luggage was far too heavy for this kind of a hill, and the big climbs in France still lie ahead. This was enough to motivate me to climb from bottom to top without stopping, even if it was the last thing I was going to do well and the TdF climbs of course. By the time I got to the top of the climb I needed an oxygen mask. I also realised that I would be ready to attempt Alp du Hez by the time I get there!!

Riding along the lochs was a new experience and I got several friendly greetings from the boats travelling up and down the canals. Saw a really nice yacht with American voices speaking to the loch keeper.

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All too soon I was in Inverness and had not spotted Nessie so one of the locals suggested I should have a “wee dram” and this may help. Not being much of a drinker I soon saw a flying pink elephant and asked if that qualified as spotting Nessie. I did then need a little lie down to rest the eyes from the intense look out………

Who knows what tomorrow will deliver in Inverness. By the way a pic of my bike will be on zenbike.co.uk and the same gent suggested I visit a local bike shop namely Velocity Cafe. So that is one thing on the agenda for tomorrow…

Eugene on a bike somewhere in the world