LEJOG Day 11 – Tuesday 4th June

After the slightly negative end to the day yesterday, we got back on the bikes early and headed to the exact spot of the puncture to continue our ride from there. After some choice words for the bump in the path Harry ran into, we finished what should have been yesterdays ride and cracked on.

We went up a cycle path along Loch Lomond for most of the way up to Cranlarich. Unfortunately there was some more rain about and we got drenched a couple of times, but in between there were some wonderful views of the loch.

We passed through Cranlarich and then Tyndrum and onto Bridge of Orchy where we met Tina for lunch in the van (cafe on wheels). En route there were some breathtaking views.

When we met Tina, we’d just been through another heavy shower and were absolutely soaked through (and freezing)! Thankfully, Tina had our dry robes in the car which came in very handy to warm us up.

We knew the weather was closing in, so we didn’t stop for long and got back on the road. We had just under 40k to go through the highlands and down into Glencoe.

The weather was turning but there was some more stunning scenery in the intervals.

Shortly after pulling over to wait for the next hail storm to pass (!), we were at the highest point in the ride with 20km to go, all of which was downhill!

However, it was at this point the weather really turned as the wind picked up and rain/hail continued to bucket down on us (which really hurt to cycle in!). We have no idea how strong the wind was (from looking at the forecast we think about 60kmph gusts!) but it was almost stopping us despite going downhill! We battled it for 10km before some cracks of thunder and another torrential downpour and we decided it was no longer safe to continue. Thankfully, Tina came and picked us up in Boris and took us down to the campsite where we are staying.

After the great British weather we have experienced for the past 11 days, and with the outlook not looking particularly optimistic for the next two days.. the mood in the camp is not good this evening.

Fingers crossed for some more positive news in the morning….

Summary:

Distance cycled: 106km

Elevation climbed: 876m

Time pedalling: 5h 56mins

Highlight of the day: The scenery

Lowlight of the day: The awful weather

County count: 17 (Inverness-shire added to the list)