Generally speaking I try and keep things pretty light and
cheery. Focus on the happy, and step
past the rest. Most days that isn’t too
hard to do.
Today I was off to an early start as I was the only one who
came down to the van ready to roll. So I
pushed off. It had been raining earlier but that had cleared off and the head
wind had died down somewhat. When I came
to the main intersection in Bonar Bridge the course veered off to the left most
unexpected, as the main road and there is only one road to Bettyhill was
straight ahead. Well the course is the
course and off I went. About 6 miles
(10kms) down the road the course veered again down a path through the
forest. WHAT? So I followed it about a 100 yards and it
just got worse. Nobody had been down here for years so I turned back to the
road. I could see where I should be but
that was the other side of the river. I
talked to a fellow on a mountain bike and he said there was a bridge about 20
minutes down the road. The road is
clearly heading off to the west not north. I don’t have any larger maps and it is kind of
hard to see what is happening on a 1 inch screen. About
45 minutes later there is no bridge and finally cell service. Of course no one can tell me where I am as I
don’t know. So my only choose is to ride
back to where I started. My frustration
level is well into the red. Thankfully
Agnes came back with the van and got me.
We drove up the road to where Jos and Patrick were. Turns out I needed
to go 200 yards down the track where you climbed down 3 sets of stairs and
crossed the river on a railway bridge and down another set of stairs to the
main road.
The wind is just howling out of the north and the
temperature is only 55 F (13C). Patrick
has had enough and loads his bike with mine on the van. Jos wants to do his EFI and rides on.
Along the way I want to take a picture so Agnes pulls the
van over and I step out of the van. The
ground is terribly uneven and my foot goes between two rocks and I twist my
foot/ankle as I go down.
So here we are at the Bettyhill hotel. The place reminds me of the place in the
Hitch Hikers Guide to Galaxy. Arthur
Dent and Ford Perfect are in the restaurant at the End of the Universe. I am in the hotel.
Ending on a positive note;
The shower has lots of hot water.
Terry
crap. how is your foot?
ReplyDeleteIn reading today's blog, I am reminded of the Seventh Law of Thermodynamics: "shit like that just happens". Nice handlebars on the woolly cattle; pretty comfy too, I bet.
ReplyDeleteBettyhill looks like it's pretty close to the end of the tour. Best wishes for a good conclusion to the tour.
Ken C.
Good to catch up on your adventures. Just finished my mountain bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. Trail riding, so I understand some of your issues! I am surprised you had not commented about the Crask Inn, only place to get something to eat between Bonar Bridge and Bettyhill. We had gone from BB to Tongue for the night, then in to JoG the next day. I had to stop at the hospital in Thurso and get some antibiotics for an abscessed tooth. It should be an easy day of riding, unless you don't use the roads! Glad you have had a chance to see so much of Great Britain, try going home by way of the Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal. I assume you will be driving back to London. Later, Earnie
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having quite the adventure
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery again today !!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that yesterday's ride was too nice to be repeated!?!
(We will practice navigation together for next year. Remember in 2008. On the Danoube river you and Jim got stuck on a dead end peninsula on the river. As I remember it was not more than 5 min. extra.)
Hope your ankle will be ok for tomorrows ride.
The trip is not over but I like to thank you alreydy for the energy you put into your blog. Your reporting is highly appreciated.
Yesterday I could not follow it as I was on a day tour with a friend (he: 5000 km in 2017, me: only 800 :-( We crossed two passes around St. Moritz and climbed 2222m (6666feet).
Question: what is a difficult decision for a cyclist? Glemnorangie or tail wind !!! I think both are tempting options