The day started off well. Vanessa (the Brazilian who'd checked us in) had been busy baking and all the residents were invited to help themselves to take a walnut cake on their journey today. So we did and very tasty it was too. This was a wonderful day of traffic free cycleways closely following the line of the busy A9. It also ran virtually parallel to the main railway line. The mountains were getting bigger so it was no surprise when a road sign informed us, 'Welcome to the Highlands,'. Cyclists were few and far between. We did meet a couple of female cyclists on the brow of a hill. We'd huffed and puffed up from one direction and they'd done the same the other way; in fact one of them was pushing her bike up the hill. We all stopped for a breather. They were doing lejog from north to south and didn't know where they were aiming for today. Unlike us, doing it the easy way, they were camping so could just keep going until either exhaustion set in or a wonde...
We're back to pedalling after two days off. It's good to be back on the saddle! There was a bit of a waving off ceremony from our Sam and Louise, also from Katy and Pete across the road. Thanks Pete for making sure our bikes are still up for the challenge and to Sam for a very quick change of inner tube on Rosie's back wheel a couple of days ago. At the end of the road was Kevin (fellow Eden Runner) to cheer us on the way. He would have cycled up to the top of Hartside with us but had just taken delivery of a new bike so that was his focus for the day. Good excuse not to cycle up Hartside I reckon! David Lea (another Eden Runner) met us at Melmerby as arranged and he did cycle up to the top of Hartside with us - at our pace too - slow slow! At the top of Hartside a strange figure on the other side of the road appeared to be taking photos of us. It turned out to be John Myatt, yet another Eden Runner. It gave us a great boost to get such support from one and all. Thank you. ...