Lejog day 31 Carrbridge to Inverness
Quote from Strava - windy, 45°F, feels like 28°F. It was COLD! 😰🥶 Windy too, often sideways on so had to be careful not to get pushed into the middle of the road.
Most of the time we were riding along quiet roads and on one section that went on for miles we barely saw anything on wheels.
Early on another cyclist passed us, going not much faster than us would you believe! We chatted whilst trundling along - amazing that we had the energy and reserves of oxygen to do that. He was on his way to Inverness, the same as us, but then he was heading to Ullapool and across to the Hebrides to cycle the Hebridean Way. We did something similar in 2013 cycling from Barra in the south to Lewis in the north.
There were six hills today, the most for quite a while. The highest was Slochd summit at just over 1300 feet.
A road was closed at one point but we managed to squeeze by the various large items of machinery without too much hassle.
After days of cycling solitude on cycleways and quiet lanes it was a return to harsh reality when we hit the edge of Inverness. I don't know whether motorists in cities are naturally crazy or whether we were just tired and battered by the wind but it wasn't a very pleasant few minutes.
We were early for our accommodation at Inverness Youth Hostel so we went down to the river to cycle and wander aimlessly around before finding our way there.
It's a big one and has all the essentials plus more besides. We've just finished our ready meal from M&S (we've gone upmarket today!). The hostel even has its own bar so a couple of bottles of Arran Gold has been a welcome addition to the meal.
Tomorrow it may be a little warmer and a little less windy. We hope so. For those of you who watch 'Traitors' we'll be going near Ardross Castle tomorrow which is where the series is filmed. We'll look out for Claudia!
