The BIG Cycle Challenge: Day 12 - Thursday 22nd August

Day 12 – Glencoe to Inverness – Thursday 22^nd August

The BIG day, the hardest day of the trip, we had been informed. 83 miles and a big climb after lunch.

Not a good night’s sleep, lots of drying of kit going on and the room was really warm, although most of the kit when put on in the morning was still damp – nice. My cycling shoes are so smelly they have to be put outside on the window ledge, I am hoping to make them last the trip before hermitically sealing them in a polythene bag so that I can tackle the problem when I have industrial cleaning equipment back at home. I daren’t wash them as I am not sure I can dry them over night and wet shoes to start the day would not be good!

So we arrived at the morning briefing, smelling and a bit damp but ready to go. We all sang Stefan Happy Birthday and headed off.

The route out of Glencoe heading north is the A82 and there is no alternative. This is a busy road with logging lorries and vans and tourists. We did our best to make ourselves safe, lots of flashing lights, pulling over when big vehicles wanted to overtake etc, but this was scary. The only time this trip that I have felt worried about traffic and safety, and we were all glad when it was over! It is interesting watching peoples’ driving habits and levels of attention as you get overtaken, it is very clear that some people have never been on a bike and understood just how vulnerable you feel when overtaken by a big chunk of metal travelling at 30 or 40 miles an hour faster than you.

We continued up the side of Loch Linnhe and into Fort William. Stopped off at a cycle shop (as you do) for some supplies and noticed a steam train just leaving. We waited and got the whole thing on film as it built up momentum out of the station – just awesome!

The route then took us to the bottom of Loch Ness, famous of course for the Loch Ness Monster. In my view one of the best marketing exercises I know of…here’s how (one) story goes.

Billy Smart’s circus was very famous in the 50s and has now grown into an international business. But in the 50s the circus business was largely about trained unusual animals, elephants, tigers etc. Well some photographs got taken while Billy was bathing his elephants in the Loch, which he often did when the circus was in town. People said they looked like a monster, (indeed I think they look like the trunk of an elephant bathing, but hey ho) and being a shrewd businessman, he heard this and offered a $1m award for anyone who could capture this ‘monster’ so he could tame it and put it in his circus. A massive amount of money at the time and obviously a safe bet – the legend was born… sorry if I have shattered any dreams, as I said at the beginning, this is just a story.

After lunch it was the hill, 1500 feet up in 5 miles, an average of one in ten, but some sections one in four with some down bits which we didn’t enjoy, because we knew they would immediately have to be made up! It was easy. Team Marshall is in its stride, not done at race pace, but done with shouts at the top, ‘was that it, is that all you’ve got!’ We are both really feeling very fit, powerful and to be frank all conquering…we can take on anything Scotland has to offer. Stefan raced up in 33 minutes, record time is 24 minutes, so disappointing Stefan, especially on your birthday!

We arrived in Inverness at around 5pm, a fair day’s work, but could have done more. 83 miles, we’ve never cycled that in a day before, another first. Also 4190 feet up hills. Met up briefly with Stefan, Leizel, daughter and Stefan’s parents who had come up to share his birthday with him. Washed, changed and team boss ‘fancied an Indian’, (which I took to mean in the culinary sense) so we found one and consumed the said spicy stuff whilst replying to best wishes text messages.

Only two more days to go and then we will have to find something else to occupy our lives….

PS Vera behaved today and dutifully pointed out interesting Lidl and Morrison stores on the way and has now taken to pointing out McDonalds as well. Not much purple line left though…

Michaela with Anne (fello rider) at Glencoe