So, this may not be a long blog today. This is mainly because I don't have enough words to describe how great it has been.
Our expectations were for a long hard day and the weather forecasters were less than optimistic. The day started with rain but within 30 mins we were down to the odd shower and beyond that a beautiful and glorious day ( suck on that Carol Kirkwood! )
The ride to John O'Groats saw the North Sea to the right for most of the way up the A9 it's about 110 miles in total but it's good fun. Plenty of overtakes and decent roads after the initial 30 mins which is marred by lorries and car drivers who seem to have forgotten the 2 second rule.
Lovely little places like Brora come and go and progress is good. The locals don't seem to have any regard for the speed limit outside of the settlements so we "ride to the road conditions" along with them. Wick comes and goes with a fond hello and an equally swift toodle-ooo. It's a pretty but bleak part of the world and I imagine you have to be a special kind of person to live there. Keiss is but a mere dalliance before we're at John O'Groats. What an unassuming place this is ( Duncansby Head ) for anyone who has ever seen what a capitalist carbuncle Lands End has become. It's time to take a breather and soak up the surroundings. Islands off the headlands are magnificent and indicative of the Shetlands even further up. This is a real treat for the soul - why are we all tied to the rat race again?
Without further ado ( a coach load of tourists turn up and spoil the ambiance ) were off westbound towards Thurso where lunch awaits! Another great ride with rugged coastline to the right and stunning landscape to the left. Lunch affords us the opportunity to avoid quite an unpleasant piece of precipitation and the sun is back by the time we remount.
The westbound A836 was a late addition to the route but it's a memory that will endure. Great place names like Scrabster & Lybster only surpassed by the views and the ride. The GoPro seems to be permanently on and Razor has joined in today with an untested helmet mount for his GoPro 3. (I'm sure I'll bore you all silly with this footage at various occasions yet to be announced)
We spend the next 4 hours on the way to Burness before heading South and then South East back to Inverness. The weather is great but the wind is tricky. One moment you're leaning to go straight and the next you're banking around a turn only to find the wind assist deserts you mid turn or you get smashed from another direction. On several occasions it feels like the wind is trying to rip your helmet from your head just to remind you how easy you could run out of talent on these roads. As I said at the start of the blog - I don't have the words. Mountains, lochs, coastline, hamlets, rivers, heaths and roads. All beyond a doubt the most amazing we've seen on the trip ( or anywhere else for that matter ). All I will say is that I'm coming back by hook or by crook I'll be on these roads again. The absence of traffic, the speedy progress ( even the courtesy of car drivers ) and the amazing never ending spectacular scenery - enough said!
It was a 322 mile day over 9 hours which was oh so challenging but oh so rewarding.