A long day in the saddle

No rain, hardly any wind, so an early (07.30) start to what turned out to be a long, tiring, yet enjoyable day. The Drumbeg circuit is a very pretty coastal route, which avoids the dreary main road to Ullapool. The downside is the hills, of which there are many, and steep at that.

You don't see many, sorry any, signs like this in Suffolk. I was also concerned about my brake pads, which were wearing rather thin. I even walked down a couple of hills because I was concerned about being able to stop or go slow enough.

Sadly, the anticipated scenery was not so good because of the cloudy conditions. It started raining at midday and continued on and off, mostly on, for the rest of the day. After many more hills, I eventually made it to Ullapool at 19.30, twelve hours after I'd started. About 70 miles in total, but many stops for hills, drinks, Mars bars, sandwiches, photos etc. The photos are on Facebook, but are rather dull becuase of the lack of sun today.

When I arrived at Ullapool, I met Alexandre again - the fourth occasion we had camped in the same location. He had all the right tools and very kindly replaced ny brake pads for me. That saves me trying to find a bike repair shop in the morning. He is off to Stornoway on the ferry tomorrow, whilst I'll be heading south towards Aultbea and Poolewe.