Day  13.           Sunday Sept 3.

 Laggan to Tore

Distance:        83 (Km) 

Time:  5:17

Average Speed:          15.7 (Km/ hr) 

Ascent:               931. (m). 

Heart Rate:          102. (beats / min). 

Cumulative Distance:           1327 (km) 

Cumulative Ascent :           11,925 (m) 

Punctures so far : 0

Up early again and down in the common kitchen organising my breakfast before heading off at 6:30 again. Forecast was for strong winds today and they were going my way. Brilliant. Rain was forecast for the Laggan Lock area today but dry in the Inverness area. Time to move out early.

A82 was relatively quiet as I cycled along by Loch Oich visible through the trees on my right. It was chilly and I wore the rain jacket for comfort.

At 9km I crossed the canal, had a glance back up Loch Oich at dark clouds. Here I dropped down onto the tow-path for 500m before crossing over at a lock complete with the lock-keepers house. Nobody to bother me on this path with its super smooth surface. An imposing craft berthed at Kytra Lock and a larger touring vessel at Fort Augustus.

Fort Augustus ( originally Cill Chuimin) was so named after Hanoverian Prince William Augustus at the time of the Jacobite Rising. The town stood at the meeting point of 4 military roads, all built by General Wade to expedite troop movements to quell the rebellion. This General Wade was actually born in Killavalley, Co Westmeath. These roads(16ft wide) and bridges were built by squads of 100 men accompanied by a drummer.

In Fort Augustus I opted to turn right and follow the rising military road to Inverness. I knew what was ahead of me but it was preferable to following the busy A82 along the north shore of Loch Ness and just getting a glimpse of the water through the trees. Had a last long look at the Loch  over the green fields…wouldn’t see it again till near Inverness, more than 35 km away. Nessie probably wouldn’t be appearing so early in the morning anyhow!!

This first climb was daunting. My Garmin told me it would be a 400m lift over the next 8km. The screen in front of me sure didn’t look pretty. But I stood at it, one turn after the other (assisted by a tailwind) and did have a few false tops near the end. But Loch Tarff (near the top) appeared with its crannog type islands and also two hardy ladies having a bracing morning dip. They hailed me; asked where I was heading for and asked me to ‘Come on in’. I WILL, YEAH!!. Later they passed me on the road in their car and wished me to ‘Have a good day’.

Finally the real top appeared. The beast had been tamed. I had surprised myself. Time for a break for the both of us. Wilderness, lakes, mountains all about. And still only 9am. 

The road ahead did look appealing as it snaked its way into the distance. The first few kms was along open hillside before entering into the forestry.

At 32km I came to the little settlement of Whitebridge…An Droichead Ban. It makes you feel at home up here. White ridge has a well preserved single span bridge from the original military road. Took some building……and a lot of drumming, I’d guess.

I cycled gaily along here losing height gradually all the time. Let me show you my cockpit. Large mirror has been vital especially on busy roads. Big Garmin I have set to stick with showing me navigation, and Small Garmin gives me the data feedback. On the left I have pinned a list of towns, points of interest etc, to expect at various distances. It all works well.

Passed by many lakes up here. One of the, Loch Mhor is harnessed for relief electricity generation.

At one point I came across what I take to be grouse on the road; didn’t take to flight but scurried off to a field with more of them there and meal-feeders about.

Another impressive memorial up here to the brave locals who had died in the Great War of 1914-1918.

And the wind kept blowing me along and showing its effect on the waters surface and whining through the high-power lines that accompanied me far ages. But the views around kept improving.

Finally at 55km Loch Ness appeared again beneath us just as I descended to Dores on the lakeside.

But my 12km into Inverness moved away from the lake through agricultural land.

Just before I came to the city proper  spotted a large Tesco and pulled in. Accommodation tonight doesn’t provide any food ( and no outlets nearby) so I needed to do a shop. Just to be sure I took the panniers with me for the experience. Lucky for me because I didn’t come across another likely source of food for the day.

I cycled down along the riverside through the city without going up into the centre. My route took me through industrial and port areas towards the impressive Kessock bridge.

There is a pedestrian/ cyclist passage across the bridge….I met no one on it, possibly put off by the very strong side-wind. It opened in 1982 at just over 1 kilometre and has been a major factor in the growth of Inverness. 

Now in Ross and Cromarty I was guided along country roads away from the busy A9. Just before the end I had to do a stretch on that road before reaching my destination at 2pm.

And my destination is cute….Country Cosy Cabin all to myself. 

A shorter day than usual but interesting. And more tomorrow.

 

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.