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Go
South Young Man!!
Once again I woke up to the sound of the wind whistling from the North /
North West. I made my mind up, straight down the A9, straight to Helmsdale,
shortest, quickest and no wind. I am glad I made the decision to go North
to South. It is freezing here already, can’t image what it will be like in
three weeks time. The hostels owners know I think, because by October I
think all the little ones will all be shut.
Got up early again and updated the web page. Bit of Breakfast and set
about packing. Had a go fixing my GPS cradle with the super glue, and the
results look successful. Gears have started playing up. I fear I will have
a melt down before Edinburgh!! I might try and get some one to have a quick
look in Inverness, though time is tight and I might not get the chance,
Anyway, back to the story, in the file throws of packing I got chatting
to the owner of the Hostel. “You don’t want to go down the A9, you want to
go the scenic route and it is very hilly at Berniedale.“ he says. So
knowing I would be cycling 13 miles into a head wind I agree.
15 minutes later I am climbing steadily out of Thurso. The wind is in my
face, the lorries are whizzing by, and it is really steep. I am cursing
away as I achieve a cruising speed of 4-8 miles per hour. This continues for a little while, but finally the road flattens out and swings a
little South. Bliss!!
From this point on the scenery was fantastic. The waves were crashing on
the cliffs, and the sea very atmospheric. I had calculated the distance
from the Thurso to the turning was 13 miles, so when 14 miles were up I was getting worried. I checked with the GPS and it told me I had another 3 miles to go. Eek!
I finally reached the turning just before Melvich with 17 miles on the clock, and turned off the main road on to a beautiful single lane road. 40 miles to go. The wind was now behind me, and I gently climbed along the valley into the mountains.
The road undulated without being too hilly and I got a decent speed up.
At 25 miles I was starting to get hungry and started looking for a pub.
But for a pub you need a village, and there wasn’t even a house. I new Forsinard
was ahead, the train had stopped here on Monday, so I expected it would be
a good size. I finally reached Forsinard after 35 miles cycled. It turned out to be 1 station and 1 house. The station contained an RSPB bird hut.
This was unmanned, it had a little exhibition, a video on an endless loop,
and coffee. Brilliant. I was freezing and so I spent the next 20 minutes
walking about trying to warm up.
Once life was restored, I continued on for another 10 minutes, and
finally reached the top of the valley, just me and the Vodafone
transmitter. From here on in, was a gentle descent for 23 miles into Helmsdale. This was just as well, cos things were starting to get very sore.
All went very well except for the Bull incident. I came round the corner
in a leafy copse and was confronted by a young bullock on the road. I could
tell he was a teenager, by his eyes, and he set off in a random direction at
full speed. That’s all I want being charged by a bull with my feet tied to
the bike. I got past though and he calmed down and so did I.
The path carried on, but with a nasty twist swung north into the wind,
and also up hill just as I got to Helmsdale. The swearing was back, but
soon got past that, and into the village.
I had arrived early and the Hostel was shut, so off to the Pub then….
Two pints, 1 coke, 1 bowl of soup, warm, and 2 hours later I knew where I
would be spending my evening.
The hostel was lovely, recently restored, with a wood burning stove, and
all to myself. Because no one else was staying I got upgraded, and an electric
heater to cuddle, but no stove.
I did a bit of washing, and wondered how I was going to get it dry. But
anyway time for the pub. Tea was superb and I got to sit in front of the
fire all evening. When I told them about me predicament they offered to
dry my washing in their tumble dryer, which they did. So I was a happy boy.
No wonder I drank 6 pints.
Found a shop and Internet Café(ish), and so I can update my web page.
Tomorrow is a short day (25 miles), but it might be very hilly, but I need
the rest. Bits of me are starting to ache a lot.
Speak to you tomorrow Phil
(I now have some more nice pictures, which I will upload when I have
worked out how to)
You can email me here. Send me
your comments and tips.
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