Since Tom started this cycling thing in earnest, we've had a bit of a tradition of going on a trip at Autumn half term. The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter and the weather is more likely than not going to be cold, wet or both.
We could put our bikes away until the weather warms up and the days get long again, but that is not how we roll.
The vague plan for this year was to follow a route devised by Stu Allan that starts at Inverness and ends in Glasgow. We booked train tickets for there and back, and headed North.
Jenny Graham, messaged us to say lets meet up as we were in her city, and that is exactly what we did before we set out on our little ride. Lest you didn't know Jenny is just back from riding round the world in under 125 days. If Roy Castle was still around he'd have played her a tune on his trumpet.
A fine start to the day.
We left Inverness with no particular urgency, just a vague idea that Fort Augustus would be a good place to supper.
The morning mist soon cleared and the sun accentuated the autumn colours.
We came across a cafe in the woods after a couple of hours. An unusual place which did massive slices of cake which we didn't leave a crumb of realising that we'd neglected to pick up any supplies in Inverness before we left.
We were riding at a calorie slow burn pace, so I wasn't too worried. In fact we were too busy chatting to worry about food.
Once we made it to the Loch Ness we knew that Fort Augustus wasn't too far.
Fire roads for the most part, with the odd fun descents thrown in.
At Glenmoriston, we were running out of daylight, so opted to take the direct route along the road rather than the forest route which we'd ridden before.
At Fort Augustus, we spent some money on snacks for the next day before going to the "Pizza place" that Highland Trail 550 riders try to get to on day 1.
We were starving. Pots of tea, soup, and pasta filled us up though.
Then it was time to head up the hill. The Corrieyairack pass to be specific.
We'd not brought a tent, so there were two options for a dry bed. Tom voted for the nearest. We arrived just after 9pm, and were soon readying for bed.
Findra baselayers and Alpkit sleeping bags ensured a good nights sleep in sub zero temperatures.
A not particularly early start to the next day. But, hey Tom's on holiday.
It wasn't long before we were above the snow line.
October snows until the very top were no problem on the Sonder Frontiers.
Over the top.
Then down towards Laggan. We'd hoped to pick up some food hereabouts but the route passed nothing. We could have diverted but, Corrour station wasn't too much further.
The wind was proving to be more than an annoyance as we left Laggan, and the weather was definitely changing.
Not long after us reminiscing about the last time we rode over this beach, the rain came.
Waterproofs on, we took to the aero bars with our heads bowed. As the rain fell harder it started to get dark, and we turned our Exposure lights on.
Nearing the head of Loch Ossian we spied lights on at the Youth Hostel though we rode straight past though to Corrour Station for food. We ate our starters and warmed up a bit before riding back in the rain to the YHA for our Firepot meals and a great night's sleep.
Next morning, up early to catch the train back home.
I had to scrape my saddle of ice before we left. Brrrr.
As we arrived at the station we were pretty lucky to be so close to this fella.
A great trip. A relaxed few days up in Scotland. I don't think we made it half way on the Badger Divide, but the company was great.
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