Scotland

After I left Edinburgh, I was ready for the vast wilderness of the north so many people talk about. I stocked up with food and clothing. I wanted to expedite my travel north, so I chose a more direct route following the national bike route system. I rode north, but after getting turned around a bit and waiting out a rainstorm, I did not make it to Perth in one day, so I stopped at a cheep B&B and continued the next day. Here the bike route got better, and I was able to follow it more easily through some very beautiful roads.

Local interests are also marked upon the bike routes, and I took a few detours to see more castles and estates along the way. I stayed at a terrific Hostel in Pitlochary before heading into the Cairngorms National Park. This is the edge of whiskey (scotch) country, and I had to choose between the “Whiskey Trail” and seeing Loch Ness, which I chose the later, but not before stopping at Dalwhinne distillery which was essentially on the way to Ness. I was too pressed for time to take the tour, but did stop in the tasting room for a few samples. Turns out I'm not much of a scotch man, as the strongest stuff (that was not for sale) actually hurt my tong a bit. They matched the samples with chocolate that did some interesting things with flavor combinations, but I'd appreciate the chocolates on their own, too.

I stayed at a campsite that was very cold at while still at elevation, and temperatures dropped down into the 30's at night. There was still snow visible in the mountains valleys. The Scots in the tent next to me provided me with chicken curry and a beer, a sign of Scottish Hospitality? I received milk the next morning... I'm starting to feel like a charity case.

The trip to Lock Ness was off the bike route and involved taking a few busy roads that were very scenic, but were busy with fast traffic. I'm hopping tomorrow, a weekday, will bring calmer traffic. Otherwise I may take a boat ride the length of Loch Ness, missing some of the landward sites in the process, but would be a good way to rest. We'll have to see how it goes in the morning.

Generally, I've found this area to be very scenic, but colder then I thought. Most of the time there is a cool, fall like chill to the air that makes for refreshing riding and reminds me of the Autumn in New York State. The temperature has me hampering for cider and doughnuts from home. The rain has been dodgy and threatening, but the sunlight has huge psychological impacts and warms the body and lifts the spirit. The terrain itself has been somewhat mountainous, with the highest pass 1500 feet above sea level. Thankfully, the wind has subsided. The mountains are open and mostly treeless, except for purple heather and sheep which graze along side the roads. Clean streams and many Lochs and wetlands spot the terrain with roads in mostly good condition. I took a bunch of photos along the way.

Things have been surprisingly Irish, too. There are plenty of Celtic survivors and roadsigns are bilingual in Gaelic. On a personal note, the woman have been more attractive then I anticipated, too. I guess the kilts, hairy legs and shot put put me off, but the woman have made the cold weather more tolerable.

I still plan on riding to Inverness tomorrow, but getting farther north seems questionable. The weather and timing my trip to Ireland is starring to come into play.