Where camping is fun for disabled and able-bodied together

Well I'm pleased to report that it chucked it down with rain last night, enabling me to lie in my bed and listen smugly to the weather battering the caravan as opposed to listening to it battering my tent and wondering whether I was going to end up sleeping in the toilet block. As an added bonus, it was dry by morning and we set off after only minimal faff, even though I couldn't quite decide on what layers to wear. 3 miles down the road in Inverness (and following a change of layers by yours truly) we headed out on the bridge over the Moray firth to be buffeted by cross winds and threatened with squally showers. The National cycle network did us proud again by sending us on a convoluted route to our destination on paths that I would have found difficult on a full suspension mountain bike (including a set of steps to climb which I belligerently climbed to prove a point). At Tore, we picked up the A9 which would be our road of choice for the rest of the day and the next 70 odd miles.

Fortunately the much talked about tail winds were with us this morning and we were able to spin along the flats at up to 25mph. A steady climb was followed by a long descent to the bridge over the Cromarty Firth which left my back aching due to the length of time I spent in the tuck position.

As predicted the road north remained undulating and pleasant if fairly unremarkable. The traffic was busy even though a quick look at a map confirms there really isn't anywhere for it to be going to or coming from. However, the road was wide enough for most of it to pass wide of us without any real problem and we soon got used to it.

We met Alison and Matt at the bridge over the river at Brora and it was here that I made the nutritional mistake of the day by taking a vitamin C supplement washed down with a can of coke. No, I don't know why I did that either but I blame it on being cold and tired. The effect was that I spent the rest of the day feeling like a volcano was bubbling away in my stomach which effectively there was. The sustained climb out of the town probably did little to help matters...

Our theory that the road up to John O'Groats would be flat was smashed to pieces just north of Brora by the ear popping climb that kept us busy for the next half an hour. I suppose the warning should have come when the passed the signs stating that the road was closed due to snow, which had been placed within easy reach of the road edge. Being coastal, this meant only one thing: altitude.

The terrain was a sting in the tail of a long day and we struggled up some very tough climbs whilst being overtaken by a multitude of vehicles driven by people who obviously had dispensation from road accidents. A fully laden hay wagon crawled past us on a blind bend going about 1mph quicker than us and it was purely good fortune that one of the numerous speeding juganauts wasn't coming the other way during the lifetime that it seemed to take for the audacious maneuver to be completed!

The descent into Helmsdale provided yet another record for the trip when Ben managed to set a new trip speed record of 51mph. It really was an alarming hill and I would have enjoyed it more had I known the road and had it not been wet. So yes, basically, I bottled it and used the brakes way too many times on the way down to get anywhere near Bens attempt at breaking the sound barrier. Mind you, I still hit a bum clenching 46mph which nearly ended in tears on the last left hander when my brakes really weren't slowing me down enough and I had to use a lot more of the road than any cyclist should reasonably expect to. Fortunately the driver behind could see it all unfold and stayed out of my way until I'd regained control, even waving as he finally went past. I suppose he was just relieved he hadn't had to stop and pull me out of a hedge!

We now had confirmation of warm, dry accommodation from the support crew so we sped along with the tail wind on a lovely stretch of road. At the front of our little peleton i cranked up the speed to 35mph and we flew through some great corners with excellent views over sea cliffs and moorland. At the top of the final descent of the day we had to wait behind a camper van at some temporary traffic lights. When they turned green, myself and Tim thought we knew what was going to happen. Ben would slip stream it down the hill to get a better speed. So imagine our surprise when, at the end of the road works, ben overtook the campervan and preceded it down the hill. I think the driver was too surprised to do anything else but follow, though it wouldn't surprise me if he videoed it for a Youtube entry!

Alison and Matt pulled a blinder on the accommodation front again and had hired an even larger static caravan for £35 per night for the 5 of us (probably cheaper than camping). Dinner at the local and we are all tucked up by 10pm. Only 40 miles to go tomorrow but we can all feel that its a special day. Its due to rain so we are unlikely to linger but after about 2.5 hours of cycling we can stop pedaling and drive home...

Craig