We've safely arrived at our second last destination - Tongue. So far the best YHA we've stayed in. The room has a personal touch with bedside tables and even a bedlamp and most importantly our beds were already made upon arrival! None of the usual bed dressing ritual we usually do when arriving at a YHA. The warden even does home baking and there were lovely cinnamon buns and various cakes to buy at ridiculous prices.
We left Bonar Bridge very late - about 9.30am as we had such a short day ahead of us. The miles did not come as easy as they did yesterday and I really struggled the first 15mi. The towns became fewer and we stopped at Lairg for a cup of tea after which we headed north towards Tongue. Lunch was at Altnaharra hotel who provided a bowl of soup and lovely smoked salmon sandwiches. We had to think carefully about our lunch stop as settlements are so sparse that you might find yourself in the sticks without food !
The day was really cold but it didn't rain. My feet were frozen by the time we got to our lunch stop so I was very happy about the soup option!
The road after our lunch stop became desolate. It felt very monotonous pedalling and it was probably the first boring road of the ride.
The scenery was quite spectacular. Very isolated but stunningly beautiful with a very wild feel to it. There were some cars and because it was a single track road there were lots of passing places. At one time we cycled from one passing place to the next when we tried to conquer a hill :-)
Soon we descended into Tongue, found the local SPAR and got supplies for tonight.
Tomorrow is our last day and it is quite surreal that I have nearly completed this challenge. I will definitely miss the cycling days. I know that sounds really weird but the simplicity of this type of holiday is so good and i really cleanses your mind.
Whilst cycling you often think about something and nothing. I can cycle for miles without thinking about anything. It is really good as it gives my brain a chance to rest !
So the stats for today are:
51.5mi (includes a trip to the SPAR)
2429 cals
1519 ascent
1947 descent
10.8mph average speed
124 bpm average
I will post our finishing photo tomorrow on the blog including some celebratory photos !
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