Sunday 21 June 2009: Ardlui to Fort William

Last night was a wee bit noisy. I woke at 12:30 with the barbecue going full swing and the couple next door making a fuss about the midges (an hilarious five minutes while one of them went outside for a pee!). The bikers were quiet as lambs, I didn't even hear them put up their tent.

I woke at 4:10 and decided to get up; I’d never been in such a tightly packed camp. I packed as quietly as I could but everything seems to crinkle loudly when it's so quiet especially as everyone was so close. It was a warmish morning, cloudy but a few blue patches. I set off at 4:50. On tour I normally try and set off early but usually about 7, not as early as on this ride, but it’s a great time to ride especially at this time of year as far north as this (and today is the longest day!). And, of course, it’s a good way of avoiding traffic.

The A 82 was, as might be expected, very quiet. A short downhill and then it was uphill but not steep. I had some electrolyte drink, some nuts and a galaxy. I was going much better than yesterday.

I'd seen a fair bit of roadkill since Lands End but, even so, I was taken aback to see a deer just before 6:30. Not surprising I suppose in view of the number (of live ones) about. I guess they wander onto the quiet roads at night. I once hit one on a deserted road in Poland; it just ran into the headlights.

I'd done 40 K and it wasn't yet 8:00; I was ready for breakfast. I stopped at a car park overlooking Loch Tulla, where there was a cairn "dedicated to the memory of the many hundreds of mountaineers who lost their lives climbing Scottish mountains". It consisted of 795 stones, each taken from one of the peaks over 3000 feet by W. G. Park.

As soon as I sat down to eat a guy setting up a hamburger van or somesuch said "you'll be eaten down to the bone by the midges, they're really bad here". They weren't too bad to start with but I think they called up their mates. This morning the midges were dreadful when I was packing -- clouds of them, lucky I had the net.

This continued to be a superb ride. Fantastic views, even though it was still misty and this obscured the distant mountains. And the road was really quiet; I went for long periods without seeing a soul, was this really the notorious A82? But, it was still early and it was Sunday.

This was cycle touring at its best: surperb scenery and really quiet. The road went up and down a bit until I got to the pass of Glencoe when it was downhill all the way to Glencoe itself. I turned off the A82 and took the unclassified road into the back of Glencoe. I stopped in the village to pick up a snack (beef sarni's, orange juice and yoghurt) and went into a cafe for a hot chocolate and a scone.

I carried on to Fort William. The road had got busier but it was no problem. It was pretty easy going too. I stopped in Fort William for supplies then looked for the campsite. Found it soon enough and it was only 1 pm! I was certainly fresh enough to carry on but I'd done a hundred K and thought there was no rush. The weather was a bit gloomy though and although Ben Nevis was presumably overlooking the campsite (judging from a number of places called ‘Ben Nevis View’) I couldn’t see it because it was covered by cloud.

I camped right next to a park bench (and hoped the weather would look up so I could get the full benefit). There was a well equipped laundry room and I managed to wash all my clothes - everything was clean. Bought an ice cream and went for a walk. I had hoped to find a pub but once it became obvious I wouldn’t I went back to the tent. I could have cycled back to Fort William but I was feeling nicely chilled out and I still had the paper to read.

I cooked chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, chilli and sweetcorn with new potatoes plus some nice Merlot. Into my sleeping bag at 8:30, read for a bit and listened to iPod and fell asleep early.


Campsite: Lochy Holiday Park, Camaghael, Fort William £7.50. Nice site, good facilities. Useful shop.



Statistics
Distance 100.59 km (62.5 miles)
Time 6 hours: 13 minutes: 26 seconds
Average Speed 16.1 km/hour
Maximum Speed 39.9 km/hour
Distance from Lands End 1272.1 km
Total Time cycling 80:59