Martin's mixed bag

Hi rode the 90 mile Cambridge RideIt in about 5 and a half hours.

(posting a day late) woke up to find my lovely sheltered spot by Loch Loyal was also favoured by the dreaded Scottish midge, had to don the midge net to be able to pack the tent away, I had forgotten how bad they could be! But then had a fantastic last day's cycling with a stiff breeze at my back to push me on my way, so made great time. Had some steep climbs (still nothing on Cornwall) and some bracing descents. Quick stop for Haggis and chips then racing to get to see Alice and Maisy at John o'Groats by 4.30. Not bad for the last 120 km.

(Posting a day late as no Internet yesterday) Great day cycling today, weather was cool but dry and wind behind me most of the time. Highlights were seeing the salmon leap at the Falls of Shin (also bumping into Steve McMellor from work there on his biking holiday, first time we had met properly in person!), a snack and beer at The Crask Inn (one of the most remote pubs in the UK), the wonderful Highland scenery, and camping wild next to Loch Loyal.

Day 13 Insh (South Of Aviemore) To Evanton (North Of Inverness). Probably a perfect day. Woke up to find the camping spot I had arrived at last night (in the almost dark) really was the best, iconic camping spot: by a totally calm loch, with the whole loch area to myself and the mountains and trees perfectly mirrored in the loch, wish I could have stayed all day. Weather was not exactly warm, but warm enough for cycling and the first dry day for a while. Made great time and the best bit (even better than the best camping spot ever) was to meet Alice and Maisy on their journey up to John o'Groats. We met at the Battle of Culloden site, lots of interesting history. Sad to leave them, but made great time to the campsite North of Inverness. Nowhere to wild camp here, so at a "normal" campsite. Feels really strange to hear noises of other campers after days of sleeping in wild spots. But the shower was amazing...

Day 12 Loch Tay To Insh (South Of Aviemore). (Posting a day late as didn't have internet) Late start today as the cyclist I had met yesterday had seen the weather forecast say heavy rain till 10am, and sure enough almost spot on 10am it stopped (at least for a while). Glad I waited till rain had stopped, but knew I had a long distance to cover today. After starting off in wet and cold conditions when I saw the sign at the start of the cycle path for the Drumochter pass saying "warning weather conditions deteriorate without warning and can be severe even in summer" my heart fell as I was already wet and cold. But the combination of a long hard climb (warming me up) and improving weather actually made it one of the highlights! Amazing views at the top, felt like cycling on top of the world. From then on it was a long day but rewarded by the ultimate camping spot: in a wooded area by a small loch, all to myself. As I had been wild camping in the rain but without nearby wat

<iframe src="https://www.komoot.com/tour/43075662/embed?profile=1" width="640" height="580" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> Day 11 (Posting next morning) Great day cycling today on the wonderful route 7. Weather cleared up overnight and it was mostly dry today. Route 7 goes through the Loch Lomond national park with most of the tour of road on really well thought out paths. Probably one of the best routes I have ever been on. Track was rough and steep in places but most was very good so even loaded up I could cycle it (not always easy for off road routes). A day of wonderful views of lochs, glens and waterfalls. Met another cyclist (first who is also camping cycling). He had arrived from Seattle a couple of days ago in Inverness with just a plan to make it to Italy. Good to swap stories and advice.  Only difficulty today was finding a camping spot, South of Loch Tay on the loch shore was not easy to reach in any goo

(Posting two days later as have not had coverage) Long day today but mostly quite flat. Woke up to find the "quiet" spot I found in the dark was actually on an access road to a wind farm construction site. So at 7am there was a string of cars and vans being escorted from the main road to there construction site (quite a distance from me). They did not seem surprised to see me there! Unfortunately, it turned cold windy and rainy and stayed like that until I was getting closer to my destination, a small forest East of Loch Lomond. Cycling through Glasgow along the Clyde was great. The cycle routes here (route 74 today) are wonderful, almost like a cycle motorway with signs like "local traffic" and "local services," quite unlike the routes in England where you are lucky sometimes to even have a route indication at a junction. Had trouble finding a good camping spot, the forest was quite wild so there were no flat spots without undergrowth. Eventually found