The wind and the hills conspired together to make today a tough ride. Even on the downhills, the head wind ensured that we had to keep pedalling.

The landscape we were cycling through was wild and desolate with some impressive mountains surrounding us. We spotted a herd of deer at one point on the hill side and later, by Kylesku bridge two deer just stood at the side of the road and looked at us from just a few feet away.

A couple of good coffee and cake stops kept the engines burning, we can especially recommend the one in Elphin which was a very welcome sight. The second in Unapool joined a museum of childhood, but we needed to press on and had no time to browse.

Also of note on route was the ruined castle at Loch Assynt. The ancestral home of the Macleods, it has a torrid history of clan feuds, finally being destroyed by lightning, while a house built just up the road, as a replacement by the Macelods, bankrupted them, and was burnt down ten years later in another clan feud!

Finally, with aching legs and weary bodies we made it to Scourie. Spindrift, our B&B is lovely and we highly recommend the Fish and Chip bar in the village, fresh haddock and chips, cooked to order in the nicest batter I’ve ever tasted.

And so to bed . . . . here’s to easier hills and gentler winds tomorrow as we cycle on up the coast to Durness and then round to a B&B by Loch Eriboll. Maybe with a stop en-route at Cocoa Mountain where they make chocolate truffles. Mmmmm.

Do check out our flickr stream for more of today’s photos.

Ride Stats

Report from Cyclemeter
Started: 9 Jun 2010 10:16:39
Ride Time: 5:04:13
Stopped Time: 2:41:22
Distance: 42.34 miles
Average: 8.35 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 38.29 miles/hr
Climb: 2828 feet