Day 8: Glasgow to Fort William

Distance: 180.7km
Total: 1366.2km
Time: 7hrs 39mins
Average: 23.5kph
Maximum: 47.2kph

With a strong wind against me for the second day and some rain this had the potential to be another poor day. As it turned out I really enjoyed it, thanks mostly to a chance meeting on the A82 out of Glasgow.

I got cycling with a group of five firefighters on a sponsored 90 miles ride, the first 50 miles or so happened to be the route I was planning to take. So they let me join their group and with each of us taking turns cutting into the wind we made excellent pace up Loch Lomond. At the 80km mark I'd recorded an average speed of 26.5kph, which I was ecstatic with given the wind, my cummulative distance so far and the poor sleep I had in the hostel last night (noisy arrivals in the dorm at 01:00 then 03:00; not impressed).

The firefighters had two minibuses supporting them, so I was able to share their pasta lunch shortly before we split off our seperate ways. Riding together had raised both my average speed and my spirits.

Without the help of the group I found the wind tougher going as I climbed into the Grampians, but continued to make steady progress. The wind got worse as I approached the stunning Glencoe and sometimes I was out of my saddle in a low gear going downhill and barely doing much more than 20kph.

I've never been this far North before and I was impressed by the scenery. I just wish I could spend some more time to appreciate it all. Camera stopped working this afternoon so not many photos.

I'm staying in the Glen Nevis hostel about three miles out of Fort William. Very easy to find and in a very picturesque area. It has just started raining hard whilst I've been eating which doesn't look great for tommorrow.

[Just updated ride stats for Day 6]