Day 11: Take me off my bike

So that's it, I haven't anything monumental to say before signing off so hope you've enjoyed reading, genuinely thanks again for all your support and see you all soon.

11 days 909 miles

Wingman, cameraman, riding buddy and generally listening to my moaning all day man...

Day 10 was a 93 miler up the A9 and A99 to Wick.

17 miles to the top

Day 9 was tough, not even Nessie came out to wave.

Passing Loch Ness on the A82 to Inverness

On the edge of Loch Ness stands the impressive Urquhart Castle

The B&B last night only accepted cash payment and I didn't have enough on me. "Don't worry", said the B&B lady, "there's a Tesco cash point just over the bridge"...

This the Cromarty Bridge north of Inverness

You know those National Cycle route signs, I found no 1 somewhere near the Moray Forth

Day 10: One of the things I've thought about on each day's stages is food. I'm pretty rubbish at eating the right food before playing sport, I'm normally in the Usain Bolt camp of pre-match meal (he famously admitted eating chicken nuggets before winning Olympic gold) and would rather have a mars bar instead of a protein shake Davina Mccall might drink. Then again I haven't seen the Swedish womens handball team anywhere soon so maybe the chicken nugget routine isn't all it's cracked up to be. Suffice to say I had a mars bar for lunch today.

Day 9: Tough day today, very windy, very hilly, very long 83 miles to Inverness.

I notice everyone's back at work today, blog page views have rocketed!!
Don't worry I won't tell Vince...

I think only about 120 miles to go :)

Today was also a sad day as I bid farewell to my shorts in an attempt to lose some more weight. We always knew this was the end of the line for them but nevertheless I was still disappointed for them as I know how much they wanted to get to the top.

                    

Day 8: Which is quicker, car or bike? 

Today's Top Gear Bank Holiday special was for my best mate Owen (who drove up from Peterboro to Loch Lomond to wish me well, two days after flying back from Sydney) to drive the 86 miles to Fort William while I cycled. Surprisingly Owen won by 7 light years (I still bought him a cup of tea)

You know I talked about Everest the other day? I'm now above it.

On the A82 to Fort William

Glen Coe provides a stunning backdrop

It's not just the courtship that's confusing....Gretna Green's 'Courtship Maze'

The tickly south-westerlies that have been pushing me up the country so far have given way to the tricky north-easterlies blowing me right up the trossachs

Navigation has been a combination of Garmin and as seen here a torn out page from the AA road atlas (2010 edition)