The first few metres from the hostel led down to a large sea loch, where I stopped to take some photos of the still water. From the other side of the loch the road rose steadily up for a few miles, and with the sun already high in the sky, and hot too I was soon working hard! A few miles further the road dropped away quite steeply to a place called Hope, where there was a narrow bridge over the river Hope and nice views. The descent unnerved me slightly as I wasn't used to such steep roads, especially with a fully laden bike with kilos of equipment - it was also true to say that the words of a friend of mine (Paul) were still fresh in my mind, about needing to replace my brakes on the trip, and so I was conscious of not wanting to wear them out prematurely!
From Hope the road rose again up a hairpin bend towards another sea Loch, this time called Loch Eriboll - absolutely beautiful! The loch was so still that there was no movement of the surface at all, and the single track road around the lochside was a real joy to cycle. Once around the end of the loch and traveling up the western side I decided to stop for a coffee or an ice-cream and bumped into another cyclist - this time a guy from Essex who was touring around the Highlands on a knackered old bike. He seemed to be really enjoying himself though, and we stopped for coffee together, along with another guy, from the Netherlands, who was touring Scotland on his motorcycle. The three of us swapped stories and experiences of our journey's whilst waiting for our refreshments to slowly arrive. The chap from Essex was taking his time, and didn't seem to have a fixed agenda or mileage to make each day, and I thought that that would be a great way to really explore the sights - although I think for me, that a bit more structure is needed - at any rate he seemed shocked by my projected daily mileage, but wished me well when I decided to resume the day's ride before the others.The western side of Loch Eriboll, towards Durness, was again nice to cycle along, although the wind had picked up and was blowing directly against me - great though, as I knew that in a few miles time I would be turning inland and if the wind held, would be perfect for pushing me along a little!
Durness was a tiny little place, completely deserted of people on the most gorgeous beaches! It also had just one shop, so I stocked up on everything I needed to see me through to the middle of the next day, as I knew that shops would be a scarcity in the region of Scotland I was about to head in to.The climb inland from Durness along the A838 was really beautiful, but quite hard going - I needed to stop often to catch my breathe, and to allow my heart rate to return to something approaching normal - but the views were stunning. Once up into the mountains the road levelled out and then gently descended for a few miles of the best cycling I have ever done! The small lochs and rivers were glinting in the sunshine and the sky was an amazingly deep and lovely blue; whilst at the same time I had a gentle tailwind pushing me along; my confidence was growing and I was having the absolute time of my life - pure cycling joy!
I met a man at the end of Loch Inchard, who approached me for directions, which seemed odd to me at the time, but I suppose I at least had a map! Anyway, we got chatting for about 45 minutes about a whole range of topics, including; Scottish independence, wind farms, Andy Murray, and his job as a physics teacher on Shetland. He was also making a documentary partly about the first men to row the Atlantic ocean in the 1960's and partly about his own bumbling attempts to record his meetings with these now elderly men - it all sounded exciting and interesting! He wished me well on my journey, shook my hand, and off I went again, on a high from both the cycling, but also from chatting with a genuinely interesting and friendly guy - the first of many on this trip. I wish now that I had taken his photo, as I think it would have spurned me on to document the meetings I had with people right the way down the length of Scotland, Wales and England - interesting people who were willing to share the time of day with a smelly and dishevelled cyclist, to share something of their lives with a complete stranger, to offer encouragement and advise and to provide positive human interaction and friendliness to a potentially vulnerable road user...
Beyond Loch Inchard the road continued to wind towards Scourie bay and the village of the same name. The road was plenty hilly, but not too challenging, with some lovely fast descents and wooded sections with glimpses of the sea lochs beyond. The sun was still shining but cooling fast as evening arrived. I thought it unlikely that I would reach my original planned destination of Inchnadamph, and so decided to look for somewhere closer to wind-camp. I found the perfect spot near the small settlement of Kylesku, just near, or under Kylesku bridge. Unfortunately I startled a couple of German tourists, who were sitting outside their camper van, playing cards, when I approached them to ask if they minded if I camped nearby.
It didn't take long to set up camp for the evening as the sun set in the west, the last rays of light finally fading as I cooked some food before getting some rest for the night. It had been a perfect day of cycling - challenging at times, with long climbs, but ultimately very rewarding with excellent views and incredibly good weather, to say nothing of the friendly people I had encountered along the way!
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