Day 3 - Invergarry to Inverarnan - Midges, Knees and Hills

Distance - 84 miles
Total distance - 286 miles
Average speed - 11.6 mph
Time - 7 hrs 15 mins

If you're going to bike a long distance over some pretty tough terrain, being near-eaten by midges isn't a brilliant start to the day. And I'm really not exaggerating. All three of us currently look as if we have chickenpox. This suffering was further compounded by a pretty average breakfast (sorry Gareth who was on diligent breakfast duties). Of course it was probably lovely, but when two out of three of the party don't particularly like porridge oats at the best, about 20 deceased midges don't really offer to the appeal. But it's all added protein I guess.

Anyway, after abandoning the campsite as quickly as possible we hit the road, back on the A82, towards Fort William. It was a fairly unexceptional stretch, with the bonus of some pretty scenery. Naturally, pretty scenery hasn't exactly been at a premium. My knees were painful from the off and, much to my annoyance, I resorted to some Ibuprofen to ease the pain. It seemed to do the trick. We made it to Fort William with little drama, although a very exciting steep downhill section near Spean Bridge. However, I'm at the realistic cyclist stage of my journey and simply view a downhill stretch as an opening to an uphill stretch. Very pessimistic perhaps, but clearly true.

After buying some lunch at Morrison in Fort William (and subsequently eating most of it in the car park) we made wind towards Ballachulish, again a fairly mundane 15 mile section. However, I was made uneasy by whisperings from Gareth of a 300m climb after Glencoe. They came to fruition. Although, perversely, it was actually my favourite bit of the ride to date. The slope was long but relatively gentle. And, for one of the first times on the trip it was in the company of sun. It made for a pretty cracking view along Glen Coe, made even more satisfying because you could see exactly where you had come from, the road snaking away behind us.

After reaching 348m at Rannoch Moor we began a slow descent, peppered with further uphill pieces. Eventually we reached Tyndrum, after a few awkward moments cycling into a headwind. We popped into the Tourist Information centre and were told of a good campsite 12 miles away. Initially my heart dropped at the thought of another 12 miles, but Gareth wisely noted that it took in a 200m descent. So after a quick stop at the local store in Tyndrum, we were at our campsite 40 minutes later. We found a little gem. After some very filling spag bol and a warm shower, we made to the pub, where we currently sit enjoying a quiet pint.

I must leave, mainly because I'm conscious this is a long update. Before I leave though, I must mention another reason we have dived into the onsite pub...the midges have returned and my face is on fire. I'm positive I also speak for the boys.