Flight delays for my 'Directeur Sportif' (Helen), followed by serious traffic congestion leading to the Highlands, made for a difficult day. The sheer distance to cover meant that although only 3-4 climbs were planned, we only completed 2. It did, however, include the epic and 'holy grail' of climbs in the UK, the Bealach-Na-Ba. Finishing it as the sun set on the north west of Scotland, it was a moment to savour.
I was particularly pleased with my ride on this monster and not just because it's the only one ranked 11/10 (!) in the book. After a slightly nervous and tentative ascent of the Rest And Be Thankful (it was, after all, my first 'big climb' after the episode at the top of the Horseshoe Pass), I really 'zoned out' - feeling in control, pushing hard yet respecting the climb and it's status. Given that I'm normally adopting a conservative pacing approach or battling cumulative fatigue, it was a nice change!
Note: GPS signal didn't pick up until about 1km into Rest And Be Thankful.
Bealach-Na-Ba
Day 6: Sunday 3rd June
A tough day with nearly 7 hours of driving. Pretty hard on the bike too! The Cairnwell was especially hard: lowering blood sugar levels and a stiff headwind made for one of the toughest tests yet. I hadn't even got to the halfway mark when I was seriously doubting if I'd have to stop and pull over. Another case of counting every single damn pedal stroke...
Top of Cairngorm
The Lecht
(like most of the pics, this doesn't give you a true indication of the gradient - this is actually
the same climb as the pic on the far right of this Blog's header!)
(like most of the pics, this doesn't give you a true indication of the gradient - this is actually
the same climb as the pic on the far right of this Blog's header!)
Just cresting the top of The Cairnwell
Note: GPS issues again on The Mennock Pass.
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