Day 11: Balloch to Glen Coe

To cycle on the west side of Loch Lomond in the sunshine with a great bunch of like-minded folk is great. I hope the video camera on my helmet will have come out well. The battery ran out, and even though I had charged both batteries last night, a change-over of battery at lunchtime didn't work. So i put it away as the head-wind strengthened, the cloud looked more ominous, and we wondered what was lining up for us.

Ten minutes before tea-stop on a steep ascent, we caught the ege of the storm. Leaving the van, it was blue sky! Fifteen minutes later in the sunshine, we passed a sign "Welcome to the Highlands". The second lot of rain started. Soon it was horizontal, almost sleet from the left. Two hours after reapplying the suncream, it was wiped off by the chilly blasts. The road swung left into a real headwind. The scenary of mountains around Glen Coe and Glen Etive are fabulous. Snow capped many including Ben Nevis. We didn't stop for photos; it was too cold. We headed down to the village on A82. On the busy road we had to exert ourselves to make progress even on a steep downhill.

We have seen varieties of quality of restaurant service. The best was at the Star Hotel in Moffat. They wanted our orders a couple of days in advance, and our main courses were served to 23 people in less than five minutes by three waitresses. I won't bore you again with my 100 minute wait at the Hundred Monkeys in Glastonbury. Graham' landlady had told him the lasagna portions were small, but the steak and ale pie was a good choice. We arrived at 1900 and starters were served at 2015' thirty minutes later our mains were in front of us, and my pie had one large chunk of meat in it. When the plates were cleared, the dessert menu came round with further delays. how long for service? I couldn' t wait to eat two of my sister's flapjacks back at the B&B, rather than be disappointed with an apple crumble and custard. The hotel did publicise their WiFi access, so last night's blog got published.

I gather there may be snow on the Chiltens tomorrow. We expect more of today's weather tomorrow, but with more oomph. Will we have the stamina for 82 miles, than today's moderate 66 miles?

Time will tell.