(written by Dave) Today was a great day.  Wow, what a difference it makes to have sunshine and no rain.  It also helps that we were riding along beautiful highland lakes surrounded by picturesque mountains.  We started the day early on the edge of Loch Ness (loch is lake in Gaelic for those who hadn’t … Continue reading A great three loch day from Fort Augustus to Duror (84/19,845ks, 525m)

(written by Dave) We very much enjoyed the hostel overnight.  Cooking was great, on a real stove.  Sleeping was great, in a real bed.  And best of all, the tent was dry this morning making for an easy start.  The weather, on the other hand was not so kind.  The forecast was for rain but … Continue reading Looking for Nessie –Inverness to Fort Augustus (53/19,761ks, 480m)

(written by Dave) Just when it seemed like we would never make it to Leod Castle, today we finally did. Today was supposed to be the nice day weather-wise but only 3 minutes after I woke up at 6:30, at 6:33 precisely, it started to rain.  It was all Nancy needed to roll over and … Continue reading Dingwall to Dingwall to Inverness (50/19,708ks, 380m)

(written by Dave) First a word about midges.  They are little gnat like bugs that are the scourge of Scotland.  They are mostly found on the west coast and they have been known to drive people insane.  They swarm around your head/face and bite non-stop.  Killing them is hard and it doesn’t matter as there … Continue reading Nearing my clan home – Lairg to Dingwall (65/19,658ks, 460m)

(written by Nancy) Grey skies this morning at the Bettyhill campground – such a change from the warm afternoon we had yesterday.  The campground has some beautiful views down to a sandy beach so it’s unfortunate that it’s in a pretty rundown state.  I don’t think I would recommend it unless there were some changes … Continue reading Passing places on the Northern Scotland express – Bettyhill to Lairg (75/19,593ks, 524m)

(written by Dave) We had some more rain overnight but for the third day in a row we had no rain while we were riding.  I’m not sure what the record for dry days in a row for Scotland is but we have to be getting close - we are feeling pretty lucky.  Everything was … Continue reading Hilly heather day – Thurso to Bettyhill (50/19,518k, 660m)

23 August 2012 – The start of JOGLE – John O’Groats to Thurso (50/19,463ks, 420m) (written by Nancy) We had a bit of a lazy morning and didn’t leave the campsite until almost 9:30.  This was partly due to a rain delay – the rain started coming down hard as we were packing up so … Continue reading The start of JOGLE – John O’Groats to Thurso (50/19,463ks, 420m)