What Goes Up … (July 12th) Fort Augustus to Windhill (via Inverness)

Having spent a very successful two nights in Fort Augustus, it was time to move on. I feel I can call my stay in Fort Augustus very successful since I accomplished quite a bit. Yes, I’m still way behind on my updates. However, I enjoyed some sun, wandered around like a tourist, cooked some burgers, made an impromptu bowl, and may or may not have caught the occasional glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster – although, “monster” seems pretty harsh. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, the “squish squish squish” is completely absent from my shoes. For now. If that’s doesn’t describe “very successful” then I don’t know what does.

Stopping on the way up.

I pedalled down the driveway of the Cumberlands Campground, turned right, and literally within minutes I was greeted by the “big hill” I was told would begin today’s ride. I’m always curious when people warn me of a “big hill” because non-cyclists typically don’t have a great track record on assessing the bigness (or lack of bigness) of any particular hill. That said, I had heard multiple reports of the “big hill” that was to start my day. First, the woman at the tourist centre yesterday. And then Hilary and Dave (tonight’s Warm Showers hosts) also warned me of the pending climb.

I can now confirm, without any hesitation, that it’s a big hill. If you’re looking for specifics, well … it took about 50 minutes to climb and there were multiple sections where my trip computer was indicating a 10% grade. I’d say that’s a big hill. Especially when you have to climb it moments after you begin your ride. Side note: I’m sure I was imagining things but I was sweating quite a bit as I worked my way up the hill. I know, that’s not particularly surprising. However, as I sweated I could swear I could smell the grease that came out of those burgers yesterday. I’m sure that’s not possible. I’m just reporting my experience. I’m not going to lie, it made me a little uncomfortable. And a bit hungry.

The other side of the hill.

Other than the sense of accomplishment, the highlight of most big climbs is the reward of the view that typically comes when you reach the top. Today’s climb didn’t disappoint. The other perk that typically comes with reaching the top is the ride back down the other side. Today’s climb didn’t disappoint in that regard either. The descent wasn’t as steep as the climb and that’s usually a good thing. I mean, a steep descent can be a lot of fun (albeit occasionally intense), but a more gradual descent lets you enjoy the ride for a longer period. Oh, and the tailwind didn’t hurt either.

The biggest disappointment of taking the south side route to Inverness was that I wouldn’t get to visit Urquhart Castle. Although, it wasn’t a complete loss as I was still able to see it from the other side of Loch Ness. But a closer view likely would’ve been more than a little enjoyable. That said, the south side of Loch Ness is home to Foyer’s Falls. I’d never heard of Foyer’s Falls before I actually arrived there but, in lieu of Urquhart Castle, I decided to get off my bike and check out the falls.

The stairs of the Falls of Foyer.

The path to reach Foyer’s Falls is only about 300 metres. And the path to said falls is pretty easy – unless you don’t like stairs, in which case, well … the route to the falls essentially followed a path of stairs – although, they were generally rather shallow and easy to handle. And for me, well … I kind of like stairs. And these particular stairs lead to a pretty beautiful waterfall and certainly worth the visit.

The rest of the ride went very well and the route was as promised in terms of scenery and general lack of traffic and before long I had arrived in Inverness. I had made decent (although, not great) time thus far and so rather than go directly to my Warm Showers hosts, I opted to take a small detour to visit the Glen Ord distillery. In reality, the “detour” was VERY small as the Glen Ord distillery is a very short ride from tonight’s hosts.

Much of the final ride from Inverness to Muir of Ord was into a headwind but not dramatically so. Plus, I enjoyed a tailwind for much of the early portion of the ride. Oh, and it wasn’t raining so that’s always nice.

The timing of my arrival at Glen Ord was pretty much ideal. There was a space available for the 4:00 tour which meant I was right on schedule to have a tour and make it to Hilary and Dave’s place around 6:00.

Still standing after all these years.

I have to say, the Glen Ord distillery was very nice – then again, they all have been so far. However, this was probably the nicest so far in terms of tour presentation in that they had a mini museum showing the history of the 150 year old distillery. Side note: Oban had a similar setup.

Not being a whisky expert, I wasn’t at all familiar with Glen Ord but that’s actually to be expected. It’s not a well known whisky in North America in general. Not because it isn’t good (Spoiler Alert: I liked it) but Glen Ord Singleton is only exported to Asia or sold locally. Because of that I was tempted to buy a bottle; however, the last thing I need to do is add MORE weight to my bike. It’s bad enough I’m still carrying around three distillery glasses.

I wouldn’t say I had a hard time finding Hilary and Dave’s place but I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going once I arrived in their community of Windhill (which, after a day of traversing hills and wind, seemed like an appropriately named community to spend the night). But, as I was checking my phone to confirm the address, I noticed someone waving me over. And that’s how I met Dave. And moment’s later, Hilary. Both of whom were very welcoming and helpful and generous and, well … you get the idea.

Dave has a pretty elaborate workshop equipped with a plethora of bike repair accessories (among other things) and he offered to take a look at one of my pedals which had begun clicking the other day. Having experienced similar pedal clicking in the past I wasn’t too concerned about it but I thought checking it out wouldn’t hurt. After a thorough exam we came to the conclusion that the issue was with the pedal itself and essentially not serious. More of an annoyance. I figure I’ll continue to ride and see if the issue persists and how high the annoyance factor rises.

With the bike maintenance taken care of, we moved inside and had a great visit. Such great people. There may have even been a beer. There was also an absolutely great dinner. There was beef lasagna, salads, potatoes … all SO good. Seriously, the beef lasagna was fantastic. I may have overindulged a bit. I couldn’t help myself. It was that good.

In addition to the great meal and great company, I was also able to get a much needed load of laundry done. MUCH needed. And that’s all I need to say about that.

The remainder of the evening was spent sharing stories and reviewing route options. Of which, Hilary and Dave are very knowledgeable and had a lot of suggestions … which was particularly helpful considering I’m not exactly sure what my route is these days. I’m still not entirely sure but I know of more options now than I did when I started my day.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 77.73 km
Ride time: 4:13:09
Average speed: 18.42 km/h
Maximum speed: 56.62 km/h