LEJOG Day 11 - Dumfries to Tarbolton

My first full day in Scotland and the sun shone for most of the day. Short sleeves and short legs (well, they have been doing a lot of work!!) were the order of the day. I had planned to ride up into the Southern Uplands over two 1000 foot high passes and also cover 71 miles - Jan and I chatted about this and decided to shorten things by about 10 miles and stop at Tarbolton instead of the original target of Kilmarnock. The first few miles were along very quiet lanes through very green countryside but I could see the bleaker higher ground approaching, flanked by swathes of forest. The first big climb started at about 20 miles and lasted 3 miles. It wasn’t too steep though and I managed to do most of it without using granny gear. Jan and I met for lunch at a cafe in Carsphairn and I really enjoyed their homemade tomato and bacon soup, with a side order of a cheese and ham sandwich. After talking through the next few days destinations with Jan, I gave my bike a little bit of attention. During the morning I’d noticed a little noise coming from my bike and knew it was the chain asking to be lubricated, so with Jan holding the bike steady I cleaned the chain and put some fresh oil on it. Then I was back on the road (and my bike was nice and quiet again). Just as I hit the first big hill of the afternoon Jan went past and gave me a wave. A bit further on she had pulled up and took some photos of me as I rode by. Although hilly, this part of Scotland has an industrial history as evidenced by the various mine workings and associated railways. It was also hilly and it was a relief that the last one finally ended as I reached tonight’s halt, the Black Bull at Tarbolton. On the Yellow Car Boom! front, I didn’t see any during the morning but then saw number 100 in the afternoon (followed over the next few miles by another four!!). Unfortunately no one has guessed it correctly. It was……. Suspenseful music, ticking sound, overlong pause, unneeded repetition of previous sentence, the 100th Yellow Car Boom! Was…. Final pregnant pause A Ford Ecosport (a Fiesta based mini suv - see stock picture below)) The prize will be held over and we’ll come up with a new competition - watch this space. Todays stats: Distance: 62.15 miles avg. speed: 11.2 mph Max. Speed: 32.1 mph Climbing: 3441 feet Accumulated total mileage: 635 miles