LEJOG Day 13 - Tarbet to Fort William

I fell asleep straight after dinner again last night, hence I’m a bit late with this essay! Jan dropped me back off at Tarbet and straight away I was onto the A82 heading north - no cycle track now and quite a bit of traffic. I didn’t have any problems though, my bright rear lights worked well and I made the occasional stop to let traffic by. Once I’d reached the top end of the Loch, the climb into the Trossachs started - it was not particularly steep but just went on and on, through Crianlarich and on to Tyndrum. The traffic was getting busier but the scenery was just glorious and I kept stopping to take photos (and have drinks from my bottle). There was even a downhill although I knew that was all height I was going to have to regain later. The sun was relentless but the slight headwind kept me at just the right temperature - “comfortable”. I met up with Jan at Tyndrum and we had a picnic lunch whilst sat on a blanket under a tree. I also recharged a rear light and my phone as we were eating. Then it was back into the traffic and the climb up to Rannoch Moor. As you can see from the photos, the scenery just got more and more spectacular no matter which direction I looked. The sky was blue, the air was fresh, my bike was running smooth, I was having an absolutely marvellous time and there were only small climbs left now. I cruised across Rannoch Moor and pulled up at The Kings House to meet Jan for a short break - a pint of cider and a bag of nuts hit the spot! I carried on with more photo and water bottle drink stops then started the big descent. It was great fun and I was travelling at about 30mph for several miles. I nearly missed my turn off onto a quiet lane for the final part of the descent - rather than stay on the (still busy) A82. This lane went quietly down Glencoe to and through the village. Then approaching Ballaculish I was back on the A82 but this time there was a cycle path! I made good progress and crossed the river to pass North Ballaculish and press on towards Fort William. Unfortunately the cycle path now ended but the traffic was lighter and apart from a couple of stops for photos I flew along and soon spotted Jan ahead, waving me into the Clan MacDuff Hotel. I was exhausted and after having a shower and eating dinner I fell fast asleep! Hence the late delivery of this post. Todays stats: Distance: 67.37 miles Avg. speed: 12.3 mph Max speed: 33.5 mph Climbing: 2978 feet Yellow Car Boom!: 119 Total distance so far: 768 miles