LEJOG Day 14 - Fort William to Drumnadrochit.

Let’s off road! After a peaceful night at the Clan MacDuff Hotel and an excellent breakfast, I took some time to give my bike a bit of attention. The chain needed a good clean and relube - I went for the Dry lube as it’s hot and sunny and my route involved a lot of “non-road” today, that should reduce the amount of sand and dust sticking to the chain. I picked up a cycle path in Fort William and then got chatting to another cyclist called Andy and his dog Archie, who guided me to the start of the canal towpath on an excellent, traffic-free route. Archie was very well behaved and trained and reacted instantly to Andy’s commands, all at a speed of about 10mph. Once on the towpath I headed Northeast and straight into the wind! But towpaths are level, so it wasn’t too hard. My GoPro started to play up and drained three batteries in a mile or two - I think a setting must be wrong - I’ll try the soft hammer approach later this evening. I’ve come to the conclusion that modern technology is fantastic sometimes but basically crap because it tries to do too much and has too many variables/options/connection routes. I’m hoping that the voice control function on the GoPro is clever enough to realise the threat I’ve just made and gets its act together before it heads for the recycling bin! After the canal towpath I crossed over the canal and took a narrow lane to Clunes where I went onto the Great Glen Way as it used a forest track. The surface was a bit stony and I was worried about my slick road tyres but my MTB skills came to the fore as I picked the smoothest line along the track. It climbed and descended multiple times and went through some areas where tree felling had been taking place (but not today as it’s a Sunday). I was really enjoying it but it was reducing my average speed appreciably as it took me two and a half hours to cover the first 20 miles! At Laggan lock I crossed the canal again and passing a floating pub was slightly miffed that it was closed. A mile of smooth bridleway through some trees was then followed by about four along the course of an old railway (all part of the Great Glen Way) before using the towpath again for the final 4 miles to Fort Augustus. Jan was waiting for me in the car park and we had lunch at a cafe by the lock flight. Once again I was a bit peckish and had soup, a tuna/cheese panini and an ice cream to finish (thanks Lorna for reminding me I hadn’t had my usual ice cream reward after yesterdays big hills). The afternoon riding was all on the A82 alongside Loch Ness. The wind was raising quite a few white horses on the water so I think that’s why I didn’t spot Nessie! With the wind in my face all afternoon the ride became a bit of a chore and I was almost always in constant shade so wasn’t as warm as I really wanted to be. However, I knuckled down and kept my legs spinning to get those final 18 miles done. Arriving in Drumnadrochit, I used the instructions Jan had sent to me and easily found tonight’s B&B, Kilmore Farmhouse. It’s nice, quiet and comfortable. I’ve managed to get the blog written now before we go out to dinner - I’ll bet I’ll be asleep within minutes of returning from dinner. Todays stats: Distance today: 54.78 Avg speed: 10.1 mph Max speed: 34 mph Climbing: 2145 feet Accumulated distance: 823 miles