Day 8: Peebles to Blairgowrie

A day of contrasts!

The first 30 or so miles this morning were lousy. I hated it. Drizzle, mist, strong and icy NE wind right in my face and I couldn't get warm or warmed up at all. Spent most of the time struggling along at under 10mph and swearing at the elements. And when I'd exhausted my potty mouth vocabulary I repeated them all! Then (inevitably) got lost in Edinburgh and took ages to find a route to the Forth road bridge. Got there eventually and after a food top up and a drink I started to feel a bit better.

The next 'stage' of the route took me through some drab, grey Scottish towns such as Inverkeithing and Cowdenbeath. Not much you can say about it really. Nothing inspiring anyway. And me left leg/knee was starting to hurt. Bugger.

Things then started to pick up a bit. After Yetts O'Muckhart (great name, nondescript place) the sun came out for a bit and I could enjoy a lovely climb where, at the top, there was a breathtaking view north to the snow-capped mountains. Stood there for a good 15 mins taking it in and scoffing more food. Great descent too. The car in front even pulled over to let me past :-)

Breathtaking view!!

Spent 5 minutes waiting to cross the A9. God knows why some people cycle on there. Its like a motorway! Then had a long 20% climb (thought I'd left those behind!) that actually wasn't that bad. Obviously getting used to the hills. And, strangely, my knee hurt less on the climbs. Weird.

PLENTY more of these tomorrow!

If the knee/leg pain wasn't enough I then got cramp with about 3 miles to go. Owwww! I'll eat more salted peanuts tomorrow. Made it to the fantastic B&B (Heathpark Lodge in Blairgowrie) feeling a bit better. Big day tomorrow through the Cairngorms. Looking forward to it.

River Tay with the Cairngorm foothills in the distance.

A few stats:
Distance: 101.8 miles
Av. speed: 12 mph (felt a lot slower)
Roadkill: A change from badgers to deer :-) WHY CAN'T PEOPLE TAKE MORE CARE?
Wind: Sick of it! Blimmin northerly for 6 days now.
Most frequent political posters: SNP (unsurprisingly)