Sunny, 60° and a feisty wind as we bike out of our darling town, we’ll take it.  Thankfully the 20 mph winds were SSW and we were predominantly going southeast; though every deviation was noticeable.  We rolled up and down through beautiful countryside.  An hour later, for the first time since Scotland we see the dreaded “motorists use low gear” sign.  It was a mean uphill (18% grade), taking several stops to get to the top.  Deep ravines and spectacular vistas were missed by the camera due to the steep uphills or glorious downs. The climbing seemed to never stop, but thankfully the grades were not as horrendous as the first one. At one roundabout, trying to decided if we should take a quieter road, a local pulled up in his car.  He suggested our quieter road was beautiful, but “lumpy” (British have such a way with words),  After 25 miles we took a break from the climbing and to add some extra energy to conquer the rest of the day;a bowl of soup you could swim in should do it.The stop took much longer than expected, but the socialization with fellow (motor)bikers and hug from the ownerwas worth it.  The climbing was nonstop. the views incredible but the already strong wind had picked up and were gusting.  As much as we were enjoying the sunshine, we were working for every precious pedal stroke.  Our last seven miles was particularly tough.  The traffic was heavy and we thought we would never get a downhill.  Not sure we ever found the downhill, but we did find our hotel.  We are out in the middle of nowhere, so (thankfully) there was no touring to be done, just rest.  Of course, what better way to refresh than with a bit of paté and steak and ale pie.Our 47 miles worked us hard today, but we did it without the rain.  However, an hour after checking in, it poured while the sun shone.  That’s okay, today still counts as a NON-rain day!