{"id":13715,"date":"2014-07-20T15:36:37","date_gmt":"2014-07-20T19:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=13715"},"modified":"2014-07-20T15:42:14","modified_gmt":"2014-07-20T19:42:14","slug":"day-23-sunday-july-20-inverness-to-tain-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=13715","title":{"rendered":"Day 23. Sunday, July 20 – Inverness to Tain, Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quick picture of the Inverness Castle\"photo\"<\/a>and the buildings along the River Ness, \"DSCN9536\"<\/a>then we were on our way. \u00a0The high bridge \"DSCN9555\"<\/a>to cross the Beauty Firth\u00a0\"DSCN9553\"<\/a>offered spectacular views of Inverness at the mouth of the river\"DSCN9552\"<\/a>and the little village on the other side.\u00a0\"DSCN9551\"<\/a> Shortly after crossing, we came to a fork in the road\u00a0where we met Rafeal of Switzerland. \u00a0He agreed that the steepness and constant up and downs we had all experienced in this country, were worse than biking the Alps.\"DSCN9561\"<\/a>Which way to continue from here, was the question that had stopped us here. \u00a0Both directions would take you were you wanted to go, it was just which was the better route. \u00a0They enlisted the assistance of a local and he recommended the “more scenic route”, which apparently in Scottish means\u00a0very hilly.\"DSCN9564\"<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Yes, the views were brilliant (even if we DID have to climb it)\"DSCN9571\"<\/a> but the several mile long steep uphills were buggers, \"DSCN9582\"<\/a>really tough buggers. \u00a0In between the climbs \"DSCN9586\"<\/a>we rode the ridge, occasionally dropping down only to climb again. \u00a0Most of the road was “single track”, so there was not much room \"photo-3\"<\/a>when a bike race went speeding by us. \u00a0Jerry was in front, \"DSCN9600\"<\/a>until the lead car yelled at him to pull over.<\/p>\n

We had a ferry to catch to cross Cromarty Firth, so we were happy when we saw this drop and the water beyond.\"DSCN9603\"<\/a>Just as we got to the bottom, a hairpin turn sent us back up another 18% grade.\"DSCN9620\"<\/a>We climbed for almost another hour, once again spectacular views \"DSCN9625\"<\/a>(those white dots are sheep).<\/p>\n

This time the downhill \"DSCN9631\"<\/a>led us to\u00a0Cormarty\"DSCN9633\"<\/a>and the dramatic mouth to the North Sea.\"photo-4\"<\/a>Twenty seven miles\u00a0of scenic<\/em> mileage versus the twenty miles we’d planned, the duckies were happy for a rest.\"DSCN9645\"<\/a>Our terrain on the other side was blissfully flat, but we’d already taken enough photos, so we enjoyed the easy pedaling. \u00a0A slight turn in direction and the clouds we had tried to ignore,\"DSCN9668\"<\/a> were too close for comfort. \u00a0We picked up the pace to make in to town before the rain hit. \u00a0Naturally the town is on a hill and the castle we were staying was 3\/4 of a mile\u00a0above the town.\"DSCN9674\"<\/a>\u00a0But we made it there with ten minutes to spare before the rain. \u00a0To dispel the running commentary that we are wennies with regard to the rain, we suffered the environment and headed to town for dinner. \u00a0Not a lot of choice, but what we found was fabulous; wine\"DSCN9686\"<\/a> and taste bud tantalizing Indian food…..\"DSCN9688\"<\/a>don’t you worry that we need to bike uphill after this dinner.<\/p>\n\n\t\t