{"id":14347,"date":"2014-08-01T04:29:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T08:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=14347"},"modified":"2014-08-01T11:00:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T15:00:48","slug":"day-34-thursday-july-31-tarbert-to-campbeltown-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=14347","title":{"rendered":"Day 34. Thursday, July 31 – Tarbert to Campbeltown, Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

We shivered against the cold, damp wind and wondered how we could endure another day like this. \u00a0One mile into our ride, as we climbed our first hill, all was forgotten, unzipping as fast as we could to cool off.\u00a0\"DSCN0958\"<\/a>The up and down went on for miles, the dark clouds only throwing mist our way.\"DSCN0961\"<\/a> \u00a0On one particularly long down (after a long up) a cold drizzle was threatening to have us shivering again. \u00a0At the bottom, the first civilization we had seen since leaving our B & B was a gas station\/market serving soothing hot chocolate. \u00a0By the time we pedaled away, the sun was beginning to show\u00a0and the 55\u00b0 temperatures had warmed up ten degrees.\"DSCN0963\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Out of the hills and down to the relatively\u00a0flat road\"DSCN0966\"<\/a> along the west coast of this peninsula,\u00a0we\u00a0experienced fully the prevailing southeast winds. \"DSCN0967\"<\/a>\u00a0Thankfully, the winds were only about 10 mph, so not debilitating, just draining over time. \u00a0This coastline was gorgeous, \"DSCN0975\"<\/a>the sun that occasional broke free of the clouds, reflecting Caribbean blue in the waters.\"DSCN0969\"<\/a>Everything wild was blossoming from the water,\"DSCN0978\"<\/a> be it showers or sea.\"photo\"<\/a>Though the scenery remained brilliant, \"DSCN1000\"<\/a>the warm air \"DSCN0990\"<\/a>and flat road did not.\"DSCN0994\"<\/a>Sometime after noon, we stopped for lunch in a pretty cove with a white sandy beach. \"DSCN1005\"<\/a>\u00a0Though we enjoyed the vista,\"DSCN1006\"<\/a> the only restaurant in our entire stretch today, was closed. \u00a0As we climbed to the middle of the peninsula, over to the east side,\"DSCN1020\"<\/a> the rocks we had enjoyed along the\u00a0coastline \"DSCN1009\"<\/a>grew larger and coupled with grass fields created a spectacular landscape.\"DSCN1022\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One last climb before dropping into another scenic harbor town. \u00a0With rain threatening, we sped through town happy to be able to check in before the rain hit, but\u00a0after<\/strong><\/em> we climbed the short but very steep hill to the hotel.\"DSCN1059\"<\/a>Having missed lunch, it did not take us long to pedal back into town for a little snack before dinner.\"DSCN1052\"<\/a>\u00a0We had planned to take the ferry to Northern Ireland tomorrow, but had not planned on the ferry being booked. \u00a0So tomorrow we’ll take a day off show you this pretty harbor town.<\/p>\n

Note: \u00a0Below the photo gallery of each day is a comments section (that you are welcome to add); if you are missing it, you are missing an occasional hysterical commentary by Mike K. \u00a0aka Cecil O’Toole.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t