Day 2 Report

Another poor reception area.

We got underway at 7.30 this morning and the first part of our day was the remaining 65mile ride up to Fort William and the foot of Ben Nevis.

Again, the sun was shining and there was an even stronger wind on the nose that proved energy and moral sapping but we also had a new threat in highland midges. Ouch!

The radio interview with Fitz did not take as their telephone system crashed and we are re-scheduled for 2.45pm tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

As we ascended on bikes towards Fort William we could see a snow capped Ben Nevis growing in size on the clear horizon. It was an amazing and daunting sight!

We completed the bike section in just short of five hours giving an average moving speed of 13.4mph.

When we arrived at the Ben Nevis visitor centre to meet up with Bob and Ray, the car park was jammed full and cars over spilled onto the road because it is the three peaks challenge weekend and there were literally thousands of people on the mountain.

After our prepared pasta lunch, we set off just before 3pm to climb the 4406ft to the summit, which we made in a pleasing 2hrs and 20mins. After photos and some time to enjoy the view and environment we made our descent in 1hr 40mins.
We were considering the option of putting in a further short bike stint this evening but we when we saw the Ben Nevis Inn a few hundred metres from bottom, we simultaneously chose a rewarding Guinness as our preferred option, which we enjoyed in good spirits.

Our camp site at the foot of Ben Nevis is clean and tidy with good facilities and we are showered, watered and well fed.

Tomorrow we start with a 70 mile cycle across Glen Coe to the head of Loch Lomond for the 25mile kayak from end to end.

Cheers for now!
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