Today was a tough 80 miles with wind and rain after more than my fair share of warm and sunny weather. The Devil's Beeftub straight out of Moffat was the headline climb of the day but proved ok if not enjoyable - steady gradient, mostly decent surface, open countryside and little traffic.
The long descent to Broughton came with strong headwinds and so it was decent graft before refuelling at Broughton and again at Biggar.
The next section to Livingstone felt both long and hilly and while it was scenic and almost absent of traffic, it was absent of any shops or pubs too. By the time I'd arrived at Livingstone and probably cycled the most inappropriate route through the town, I could have eaten anything but struck gold when I came across a service station selling the trusted pastie and cup of tea combination.
The Forth bridges came into view shortly after and arriving at the road bridge's eastern cycle path to find it closed was just a time to laugh and retrace steps before crossing via the western cycle lane. So, the western path gave views of the new bridge nearing completion rather than the iconic Forth railway bridge to the east.
The crossing was both windy and wet and the subsequent climb out of Inverkeithing and most of the way to Kinross ensured I felt the day's work.
Day 10's route is available on Relive
here
