Day 12 - 31st May - Newtonmore to Conon Bridge

Day 12 ended up at 73 miles rather than the  originally planned 60 miler - I got a bit carried away after the last two days' efforts but today's longer route along the Spey Valley was well worth it.

After a later departure at around 9.30, it was quite easy going to lunchtime as I followed the Sustrans route which undulated parallel with the Spey valley.

A quick detour into Aviemore was taken for topping up re-hydration tablets before 9 gentle miles onto Boat of Garten for a lunch break. The stop also coincided with arrival of steam train on the Speyside railway.

 

The post lunch session brought the climb to the Schlod Summit - as with the Drumochter and Beeftub climbs, it was steady and allowed a good rhythm to make good time.

 

 

The summit was still 25 or 30 miles from Inverness so refreshments were necessary on arriving at the town;  I passed the  Velocity Cafe and Bicycle Workshop and provided the necessary nutrients .

 

 

 

By now, the weather was superb and Inverness looked amazing.

The Kessock bridge crossing of the  Beauly Firth signalled the start of a gradual climb from sea level over about 7 miles before dropping quickly into Conon Bridge to arrive just before 6.

 

 

 

The body was still fine and apart from the odd knee twinge, was coping well so far. The bike was needing some more TLC so before leaving tomorrow, it'll be clean down and relubricate the key moving parts.

Day 12 is available on Relive here