Day 12 - Inverness to Helmsdale

Today was definitely a day of two halves, cycling-wise.  The first, easy, pleasant, in good sunny weather on minor roads, or well-surfaced cycle paths alongside the A9.  The second, on the A9 itself from Tain to Helmsdale.  This was not a pleasant experience.  At first, from Tain until after the Dornoch Firth Bridge, there is a 'shoulder' for cyclists to cycle on but this quickly disappears and the A9 becomes single-carriageway in each direction, with motorists trying to maintain dual-carriageway speeds and no room for cyclists.  The road is not busy in terms of traffic volume, but the traffic there is wants to get where it's going fast, and while most motorists will still wait until a suitable passing opportunity and give space, some pass by inches leaving the barest of margins - as if wanting to shave your legs as one cyclist put it.  Neither Nick nor I liked it.  The weather turned a little greyer too.

The stats:
Distance cycled today: 70.6 miles
Ascent: 3,347'
Distance from Lands End: 894 miles

Of course, the big news is: This was our last full day of cycling on this trip.  Tomorrow early afternoon we will reach John O'Groats, celebrate briefly and then get the train home.  It's been a fantastic adventure, but I won't write the end before it happens.  That's for tomorrow.  Today was another day in the cycle of eat, sleep, cycle, repeat with some great scenery passed along the way, all adding to a memorable experience.  Today I was thinking 'why did I wait so long to do this?'  It's an adventure I've long wanted to have.  Don't put off your adventures.

I should also mention passing a sign pointing to Barbaraville - a most unlikely name for a remote Scottish village in the far north of Scotland.  I'm sure my colleague Barbara will be chuffed to bits to know someone named a remote Scottish village after her :-)  Well, on checking Wikipedia, that fount of all knowledge, it seems that in Scottish Gaelic it's called "An Cladach", which doesn't sound at all like Barbara, so maybe it has a different derivation :-)