George and Mary's Travels: Day 17 Bettyhill to John o'Groats

Chris the Bettyhill proprietor served me breakfast at sharp as a favour . Only others staying in hotel were 3 surfers from Newcastle - yes surfers! - and as I heard them returning to their rooms in the wee hours - I was on my own. Chris quite delightful and just done a major refurbishment of the fabulously situated hotel.

Sting in the tail . The strong to gale force east wind that I had to battle into all day . Only50 miles but it felt like 100. On the firsr 30 miles to Thurso I lost count of the number of energy sapping descents and steep re- ascents from sea level. Quick soup and salad in the cheerful and very good Le Bistro . A check at the tourist off on ferry times to Orkney and back to fight the east wind. Pretty bleak landscape , constant heavy rain squalls and it was simply a slog to make it. But the wildness and the views over to Orkney made it at times even enjoyable - easy to say in hindsight. And of course hugely satisfying,

A memorable trip with the usual combination of all the ingredients of cycle touring that we've expounded on before . Nothing like it. For the stats my odometer shows 1,132 miles since leaving Keith &Fiona's house in Edinburgh ( for the first time ! ) , so that included the trips to Waverley and the Kings X to Paddington ride and then getting down to Lands End. Charlie's route i.e. the Pewsey route shows 1066 miles and just under 72,000 feet of climbing. I can believe the latter! For the former the diff in addition to the extra mileage noted above must be accounted for by my failure to follow Charlie and getting lost i.e additional and quite unnecessary slog! Hospitality everywhere has been superb and v good value . Youth hostels - I'd recommend them to anyone. People I met along the way - delightful . Weather apart from last 2 days - very good. Accom - hotels 8 nights , B&B's 2 nights , YH's 4 nights , camping 3 nights. Wind - predominamtly favorable . Last day a conspicuous exception. Rain - hardly any, with again the notabe exception of last 2 days particularly the penultimate day. Bike - worked like a dream . Well worth getting new wheels ( and Schwalbe Marathon plus tyres ) as I was able , safely , to maintain tyre pressure at close to 80si. I kept the chain well lubed esp after rain and that makes a big difference. Gear - inevitably one thinks one is carrying far too much weight . But I used everything I carried. The tent , sleeping mat and sleeping bag were vital not just on the 3 occasions I used them, but on pretty much everyday when I rode on in the late afternoon knowing I always had that option even on the side of the road. Alness a perfect example of this. Stove and Tiso bags were again vital for the occasions I needed them - 7 in all , heavy , but I used them all. A heavy bag of Oatmeal of Alford I only used once with Keith at Lochranza and that prob was excess baggage . Maybe I'll use in Orkney. I WILL use in Orkney !

Taking the v convenient ferry tomorrow morning from Gills Bay ( a couple of miles from JoG ) to St Margaret's Hope , Orkney , having a couple of days there and getting the midnight ferry to Aberdeen arr there at 7.30 on Tues morning.