JOGLE Day 2 – Inverness to Pitlochry

by Alan Cole · Published Saturday, August 9th, 2014 · Updated Saturday, August 9th, 2014

Daily Stats – Day 2

Miles Ridden: 88.1 miles
Metres Climbed: 3704 feet
Time Riding: 5:44:01
Average Speed: 15.4 mph

Total Miles Ridden: 206.4 miles
Total Ascent: 8816 feet
Total Time Riding: 12:59:59

Todays Weather: Showers, then sunshine.

Day 2 of JOGLE started off on a grumpy mood thanks to no sleep and the horrible hostel from Hell. And whem I mean no sleep, I mean no sleep whatsoever. Everyone else managed to get to sleep for a little while, but not me. It did however mean that everyone was up fairly early and ready to get away from Inverness as soon as possible. After a quick photo by the castle we were off, heading upwards towards the Cairngorms.

: Castle

: Day 2

We started on the main road but soon turned off this and up into the hills on quiet roads for our first stop of the day at Loch Moy. We had an early stop just to check that all was in order before continuing on into the hills. I put on an extra layer as it looked fairly cold and misty further ahead and at the moment it was a fairly grey day.

: Loch Moy

: Quiet Roads

We were essentially following the A9, but not actually on the main road. Instead we were on smaller roads and cycle paths all of which were signposted as National Cycle Way 7. The route was nice and everyone seemed to be enjoying it, even if we were a little tired after a long day yesterday and a terrible nights sleep. We had a quick stop at Aviemore on for flapjacks and coffee at the roadside and then continued on our way, once again following the smaller roads weaving their way alongside the A9. There was the occasional shower and it was mainly overcast and cool.

Our next stop was the the Dalwhiney Distillery for lunch. The sun was shining by now and spirits were on the up.

Distillery

Lunch was good and everyone was feeling a little more lively by now so we continued on our way. We had planned to join the A9 for a while here but as we left the distillery there was a sign for a cycle route to Pitlochry so we decided to follow this. It started off OK b ut got progressively narrower and more gravelly. Mike and I were ahead and stopped to wait for the others but we saw them trying get off track and onto A9. Ian got onto the A9 and was on it for about 5 seconds before almost getting killed by a camper van. After a few hundred yards on the A9 they saw us on the other side of the road and came over to join us. The cyclepath actually looked as though it improved here so we joined it again. It soon became quite rough though so we got back on the A9 and onto the route I had originally planned just as it turned into a dual carriageway. It was now essentially a 25 mile descent into Pitlochry so we were flying. We told Richie to drive behind us in the slow lane with his hazard warning lights on and giving us protection from the traffic and flew downhill at 30-35 mph for miles and miles. Once back to a single-carriageway Richie continued on is way and we kept the speed up. We finally turned off onto B roads at the bottom of the hill and wound our way through Killcarrie where there was a mock battle re-enactment going on. I stopped here and phoned Anna to arrange to meet them so that Morgan could do the last mile or so with us which he loved as we finally rolled up to the hostel in Pitlochry.

This hostel was much better and we soon had our bikes locked away, had showers and were tucking into dinner cooked by Anna and Eloise. Pitlochry itself and the hostel were a breath of fresh air compared to the noise and dirt of Inverness. Pitlochry was actually a lovely place and with the sun shining and a bit of time to explore we were beginning to enjoy ourselves. I was feeling fine with a couple of days cycling in my legs too.

: Geocaching in Pitlochry

: Pitlochry

After dinner Anna, Morgan and I went for a wander around the town, did a nearby geocache and then played pool in the hostel before planning the route for tomorrow. It was already planned really, but we were just checking it over and finalising details for meeting points etc. Anna was also busy sorting out the laundry for everyone. It was then off to bed ready for Day 3. 2 down, 8 to go.