Yup, pouring….a lot…..almost the whole way……not the best. We got up bright and breezy at the hostel and even then it was raining heavy….its one thing getting rained on when you’re out on the bike but its another walking out into it from the word go. Takes a fair bit of will power, especially when the forecast is for it not to lift all day. Anyways we got under way, much against our bodies and minds opinions and really pushed to make Fort Augustus as quickly as possible for our lunch stop. You’d be amazed at the pace you can cycle when the weather’s that bad! We covered a very reasonable distance in a very respectable time and as planned stopped in Fort Augustus to fuel up. We passed the Commando Memorial, just after Spean bridge, which is truely amazing, and although I’ve sen it a few times before it’s always worth a stop to pay respect - in addition to this the location is grand to say the least with a great view over the glen and up into the surrounding mountains. We also passed the hostel that myself and 30+ friends had taken over for last hogmanay so thats a mention for any of them reading!! Fairly different circumstancesas I am sure you can imagine! We also encountered the rotating bridge that can be seen in the photos. Passed up along the side of Loch Lochy for a bit and then along almost the entire length of Loch Ness….which if you do not know it, is a very VERY long loch and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! The weather took a sharp turn for our last 15 miles of the day and the sun decided it was its turn and literally split the clouds in two which was great. The A82 was the road of the day, taking us almost the entire way from Fort William to Achnagairn where we stayed with Kyle’s cousin, Sandy. A double bed each in lovely house awaited along with a great dinner prepared by his wife Mo, so a huge thank you to both of them for putting us up and the great hospitality! Believe it or not that’s us up to date now!! Astonishing I know, but we have managed it. It is now day 13, the morning of, and we are about to set out on the road up to Helmsdale…so here’s hoping for some reasonable weather and with any luck (perhaps a lot of luck actually) we will have some 3G or computer access up there1 Hammy