Day 16 - Glamis to Banchory (46 miles)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011
I really enjoyed today’s trip around my own backyard. I left from home at 9am reflecting that up and down the length of Britain, literally, other end-to-enders were pushing their bikes out on to the street for their next leg. Some get up at five to miss the traffic. Some go at 11am and think they’re early. Some are doing it in 100-mile days, some with no map at all. One man I met lost five stone and planned it for a year. Three New Zealanders I met in Penzance were doing it with no luggage because their wives had it all in their car.
All of the initial joy I felt in the beginning, and which has dissipated as the mileage has grown, came back with the excellent news that my sister Lesley is going to come with me for the last five days, bringing her good company, luxury tent and considerable culinary talent.
Also, apologies to all the people that told me I was mental to go from South to North because it was all uphill; you were right. I told them the prevailing wind would blow me north like a galleon under full sail. Wrong again. Headwind today.
The first 12 miles flew by and at Aberlemno I stopped to look at the standing stones for which it is famous. One of them has a Pictish bicycle on it (pictured).

Pictish bicycle stone

After a tea stop in Brechin I carried on to Edzell then Fettercairn, all the time looking for the gap in the mountains in front of me that I would be cycling through. Blowed if I could see one! It wasn’t there. I had to go right over the top, up to 450m then whizzing down the other side into Aberdeenshire. I don’t know how far you can see from the top of the Cairn O Mount but it is very far indeed. Three men were flying huge, elegant model planes which looked like birds of prey until they became silhouetted against the sun.

A view with a room

The last few miles to Banchory were through thick, scented pine forest and I didn’t have to pedal much at all, which is how I like my cycling.