Last nights guest house was really comfortable and a lovely place that we would definitely recommend, and the disturbed night we passed has nothing to do with the accommodation, and everything to do with a light sleeper and a snorer sharing the same room.
Amanda and I have shared before, and if I had thought about it, I would have brought some ear plugs - for her not for me! I have been told I snore before, but it is one of those things over which you have no control. I tried changing my position, and to stay awake until Amanda was asleep, and then let myself drift off, but unfortunately this combination resulted in a disturbed night for both of us. Amanda being woken up by me and in turn waking me out of my deep sleep to stop the noise I was making. Where I would try to stay awake (probably unsuccessfully) until she was asleep, and then drift off and start snoring again waking her up... Suffice to say neither of us woke up fresh as daisies.
We feel a bit better after a decent breakfast, and ready to tackle the massive hill we know from the map we have at the start of today's ride. Before we go though we want to stop at a little gift shop we saw on the way to dinner last night. Unfortunately it's closed but I do stop at a pharmacy and buy ear plugs and nose strips to hopefully prevent another sleepless night!
I had been told by someone at work about a sauna at loch Tay called the Hotbox with great views across Loch Tay. It is about a mile from our accommodation tonight and would be a fab way to end the day if we can make it before it closes at 5pm.
Climbing out of Aberfoyle we realise that we have done this before - Dukes pass was one of the roads we cycled over as part of the pedal for Parkinson's ride a few years back. I groan. I had walked up most of it! Although it did give lovely views. Thankfully though instead of carrying on up the road, route 7 turned off into Achray forest. And within a minute we find ourselves confronted with a beautiful forest waterfall. Amanda tells me there is a sign saying we might see monkeys in the trees here. As she is taking pictures of the falls, a movement above makes me look up. Do you think the monkeys could be people on the go ape zipline? I ask her pointing up. She looks at me and then laughs as she realised what I mean.
Carrying on through lush green forest surrounded by greenery redolent with rich earth smells and various types of trees we continue climbing, and catch sight of more Go Ape obstacles, although no other 'monkeys'. We are on and off the bikes as necessary. It is still drizzly and Amanda comments that our surroundings wouldn't be like this without the amount of rain we get. This is true, and here as well as the verdant plant life around us we frequently hear forest streams gurgling and gushing through the undergrowth.
Eventually, we reach the heights and views open out around us - over the tree tops we see a bank of mist blocking anything else! It is still beautiful though. The land opens out a little as we curve around the top of the hill before the path starts to descend again. We are soon back on the road and find ourselves alternating between tunnels of trees above us, opening out to views across Loch Drunkie, shrouded in mist. The descent to Callandar is gradual, undulating terrain on a mix of gravel and hard packed forest trails and quiet roads. With a lovely off road section along the banks of Loch Venachar. Then it is back on the road through managed camping sites where several loch side cabins seem to be being built before we reach Callandar.
We stop here for a coffee and a bite to eat as well as a quick look in some gift shops. We are afraid to buy anything though, as trying to keep it intact over the next few days would be a challenge! Leaving Callandar, we get our feet absolutely drenched as the path is flooded to the point where our feet were in the water while pedalling. Ah well only 40miles still to go... we concentrate on the 24 to Killin. We know at this point we are not going to make the hot box sauna, but I suggest we could do it the next morning instead to warm us up before we get going.
The route on leaving Callandar is a quiet country lane and then an off road path along the edge of Loch Lubnaig with some fun ups and downs. We catch glimpses of the loch through the trees and occasionally the view opens out - but as the drizzly cloudy misty weather continues the range is limited. Fairly soon we pass by Strathyre, and not long after we are back out in the open country. Although it was only 2 days ago (I am writing this later than I would like) I am struggling to remember much about the section between Strathyre and Killin in any detail. The rain was drenching us from head to toe and we just kept on pedalling.
The route doesn't go into Killin proper, instead curving away towards Loch Tay from the Falls of Dochart. Another fabulous stretch of water gushing over rocks, it is a wide, shallow fall and with all the rain is especially impressive. If it had been nicer we might have been tempted to pause here for refreshment watching the water, and be refreshed for our last 15miles or so. but it is still raining and we decide to push on and get to our accommodation for the night. We have about 15 miles still to cover before we reach Acharn, just a mile or 2 from Kenmore at the other end of Loch Tay.
The road here is pretty quiet with not too much traffic, but climbs up and down constantly undulating and following Loch Tay. While I try and appreciate the views across the Loch when I can, we find this section really tough after what has already been a challenging day for us. we pause and Amanda checks the distance left to go. Still 11 miles! They feel more like 20 as we push on, on tired legs. I get into a kind of zone pushing fast on the downs to get as much momentum as possible to take me up the next section, slowing right down and pushing on up the next slope....an energy gel provided for us by Amanda's boyfriend keeps me going and eventually we pull into Acharn and find our accommodation not long after 5pm.
We are staying at the air bnb property of Charlotte and Adam. They make us a coffee and tell us the hot water is switched on and will be heated up in 20 minutes or so for a hot shower, we change out of our wet clothes and I try to make some conversation while we wait - Amanda is quiet, energy drained from the long day. 53 miles and 2 big climbs. We are both done in. after a warm shower, we begin to feel halfway normal. Charlotte has a meeting in Aberfeldy and offers us a lift into the town for dinner. The alternative being a walk in the still drizzly weather to Kenmore and back we accept gratefully. We don't really see anything of Aberfeldy as it is after 7, food brings on the tiredness and we just want to sleep.
Back at the bnb we go pretty much straight to bed at 9ish. Thankfully the ear plugs do the job and we both get a decent nights sleep!
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