After an acceptable breakfast, Aimi spent some time cleaning her gigantic screen having realised it’s unusable when road crud gets on it. We decided to take the direct route, avoiding the motorway and Glasgow… because Glasgow. This meant we were up into the hills on small roads straight away which challenged Adam.
This is not his bike so he had a couple bum-puckering moments when the bike slipped a bit under him. This understandably shook his confidence a little so we slowed the pace. Not that we could go very fast anyway, the rain was persistent.
Reaching the end of the land and the beginning of the sea, we caught a ferry from Gourock to Hunter Quay. This got us out into Proper Scotland™, but first we needed some lunch and so found a cute little cafe. Parking adjacent and looking out across the choppy sea we had just crossed, we had some really great food. Especially the cheesecake which looked a bit drippy, but tasted amazing. I professed how good it was so much that as we were getting on the bikes, the chef came out with a table away box and gave us the last two bits! It was here I started to notice a pink ninja in the background… but anyway. I stowed the cheesecake in a plastic bag in my top box, for fear of reaching the hotel later and finding a cheescakey mess.
On the road again I bravely decided not to wear rain gear yet. It was just light showers where you could see thru to the hills beyond. Nothing to worry about… except when it goes on all day. Recognising this was starting to seep in, at the next photo op, I donned full rain battle gear. I may look like a confused fisherman, but I’m actually a completely dry motorcyclist, and that’s what counts!
Our next waypoint was the Green Welly stop, here we got a sticker and had a cup of tea. It’s a bit of a tacky place, not the warm cosy kind of cafe, more like a school canteen but Aimi wanted to go. I did find there a nice, yet cheap wallet. Both Aimi and Edd thought it should be £30 so I bought it, considering it was just £12.
From here it was the ever glorious drive thru Glen Coe and Glen Etive up to Fort William. The views were a little restricted but still incredible. It’s definitely one of the best views in the UK. Even if the weather was still persisting, now with added wind. We were a line of bikes, all riding along at 45 degrees leaning into the wind, avoiding being blown into the other lane.
Arriving at The Caledonian Hotel we carried our kit all the way thru the corridors to the check in desk, just to carry them most of the way back! But, now in dry clothes and with food in our bellies, we enjoyed watching old American folk get up and dance to a lethargic lone guitar musician. I even got up and had a dance with a nice American lady, but soon realised I cannot remember half the moves I used to know. She seemed to have fun.
This is when I finished off the cheesecake that had made it to the hotel. Despite the speculation that it might result in diarrhoea after spending several hours in an unrefrigerated box, but it was fine it seems. Still tasted great to me! But it’s also the only reason I’m still awake, full of sugar, while everyone else is fast asleep!