Day 11

Accomodation:  Craig VillaGuest House
www.craigvilla.co.uk

Steve was not a happy bunny, and who could blame him. In Spain people would now be on the beach and here he was on the outskirts of Glasgow contemplating how another layer of clothes might be accommodated.

As we made made liberal use of the "all you can eat" breakfast buffet we finalised our days route, dropping down to the banks of the Clyde,  following the cycle route to Loch Lomond then up the west side of the Loch before turning West onto to A82 and descending to Inverlochy for the night, 70 miles in all.

Belgium cyclist on LEJOG. Impressive luggage!

Stiff legs from the previous days exertions made for a slow start but once we had made the the cycle path by the Clyde our spirits soared.  A well surface path, it follows the banks of the River Leven all the way to Loch Lomond.  On the way we met a young Belgium guy, also a LEJOG'er, loaded down with an impressive array of cycle bags that made our load seem puny in comparison.

By the time we arrived at the Loch heavy rain made an appearance, forcing us to take refuge in a McDonald's.  This was the days low point. (both the rain and the McDonald's)

After the rain had passed we set off once more. We made the mistake of initially following the main road but quickly joined the cycle track alongside the Loch.  Now the problem was to resist stopping every 100 yards to take pictures of the stunning scenery, which included snow capped hills.  

A problem not to keep stopping for pictures

Following the twisting path means that some 20 miles alongside the lake   were covered before we stopped for lunch at around 2.30pm. While there we met another LEJOG couple also planning to finish on Friday.  If everyone we have met makes it as planned it should be quite a reunion.

The wind was still blowing hard, with occasional burst of hail when we turned westward onto the A82 to our final destination.  This leg would normally have been easy as it was an 8 mile decent to Inverlochy.

Cycling hard down hill!

However, the wind was blowing so hard it was tougher than riding uphill.  Seriously.  It took over an hour for us the DECEND 8 miles to our overnight stop where we arrived just past 6pm.

The B&B is a lovely old house set on its own and 5 minutes walk from the local hotel that served up an excellent beef pie and local vegetables, followed in my case by apple crumble and custard. We deserved it after today's exertions. ...

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Distance covered  72 miles

Total distance.  Sorry, forgot to check.

Accomodation:  Craig VillaGuest House
www.craigvilla.co.uk

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