Raindrops keep falling on my head - or is that Stella?

We knew today would be tough and if I'm honest I wasn't looking forward to it very much!! Following a tactical meeting last night we deduced that the winds don't pick up until mid-morning, so if we leave earlier in the morning we might get a few of the 97 miles done before the wind sets in.

Andy W duly set his alarm early then proceeded to faff around like a big girl for half an hour, but we were still on the road just after 6:15. Our plan seemed to have worked - for the first 2 miles. By the time we reached the main road the winds had picked up and the drizzle had started, which quickly turned to rain.

Fortunately alot of our route was sheltered by trees and, more impressively, mountains, and we blasted through the first 34 miles, arriving in Oban at 9am. We eventually managed to find a cafe which was open (and playing some rather choice patriotic local radio station) and settled down for what was my 4th cooked breakfast in as many days - guilt free!

Once done, we ventured to find Andy W some dried fruit and me some Midget Gem sweets, which have respectively been the unsung hero's of our ride so far

It was by this time raining properly and we left Oban, climbing for an enternity, until we eventually found ourselves in the clouds, rain blasting us relentlessly in the face. This was not what we'd signed up for! Silently and in our own thoughts we ploughed on, until as I overtook Andy W, he quietly said "Wet, is it?". Yes Andy, it is.

Once over the top of the hill, we started a fairly major descent, during the course of which we passed a small shop and a chap struggling to get his shopping into his car. Whether the sight of Andy and I whizzing towards him startled him I don't know, but a rogue can of lager fell out of his bag, and landed on the floor, whereupon it pierced sending 2 jets of lager fizzing into the air. I was already laughing by this stage, but as I turned round, laughter turned to delight as I saw Andy W cycle straight through what can only be described as a Stella fountain. That kept had us chuckling for a good few miles....

We finally arrived in Lochghilhead, and once again found a cafe to shelter from the elements and have a cup of tea. Upon leaving the town, I took a slightly wrong turn which fortunately Andy W noticed - the road I took was taking us down the wrong side of a rather large expanse of water!!!

Once on track we made good time again through the next 25 miles to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the Isle of Arran. After a 30 minute wait we boarded the ferry, and my bike fell over, bending the trailer coupling and rendering it pretty useless. Fortunately I had a spare coupling so I repaired the damage and hoped that it didn't happen again for the remainder of the trip!

Once on Arran, a short ride along the coast led to our Hotel (yes, hotel!!). For the first time since leaving home we had a kettle, a bath, a bar and a telly. We're off to watch the Champions League final - cheers!