Days of Summer Passed

So July, the month where i have in the last few years, enjoyed fabulous cycling in foreign climes namely Mallorca and really pushed up my annual miles and climbing i almost did nothing.
I kind of expected a dip as this year I was off to Florida and Disney, but a 2 week holiday turned to 3 weeks and the whole of July as my daughter got chicken pox and we were stranded thanks to virgins flight rules for another week.
I did manage to score some strava miles doing running on the hotel running route. as nice as it was, its not my thing. I did manage to get some cycling miles but on the hotel surrey bikes.

August though provided me with better luck. I headed up north to Portmahomack for a weekend. I decided to do a variation of a route I had done before in 2011 (coast to coast x2.) The Shortest coast to coast in Britain is Bonar Bridge to Ullapool but I'd done that before (check my strava) so I created a loop that did a double Coast to Coast heading from Bonar Bridge to Scourie then back on a more southerly route.
I was lucky with fabulous weather and after Disney and Florida enjoyed the solitude of this century ride.
The route took in some of the NC500 which I hope to do in the future.

The next day i loosened up the legs with a ride around Portmahomack and Tain. I had spent my youth holidaying up here and it was a first time for me on the bike exploring the local lanes and roads at a cyclists pace

Really enjoyed my weekend up north and rescued my summer from a cycling perspective. There are still countless routes and roads still to explore here and i will be back next year.

........but Mallorca 2020 is booked !!!