Day 12: Avimore -> Bonar Bridge

All signs said it was going to be one of those days. I left the B&B in heavy rain. A people carrier pulled over in front of me on quite a narrow road. The driver, who was wearing proper Scotish garb (kilt/sporran), got out and walked over to a puddle. He dipped his hand in, scooped up some water and smelt it. Now this obviously caught my attention and I stared at him as I rolled past. He stared back at me like I was the crazy person. Now I might be a bit of a mess after 12 days on the velo, but I ain't no puddle sniffer.

It carried on raining as I chugged along route 7 towards Inveress into a strong north easterly wind. Cold rain in the face. Excellent! That was pretty much the story of the day - it rained, it chucked it down and then it drizzled. The head wind, an inadvertent detour through a very muddy forest and a slight faux pas with the route meant I spent the best part of 9 hours cycling... in the rain. More sponsors though and lots of messages of support - thanks all!

Rain aside, like all English travellers I'm embracing the local culture. I had a full Scottish breakfast with black pudding (quite good), lorne sausage (standard) and macaroni cheese pie (amazing). Would also try local lingo, but I dinnae ken much. Aye.