The Thistle Sunday Social ride followed the majority of the Etape Caledonia route - we missed out the pointless dogleg around Aberfeldy...
A day of constant rolling hills in this heat made the ride pretty tough so, a cafe stop at Kinloch Rannoch after only 23 miles was just what we needed. The poor waitress was 'rushed off her feet' when the 4 of us turned up to an otherwise empty establishment
Fuelled with tea, coffee, rolls and tuna melts, we set off for the main climb of the day, Schiehallion.
I've only ridden the Etape route once and I couldn't quite remember the climb so I didn't think it could be too bad.
It was certainly a bit tougher than I recall!
We made quick work of the climb and regrouped before enjoying the long descent.
As we approached Dull the wind had made an unwelcome appearance. This headwind now made cycling back towards Pitlochry a bit more painful that it perhaps should've been. Stopping at the Spar store around Weem, Brian was 'greeted' with perhaps the most unhelpful shopkeeper ever. Asking if there was any still water left, he was met with a grunt, followed by 'no' and then a 'well, we've been busy' wasn't the response we'd expected.
Eventually finding 2 small bottles at the back of the fridge we topped up our bottles as best we could to complete the last stretch home...
Turning left at Logierait we continued on back to Pitlochry where a 2nd coffee and a wee bit of cake may, or may not have been consumed before loading the van and heading for home.
A cracking 75+ miles with great company in stunning scenery and glorious weather, what more could you ask for?