The 21st of July was a tough day. We pared down our hardware and planned to ship about 8 lbs of stuff to the States. Well, the freight for it was an astonishing 50 pounds sterling! So we had to sift through that and decide what to keep, what to bin, and what to ship. We eventually got it down to the essentials, and it still cost 15 pounds sterling, with an estimated arrival date 56 days hence.
And, to add to the frustration, the bottom bracket on boB's bike started to fail. Horrible grinding and slop in the bearings ... so to a bike shop we went. Forty-five pounds [sterling] lighter, and half-way into the afternoon, we were finally able to depart Pitlochry. This was one of the places where the Route wasn't very well marked, so we had a couple false starts leaving town because we weren't sure we were on the right path.
And, to add to the frustration, the bottom bracket on boB's bike started to fail. Horrible grinding and slop in the bearings ... so to a bike shop we went. Forty-five pounds [sterling] lighter, and half-way into the afternoon, we were finally able to depart Pitlochry. This was one of the places where the Route wasn't very well marked, so we had a couple false starts leaving town because we weren't sure we were on the right path.
Late in the afternoon we passed Blair Atholl. Feeling pressed for time, we didn't do much beyond a ride up the drive-way, and a picture from the front-gate. A shame, because it's apparently stunning inside the place. Next time we come through this way, we'll stop. We also had to pass the Blair Atholl distillery, which we will most certainly plan to visit sometime in the future!
Another half-hour up the road is The House of Bruar, purveyors of all sorts of fine Scottish things. Bob has two kilts from The House of Bruar, so we had to stop in and check out the tweed collections! It was late and we didn't have much time, and since kilts are less necessary than food while on cycle tour, we headed for the cafe and food shop first!
A fine selection of MacSween's fresh haggis! Yum!
We're not making this up... you really can buy vegetarian haggis in a can. If anyone from home would like some, let us know and we'll ship a case...
We continued up the road, through the site of Killiekrankie along the River Garry, and eventually found our home for the night.
This site was nicely secluded along the Old A92, and appeared to be ideal. We named this site Glen Ticknmidge, in honor of the dastardly swarms of midges, and the minor collection of ticks we picked off after climbing into the tent.
Total miles 22.
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