A grand day out for me today. I'd hoped to get up the GB Duro route yesterday to see a few folk past but a shocker of a forecast saw me drinking beer on Friday and having a lazy morning, only for the weather to stay dry all day... Anyway, undeterred, and knowing that they would be all past Killin before lunch, I headed out west, picking up the route near Stirling.
Lo and behold on the wee road to Doune I encountered Mike Sheldrake who I'd first met on HT'21 and also bumped into a few times this year as he was wandering around the lower loop taking photos of people. He'd had a rough time on the GBD wrecking a tyre on the gap and losing loads of time sorting a replacement, putting him out of the time cut. His view of the route was that it's a cracker but a bit steep (£300) for what you get, compared to audax rates in any case. I have to say that whilst I do fancy the route, the stupid rules and the cut-offs is putting me off the group start. Mike didn't seem that far off the pace, despite all his problems, so it seems rough to DQ someone just 'cos they aren't quite fast enough; excluding them from the last two check points and finishers party, having coughed up for it. It then transpired that Kirsty Gunstone has also bailed due to missing time cuts and not having enough time to charge devices. I prefer Alan Goldsmiths approach...
Anyway, up to Killin on the cycleway and then along by Loch Tay before the climb over into Glen Almond...
Gravel-tastic into Glen Almond. (Let's face it you are all bored with Jeffs fab wales photos...OK mebbes not....
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Home at half 8 via various wee roads. Twas quite breezy but the vagaries of the lochs and glens (no blue rinses though) meant I didn't have too many head wind issues.
116 miles in 9 and a bit hours so enjoying a recovery Beveridge and lots of food.
I then checked out what I thought was an old ruined farmhouse but in fact is a climbers cottage, unfortunately a quick Google search told me it was for members only 
