Day Eight - Dumfries to Irvine

Rumour had it that today’s ride was going to be quite a tough one so everyone was extra keen to make an early start. We managed to set off just after 8.30am and decided on a steady pace with short stops so as to save our legs for yet more climbs tomorrow.

Very soon we were on quiet country lanes and as we started to climb the scenery opened up. It wasn’t long before we saw our first highland cows (who seemed very curious to see the Tandem!) and a couple of lochs too. There was certainly no mistaking we were in Scotland today.

We made our first stop around 13 miles in at a small but very well stocked local store. I dived on one of the freshly made rolls and Max grabbed a bar of tablet (which is like Scottish fudge with extra sugar!). This became a godsend towards the end of the day when we found ourselves in dire need of a sudden energy boost for the last 10 miles.

The weather seemed OK and the forecast suggested that we might be lucky enough to escape the rain. We stayed dry until mid afternoon but finely got caught in a short sharp shower. No real harm done though and after taking shelter for a few minutes we set off again undeterred.

We continued at a relatively slow pace but tried to make the most of any/all the downhill stretches. Whilst keen to rest our legs we’re both feeling more than a little saddle sore so we were very relieved to reach the hotel and ditch the bikes around 5pm.

Tonight’s hotel seems very nice and dinner is included in the price which is an added bonus. It’ll make a welcome change from the Premier Inn menu which we’ve pretty much exhausted now!