Day 29 - Lochgilphead to Oban - 85 kms

England for history Ireland for it's friendly people but there's no doubt in my mind that Scotland is the pick for cycling with it's vast open spaces and spectacular scenery.

The clearing sea mist signalled the beginning of a sunny day as we departed Lochgilphead - Henley though first accosted the local bike shop owner as he walked in the door asking him to reset his bike computer after refusing to believe for 4weeks that his tyre circumference was wrong and then refusing to follow the on line instructions - they could be wrong said Henley even though I pointed out to him it was the manufacturers instructions !

On the beautiful Crinan Canal

The early part if the ride was alongside the incredible Crinan canal another Telford inspired design that allowed commercial shipping to go from
one side of Scotland to the other

The ride then headed inland past
neolithic tombs and stone circles circa 3000BC which in Kevs words was "bloody old". In one tomb we clambered into hoping the modern retractable ceiling wouldn't stay locked - this was eerie to say the least!

We tackled the first of our 5 significant climbs that on our bike map looked almost perpendicular - while 20% in part it was
mercifully short. An undulating ride gave us great views of Loch Awe on a perfect day. We stopped for lunch at Dalavitch on Loch Awesome shore and spent most of lunch talking to it's owners who were from Perth.

The remainder of the ride was sensational with winding single lane roads giving us great views
of some amazing mtn scenery although the threat of getting cleaned up by speeding log trucks put a damper on our enjoyment

The descent into bustling Oban provided for great harbor views and to top off a perfect day we sat by the shore listening to school massed pipes playing

With Henleys recalibrated odo he has now officially past 2000 kms and the way i figure an equal amount of kilowats of wind !

With the weather holding we have a 7 hour ferry trip tommorrow to Barra in the Outer Hebrides for 4 days riding in what will either be heaven or he'll!