Well rested after a good 8 hour sleep in the Kinlochleven AT centre and with a hearty full English/Scottish breakfast in their tummies, Tom and Alex set off at 0725 on their trusty road bikes.
The support team and navigators are trying very hard to change the route and timings so that the team are able to make up the time they lost by not being able to do the Aonach Eagach ridge on Sunday. They should hopefully be able to make up for it by the end of the week. They completed the ridge in record time yesterday due to some better weather conditions than expected. Stu and Becky are to be thanked for finding a good track up onto the ridge which saved them a lot of time. In fact they ended up being an hour ahead of schedule! The time managed to whizz by as Henry got them all into a big political debate about the educational system! Both Alex and Tom stopped off at the bike drop off at 1400 to refuel with snacks and water.
On they went; more miles and another 2 Munros which were climbed with support team members, Tom, Henry and James. Very boggy routes up and down but they managed to avoid the rain and even enjoyed a brief spell of sun at the top. Back down the hill on Mountain bikes which is always good fun...less fun for the support team who have to cycle them uphill! All the way back Tom and Alex were dreaming of the proposed stop at McDonalds in Fort William! They have been talking about this little detour for weeks so it was very lucky that they had time to do it! It was pretty amusing watching Alex cycle off with a McDonalds in one hand and trying to steer with the other!
Meanwhile the rest of the support team 'moved in' to the nights stop, the Youth Hostel in Fort William - luxury. Beds had to be made, clean clothes sorted and Sarah and Char cooked a hearty Irish Stew for supper. Ceri has got stuck into support team duties and very kindly offered to take 4 very large bags of washing to the laundrette, which certianly kept him occupied!
Alex and Tom arrived at the Youth Hostel nearly 2 hours ahead of schedule which is a record! It was time for showers and a very early nights sleep to prepare for the many wild camps and very long days over the next few weeks. As eyes started to droop over pudding the team were whisked away to bed for a very early night! Meanwhile the support team managed to completely take over the Youth Hostel dinning room by pouring over maps and making plans for the next few days.
The Munros climbed today were all dedicated to The Rifles. Meall Dearg was dedicated to Rifleman Jamie Gunn and very kindly sponsored by Alastair Rellie and Lucasta Cummings who left the the message "With great respect, affection and gratitude to the Rifles." Sgorr na Fiannaidh was dedicated to Rifleman Adrian Sheldon and Sgorr Dhearg (Beinn a' Bheithir) was dedicated to Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher.
The team are just passing the Commando Memorial near Spean Bridge. This photograph was taken when the team visited it a few months ago.
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