Day 26 – A tough one...

Friday 26th August

This morning a very tired team were awoken at 0600 and practically forcefed their breakfast in order to wake them up. All three of them felt very sleep deprived as they only manage to get about 4 hours sleep. Sarah and Lewis on the other hand didn't make it to bed. They were up fixing bikes, making sandwiches and sorting out other important things for the busy day ahead. Thankfully both of them managed to catch up on sleep later in the day.

New support team member Stu Buchan took the team up the Munros today which were very boggy, and although the views were absolutely stunning, the team were really feeling the lack of sleep as tiredness truly kicked in. Glencoe is the team’s favourite area and they have been looking forward to it the most. It was a glorious morning and the scenery looked fantastic.

Today was always going to be a long day and by about 1900, the team had already climbed 6 Munros, all dedicated to The Royal Artillery. Meall Non Eun and Stob Coir an Albannich were the first two, with Stob Coir an Albannich dedicated to WO2 Michael Smith of The Royal Artillery. They were delighted to meet the McIlroys who represented the Highland Gunners and climbed today's 3rd Munro, Glas Bheinn Mhor, In memory of Sergeant David Wilkinson. Glas Bheinn Mhor was kindly sponsored by Rachel Wilkinson with the message "A million years from now my heart will ever hold you."

The team also climbed Beinn nan Aighenan, Ben Starav and Beinn Sgulaird. The team added Beinn Sgulaird (dedicated to Bombardier Craig Hopson) to today's route which was initially going to be climbed the next morning. We apologise for the confusion that these last minute changes in plan have on people following the team on their online route maps and trackplotter. However in situations like these, the climbers have to make sure that they are changing routes to accomodate how they are feeling at the time. These days are getting so long that if cutting a bit of time off one day makes all the difference. Unfortunately though, due to the last minute change in timings, the team were very sad to miss the Sawyers who had come up from 2 9 commando Plymouth to climb Ben Starav in honour of Captain Tom Sawyer in black tie!

After all of this the team met at an RV point to collect the roadbikes just before 1900, a little later than expected. They cycled to a small car park where they were given bowlfulls of chorizo pasta and three helpings of pudding! They sat in the van for an hour whilst the support team refueled their camelbacks with water, crammed as much food into their daysacks as possible and tended to their feet which are looking very much like prunes! Ceri is starting to have back troubles but it only seems to be a problem when he stops and sits down. The balls of his feet are still fairly numb but no one can fault his morale which considering his nasty bike incident yesterday is remarkable.

Alex is as usual very jolly and always meets the support team after a long day with jokes and banter.

Tom is in very good spirits and doing exceptionally well during these very tough days. He still absolutely loves the cycling part!

The support team sent them on their way at 2000 up a very steep and boggy hill which didn't have much in the way of a path. The support team had been up there earlier in the day to set up two tents with all the kit the team would need for a nights stay. It took about an hour and a half to get to the beautiful spot which was high up overlooking two lakes. Sadly it was too late and dark for the team to see the views when they got in. The support team left Becky up there so that she could cook them supper (number 2!) and check that they were all ok. Tom Elliot took the climbers up the very boggy hill (by now a well rehearsed route). They were due to get back to the camp at about 2300 but we have yet to catch up with Tom E to find out how they got on.

The team have got another couple of very tough days ahead of them before things become a little easier. It is amazing how much confidence they all have in each other. It was definitely a bonus to have had a really tough week (week 1) as it has given them a lot of confidence that they can do it again.

Over the last few days we have all been so touched by the incredible generosity of the local people. On Thursday the team were interviewed by Alan Thomson from STV. He very kindly managed to get us a night in the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. We are also grateful to Nadia and Duncan who were so generous in giving us all a bed for the night for free and for looking after us all so well. The use of a drying room has become sheer luxury as has a kitchen in which to eat breakfast away from the midges. We also owe a massive thank you to Mr and Mrs Lawrie who have let us camp on their grass verge for 2 nights now. With such wet weather we couldn't be more grateful for the use of a loo and hotwater! The cup of tea and KitKat went down very well too!

End of day 26 - 148 Munros climbed