Sunday 28th August
The team were up at 0355 this morning and out on their bikes at 0500 for a very wet and windy cycle in the dark from the campsite at the Kingshouse Hotel, to the Glencoe Ski Centre. They were met by DecAid co-founder Rupert Laing, his sister Becky and friend Charles who had come all the way from Forres that morning, leaving at 0200! The team were delighted to also be joined by the Laing's spaniel Bumble. She looked less than impressed as she was pulled from her basket in the car and attached to her lead in the pouring rain, but I'm afraid the team had little sympathy for her! Rupert, Becky and Charles expertly navigated the team over Meall a Bhuiridh and Criese, two Munros which are very popular with mountain bikers in the summer, before heading back down to the road to meet the support team. Meall a Bhuiridh was dedicated to Sergeant Christopher John Reed of The Rifles.
The support team sent Alex, Ceri and Tom off on their road bikes along the A82 before collecting them back again a short way down the very exposed and windy road. Following behind them in the 4x4 it was clear that most of the teams energy was being used to stay upright as they battled against the elements! After refuelling with food and water the support team sent them on their way up Stob na Broige and Stob Dearg which was a particularly blustery walk, especially for poor Bumble! Both of the Munros were dedicated to The Rifles. Once at the top of the final Munro Rupert took himself off on a recce to see whether there was a shorter route back down to the road. After clambering down 100m of rock face and ripping his trousers in the process he decided to return to the team who were sensibly making their way down the well trodden footpath back to the road!
The team have now climbed nearly 160 Munros in just 28 days. Unfortunately Ceri announced yesterday that he has decided to temporarily join the support team. He has been suffering from an extremely painful back and his feet have been causing him a lot of problems recently. But he hopes to join the team again very soon once he has recovered.
If you are following the SPOT tracker then you will have noticed that the team have changed their routes quite a bit over the last few days. The Aonach Eagach Ridge can be particularly treacherous when it is very windy so the team decided to do it today instead which has temporarily pushed back timings. However, they are hoping to make up the lost time over the course of the week. If you are hoping to come and join the team then please e-mail decaidmunromission@live.co.uk if you would like us to confirm summit times for any of the Munros.
End of day 28 - 158 Munros climbed.
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