The night
was mostly clear and my main concern was sub-zero temperatures and
ice on the road. The road I was camped by must have had only 2
vehicles pass along the whole time I'd been camped since last night.
I packed up the tent and gear and continued my ride to the east. I
could see the end of the Loch in the distance and thankfully the
road didn't have too many steep hills.
Loch Tay - Kenmore
I
was cruising along easily when my front wheel hit a patch of black
ice. There was no way I could correct the skid and I went over on my
right, hit the road and slid along the road. Two pannier bags had
come adrift and the bike lay there in the road while I picked myself
up to assess the damage. Right elbow and left hand were sore and
bloodied. The bike chain had come off again so I had to fiddle to
get it back on. The bike seemed to ride OK so I had no choice but to
press on.
Damage after the crash
My planned
route over Glen Quoich was definitely off. I continued along the
main 'A' road to Aberfeldy which seemed OK as it had been gritted.
In the town centre I turned right on to the A826. This was the start
of a very long climb over to Strath Braan. As I got higher the snow
in the adjacent fields got deeper. Side roads were icy and sections
of the main road had wind blown thin snow. Climbing was slow and the
major problem was losing traction but I was concerned about the long
descent to come. I eventually reached the bleak summit but didn't
find the descent as easy going as I'd hoped. The headwind slowed me
and at Amulree it was quite a struggle.
Old chimney
I
descended through the deep and winding Glen Almond. The sky was
mostly clear but the low winter sun didn't reach the valley bottom
where I was. I turned left to head east towards Buchanty then the
minor road towards Methven. It was still sub-zero and I wanted to
get on to the main road as soon as possible. I joined the A85 at
Methven and thankfully it wasn't too busy. It got busier as I
approached Perth. There was a large Tesco store so I stopped to call
in for some water. It was so nice to feel the warmth inside and as I
walked to buy 2no 2lt bottles of water (17p each) by feet warmed up
enough for me to feel my toes. I continued into the centre of Perth
and the main bridge where I re-joined my original planned route.
Perth bridge by John Smeaton
It was
fascinating to see the bridge was designed by John Smeaton in 1771.
Some of the cycle path south was treacherous with ice so stuck with
the road to head south and under the M90. Continuing on the A912 was
uncomfortable because of the large volume of heavy vehicles. The
road started a long winding climb up the deep valley of Glen Farg.
At the next junction the road layout didn't match what was on the
ground.
Camp by the old railway line
The B996 was
the main road continuing and the A912 a minor turn off to the left.
I continued up the B996 and through higher Glenfarg. The road
surface improved and the gradient eased as I reached the A91.
Crossing over, turning right then left I rode the B919 to turn off
right to pick up the cycle track along the old railway. I was
originally hoping to camp by Loch Leven near Kinross but it was
getting dark and there was a good flat patch of grass by the track.
I decided to stop here for the night.
Return to
Whittle Wanderer
