Cycling Holiday
2019: Aberdeenshire and Angus
This year we
returned to Angus for our 'end of summer' annual cycling holiday. It had been
11-years since we explored this part of Scotland on our biking holiday, and that
trip had terrible weather. Would this trip be better? Well, yes and no: it was
not the best of weather, but nowhere near as bad as 2008!
Day-1 from our
friends Ros and Iain to Glen Clova:
33miles with 2200ft ascent, average-C(60W)
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We're off! Or
are we? Less than one minute after this photo the heavens opened!
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We took shelter
in Ros and Iain's garage for 15-mins until the rain
subsided.
Rain was never
far away: here chasing us out of Dundee!
Rain came and
went throughout the day. The roads often looked more like rivers, and when we
finally arrived in Glen Clova it was full of water!
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Finally we
arrive at our destination: Glen Clova Hotel, to
dry-off and refresh for the next day.
Day-2 from Glen Clova to the Northern Hotel, Brechin: 25miles with 1330ft
ascent, average-B(54W)
Day-2, and the
weather is much improved!
Sunny and dry at
last!
Leaving Glen Clova; the flooding had much subsided.
Day-3 from
Brechin to the House of Mark, Glenesk: 26miles with 1780ft ascent, hard-B(62W)
Day-3: the rain
had returned.
It didn't rain
all the time, but it was one of those days when you can't decide to use
waterproofs or not.
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A lot of rain
does have its bonuses: fabulous cep!
We arrived at
House of Mark without having got wet..!
Day-4 from
Glenesk to the Douglas Arms Hotel, Banchory: 35miles
with 2530ft ascent, hard-C(62W)
Today was in the
plans to be the hardest day of the holiday: over Cairn o' Mount, 2miles at
8-12%, a 5.7-Julies hill!
The day started
a bit cloudy as we left Glenesk.
It still wasn't
sunny when we passed through Fettercairn.
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Julie got there
ahead of me and definitely won the polka dot jersey!
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It was a
challenge, but Julie thrashed it!
The long decent
finally dropped us out of the clouds.
Day-5 from Banchory to the Marcliffe Hotel,
Aberdeen: 23miles with 1500ft ascent, average-B(62W)
Day-5 was the
easiest day of the holiday, and allowed us to potter.
This was our
'posh' night's accommodation: Marcliffe Hotel
Day-6 from
Aberdeen to Glenesk Hotel, Edzell: 39miles with
2340ft ascent, hard-C(55W)
The last two
days were always to be a little tough, but the wind had arrived and was in our
face for both days!
It was a nice
start to the day, but the wind was already blowing as we left Aberdeen.
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Our route took
us through Stonehaven, where we found refreshments.
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Although we were
cycling into a strong wind, at least the roads were quiet.
And finally our accommodation
for the night: Glenesk Hotel.
Day-7 from Edzell to journeys end, Dundee: 37miles with 2420ft ascent,
hard-C(57W)
Big open spaces
resulted in unobstructed wind, not that you'd know in this photo!
A farmer
influenced by Aardman Productions.
And finally the
end.