The A76 didn't seem quite so bad this morning, with less traffic and cooler conditions. We covered the 8 miles left from yesterday in our first hour, and then continued up Nithsdale to the watershed on minor roads. (I've come to the conclusion that the road was very deceptive yesterday, and while it looked as if we were going downhill, we must actually have been going uphill - which would account for it being such hard work!)
From then on, we seemed to be flying! There was a strong breeze, fortunately blowing in our direction, and a lot of downhill stretches. By the time we stopped for lunch, we'd clocked 34 miles! The rain and possible storms which had been forecast for today didn't catch us, and we enjoyed sunny spells and a fair wind. The possibility of catching the 6.00 pm ferry to Arran became the probability of catching the 4.40 pm crossing.
This afternoon, we picked up National Cycle Route 73, which runs alongside the river through Irvine, and on mainly traffic-free paths out to Ardrossan, from where we planned to catch the ferry across to the Isle of Arran. We arrived with time to spare, and Steve managed to get the car onto the same ferry (he was originally booked for the later one).
We'd had our share of good weather for the day, though, and as we approached Brodick on the ferry, it began to rain. The plan to cycle the last 14 miles across the island to Lochranza was abandoned, and we loaded the bikes onto the car and ourselves into it, and drove up to the Youth Hostel. I think the forecast for the morning is quite good, so I'm looking forward to a stunning ride in the morning, before catching the ferry from here back to the mainland to continue our journey.
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| Looking back down Nithsdale from near the top |
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| Ardrossan Harbour as we left on the ferry |
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| Another view of Ardrossan Harbour |
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| Yours truly on the ferry |
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| The ferry going back to Ardrossan from Brodick, emerging from the mist! |
