The journey's over. The final day was 63 miles to Lairg, from where I picked up the train to Inverness.
The day started out with a little drizzle, which soon cleared, and a steady wind from the SW - if only I'd had that a few days ago, rather than now when I was heading into it!
I left Durness with not a little sadness and in no great hurry. As you will probably guess, as I rode over the hill that looks down over the Kyle of Durness, I could see the little ferry chugging across.
I'd met John, the ferryman, in the pub last night and he was quite upset that he'd not been able to get me across. I reassured him that us cyclists understood problems with the weather all too well.
There is a long but steady climb into the hills from Durness, and by long I mean over 10 miles. That's as long as my ride to work, but my commute doesn't have anything like this scenery!
Around the summit at 600 feet I ran into low-flying clouds (you can tell the difference from rain because clouds don't make splashes in puddles) and the wind fell right away.
Soon after Rhiconich, a tiny settlement - it consists of only a hotel, a police station, a couple of houses, and some public toilets - where the road returns to sea level, I spotted a cyclist heading the other way. As she sped past I recognised her as one of the girls with whom I crossed the Forth Road Bridge.
Her friend was following so I waved to her and she came to a sudden stop as she recognised me. They'd been following a similar route to me but with more sensibly-spaced overnight stops. We swapped stories about out travels, photographed eeach other, and exchanged email addresses, before we all realised that we were getting pretty cold and needed to be going on our ways. They had been cycling through the hills in the ferocious winds of the previous day. Hats off to them!
It was a delight to see them again and to share, briefly, the camaraderie that exists only between those who have undergone similar experiences..
Shortly after our meeting I came to Laxford Bridge and left my outward route to take the road to Lairg. I was extremely pleased to find that after an initial climb to 500 feet, the road ran pretty well dead level through the Reay Forest and beside a succession of lochs.
Eventually the hills began to fade away into the distance and the landscape became more pastoral as the road began its descent into Lairg beside Loch Shin.
Arriving a couple of hours before my train was due and unsure about the certainty of food on the sleeper, I decided to get an early meal, wisely as it turned out - the train was very full.
Less than two hours later I was in Inverness and on board the sleeper, waiting to head back to London where I arrived at 8am this morning.
So, some thoughts on the trip, first the hard facts: 941 miles in 14 days, an average of 67 miles a day, including the two 'quiet' days in Durness. Excluding those days I averaged 76 miles a day - even I'm impressed by that, considering the terrain. I'm not convinced it was entirely sensible though, especially with the weather conditions.
My legs were pretty tired by the time I got to Durness, despite my efforts at self-massage. Those couple of easy days were a vital restorative - so much so that by the time I got to Lairg I really felt that I had many more miles in me.
Was it worth it? Oh yes, despite all the difficulties - they were far outweighed by the joys and the exhilaration. I can say that even now, so soon after the event and, no doubt, the good impressions will mature and the discomfort will be forgotten as time passes.
I saw some beautiful places that I've long wanted to explore and to see them from a bike is to be part of them, not just a passer-by. When you struggle up a hill on a bike your toil, your efforts become part of the memory of that place. They become part of you and you part of them.
I've also met some lovely and very kind people on the way, of whom lots have gone out of their way to help me. Thank you all. I've also had unbelievable support and encouragement from so many people, support that helped to drive me on through the more arduous of conditions.
Then there are the personal experiences. There is something very satisfying in pushing yourself well beyond your usual limits and finding out that you can withstand a great deal more than you imagined. It gives you an amazing sense of both self-sufficiency and self-worth. I will probably become quite insufferable for a while!
And now, to fill the washing machine, get ready for tomorrow's Guildford Bikeathon, and then down to planning next year's Cape to Cape!
