July 22, 2019
Thurso
The rain started chucking down early this morning but that was the least of our worries. For some inexplicable reason the midges were out in full force again this morning. Strong winds last night had lulled us into a false sense that this area would be windy and therefore midge free but this morning damp weather was also windless and humid. Perfect for midges. Leigh has really struggled with them. Somehow I don't get bitten much, even though at times my legs look like they have the black pox, and when I do get bitten I don't suffer any ill effects. Leigh is covered in welts, many of them on her face, and is itching terribly.
We lay in the tent hoping that the wind would pick up or the sun would come out, both of which should in theory drive the midges into cover, but it remained still and damp. In the end, with the weather forecast to be wet and miserable for the rest of the day, we gave up on cycling to John o'Groats today, booked a room at a B&B in Thurso, had a small breakfast of egg and bacon rolls at the restaurant next door and set off down the road at about half past eleven.
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It rained for the whole day. Not good when we realised that the B&B would only be available at five o'clock in the afternoon. Even though we wasted as much time as possible along the way, we were still at the B&B door before two in the afternoon. There was no answer to our ringing of the doorbell so we headed back into the town of Thurso and paid a visit to the local Tesco to pick up a few things. It had a small and packed coffee shop so we asked an elderly lady if we could share her table. What a wonderful surprise that produced. Zelda, the lady with whom we shared a table, was from London but had lived in Scotland for much of her life. She entertained us for two hours with ideas on what we could do while in Caithness, the local county, and further afield on our journey from here. We even dipped into local and international politics - luckily we were all on the same page !
Tomorrow looks to be a better day weather wise although, going by what our hostess at the B&B had to say, the weather forecast for this area is mostly a world apart from what happens on the day. Zelda had suggested we make a diversion to Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the UK mainland. If the weather is as promised, we just might do that.
Today's ride: 31 km (19 miles)
Total: 2,455 km (1,525 miles)
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