Snafu #1: left house with large bag, and stopped at the bank to get some cash, only to discover I'd left my cash card at home. And I didn't have any keys to go back and find it. Thankfully, my MIL was nearby with both an ATM card and a phone. She was still giggling when she brought me some money, due to the fact that last October they came to visit without their cards and made withdrawals from the Bank of Porpoise for the duration of their trip.
(Apologies if these posts are a bit disjointed, but they may get done in bits and pieces)
Inverness is colder then London, partly sunny and spitting rain at the same time. I had a window seat on the plane, and as we came in to land, I got a glimpse of the landscape we'll be riding through: green, green hills, broad expanses of countryside without apparent habitation, and beyond it all, the Moray Firth leading to the North Sea.
Snafu #2: getting stuck in the very back of the bus for the 3 hour trip to JOG. It was ok for the first hour, but after that the roads got increasingly small and twisty, with predictable consequences for global nausea levels. This part of Scotland is characterized by green fields quartered by amazing stone walls, more sheep then are really necessary, windfarms and oil rigs and rampantly flowering gorse bushes. It bodes well for tomorrow's route!
Base camp is an amazing production. Lines of tents, a massive bike corral, and a main tent for feeding this massive bunch. There are showers, wireless, what seems like a million crew folk running around helping out. Beyond it all, are the open fields and the blue sea, a lovely breeze blowing to keep the midges away. And finally, I'm getting excited. This is going to be amazing.
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