Today's stage actually just led me along the famous Loch Ness. Fort Augustus, the small place where I spent the night, is something like the southern border town to Loch Ness. My plan was to make it to Fortrose today, north-east of Inverness. There is not only a remarkable golf course, but also a lighthouse, at whose base larger groups of people meet regularly.
The beginning of the stage was a real challenge. It went approx. 10 km all uphill. Only in a few places it was incredibly steep, but nevertheless the thighs burned blazingly at some point. Once more I noticed how important my own rhythm is. After about one kilometre on the way up I heard a bike approaching from behind. The whirring of a chain and the shifting noises are so characteristic that they differ considerably from the unnecessarily loud noises made by other two-wheelers. The cyclist sat by my side and we chatted for a few minutes about this and that. When she then set herself apart at some point, I noticed that, although subtly, I was doing a little too many revs while driving together. After a few more minutes I ran out of breath and had to take a break. The rest of the way to the top I went very regular. And slowly. But it was my slowness and regularity. Arrived at the top, I enjoyed the view for a moment.
I wasn't the only one.
The remainder of the way was then finally - after the long, but fast journey into the valley lay behind me - largely flat, a little rolling was possible or also riding in higher gears. So, it passed quickly and in wonderful weather. I literally flew past the Highland-Metropolis Inverness, on towards Fortrose and the Moray Firth. Crossing the Kessock Bridge, which makes the way from Inverness to the north possible, I was very happy about the successful balance in the 90th minute, only to have to take note of the renewed lead and the final score by this strange VfL Wolfsburg a few moments later. A cold shiver gripped me. However, it went also slightly downhill, it could also have been just the airstream.
After about 75 km I arrived at my destination. I was a bit sceptical about the last kilometres, which again had a rapid downhill gradient. It would have been nice if I hadn't had to drive in the opposite direction the next day. On the camping site I was welcomed with joy and assigned a campground right next to the 9th tee of the golf course. This golf course is something special because it is surrounded by water on both sides. The course is located on a peninsula that projects into the Moray Firth. Better said, the place takes this peninsula completely. Only a road to the mentioned lighthouse still leads through here. The weather was sunny, the tent was quickly erected and therefore I decided at 6:30 p.m. that I could do another fast lap. I did and it was a pleasure. Even if my feeling for putting on this day and on this course had completely left me. I started the round on the first two holes with good long shots, the ball was at a comfortable distance to the flag after the intended number of shots, but eight (8!) putts on the first two greens could not cheer me up, but surprised me.
The round was still great after all, and 2.5 hours later I arrived back at the clubhouse in the beginning twilight. A nice phone call with a full moon just rising over the sea. An almost perfect day came to an end.
Just to leave some room for improvement, there are 95 out of 100 golden cycgo coins for this day.
PS: By the way, the people at the base of the lighthouse are there to marvel at the dolphins that can be seen there regularly. As these dolphins appear depending on the tides, the bottlenose dolphin friends pile up on the beach at certain times of the day. Of course, I did not see any dolphins again.