Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
If you haven't read part one yet, read that first!
Day 4 - Aug. 2 - Fort Augustus to Crianlarich - 82.7 mi
Porridge with a banana to start the day. The team rolled out of camp together, and I rode with Naomi and Sarah until rest stop one. It was a beautiful morning with minimal climbing and waterfalls all over the place. All three of us also managed to fall over at during this stretch, which I think is quite impressive. Sarah accidentally bumped Naomi's rear wheel and rode off the road, I stopped to let a truck pass and just tipped over into a patch of moss on the shoulder of the road, and Naomi fell over on the sidewalk because she couldn't unclip her foot. Nobody got hurt though, so it's all good and we made it to the rest stop at the Ben Nevis visitor's centre in one piece. We grabbed second breakfast here (ham and cheese panini, delicious) and then shopped around at the gift shop. We left the stop a little anxious about the three big climbs to come, but turns out we had absolutely nothing to worry about. We passed through Glencoe and then started cycling up what I have to say is my second favourite climb of all time (behind only Glacier National Park). In fact it was so scenic that I eventually told Naomi and Sarah to go on without me because I was stopping to take so many photos. I ended up just wearing my camera slung around my shoulder because it was too much of a pain to put it away in my bag and then take it out again every 200 meters. It was foggy, and the mountains were so green, and there were so many waterfalls, it was just spectacular.
Eventually I made it to the second rest stop, beaming because I was so excited by how beautiful the climb was. We snacked a bit and chatted with James K, and then headed on to the next climb. The second big climb as shown on our elevation profile was pretty short and manageable, and it was only a short 15 mile stretch to the next rest stop. It started to drizzle a bit just before the stop, but by the time we were on the third climb of the day it had picked up and was full on raining. Thankfully, we were rewarded with a nice descent into camp, and were able to shower and get dry once we got in. Sarah and I ran down the street to order take out pizza, which turned out to be a great decision. I got a half goat cheese and caramelized onion, half meat-lovers pizza and it was soooo good. Were in what appears to be a community centre gym tonight, so it's significantly more spacious than the church last night. The team hung out together for most of the night, and we played spoons and werwolf before eventually calling it a night. DAY 5 - AUG. 3 - CRIANLARICH to Carluke - 77.3 MI
Turns out the jersey and shorts that I had wash last night did not dry overnight, so Tim and I tried to remedy this by standing in front of the oven holding our clothes and praying that they would dry even slightly. Not much luck unfortunately. I scarfed down my left over pizza from dinner (still amazing) and then headed out with Sarah and Naomi. It was only drizzling when we left but soon it was pouring, so I guess it didn't really matter if our clothes were dry. I had debated wearing my booties (rain-proof shoe covers) this morning, but had eventually decided against it. I regretted this decision. We had a nice descent to start off the day, but the rain made it a tiny bit difficult to see and my feet were soaked. Fortunately it didn't last long, and soon we were cruising alongside Loch Lomond. It was sunny and warm by the time we got to rest stop one, and you would never have guessed that it had been raining earlier.
We were on bike paths for most of the way into rest stop two in Dumbarton. Because the stop was slightly off route, James W was waiting for us at a roundabout and led us into the stop. The Dumbarton MS Society had rented a conference room at a hotel, and there were a ton of people there to talk to us and cheer us on. Upon entering the room we noticed that David was pretty banged up, and asked what happened. Apparently he had taken a couple of falls on the bike path - at least one of which was due to some slick leaves on the ground. Thankfully he doesn't have any serious injuries, just a few scrapes. The Dumbarton group had a huge spread of food waiting for us, and I ate way to many chocolate cups for dessert. The hotel was so fancy, I felt out of place walking around in my smelly cycling kit. At one point while I was chatting with a gentleman from the MS Society, I got a text from Naomi saying that she'd gone to take a nap in the lobby, and could I please wake her up before we left. When I went to get her for the group photo, she was totally passed out on a fancy leather couch. After photos, we left as a team to ride through Glasgow, with James W taking the lead. Unfortunately Tamla missed the lunch due to a flat tire and lack of cell service, so she was the only one missing from the group. Shortly after leaving, David took another tumble, due to a mechanical issue that just stopped his back wheel from moving. We paused for a second for James W to fix the issue, and then rode on together. We rode along more bike paths, and it was fun to ride with such a big group for a bit. At one point, we came across a gigantic statue of a bike and James W ripped off his shoes and socks and climbed right to the top and sat on the seat of the bike. The rest of the team followed suite, and I set up the tripod to take a team picture. Unfortunately, in my rush and excitement to climb the bike, I managed to slip while climbing it and cut up the back of my knee. We still got a good group picture though, and I was able to patch up my knee with the first aid kit I carry in my bag. Shortly after this, Tim got a flat tire from trying to bunnyhop a pothole, and James W ended up replacing it quickly because we were far behind schedule due to the lunch and David's fall and the statue. Riding through Glasgow was beautiful and the bike paths were very nice, although a little crowded. My bike started to make some weird noises at some point, and James W couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was but guessed maybe the bottom bracket. It was fine to ride though, so I just kept going. It was pretty smooth sailing for the rest of the day, except for right at the end where Sarah and Naomi breezed past the turn for camp and I had to shout after them to come back. We were able to shower at the pool down the road, which had a really nice locker room. We went grocery shopping at the corner store, and Naomi and I got some ingredients to make a salad. Sarah and I also split the cost of a can of hot dogs. You read that right - a can of hot dogs. It's pre-cooked hot dogs in a soup can. Anyways, we're going to try those on another night just to see how they taste. Naomi and I made the salad back at the church with some mac and cheese to go with it. Today is also Sara's birthday, so we celebrated with a cake and champagne later on in the evening. It was actually quite an effort to get the cake organized, because Sara wouldn't leave the kitchen for long enough for us to get it ready and the candles lit. Eventually we brought out the cake and sang Happy Birthday, and Sara gave a lovely speech. Pretty great day over all! DAY 6 - AUG. 4 - CARLUKE to Carlisle - 100.5 MI
On the road early this morning. Because It was a long day, the van was scheduled to leave at 7am, which meant we had to be packed and ready to go by 7am. I was feeling rather sluggish this morning, and ended up falling behind Sarah and Naomi before rest stop one. At the stop, James W took a look at my bike to see if he could find the source of the weird noise, while I went inside with Naomi and Sarah to join James K and Jo for second breakfast. The cafe had a really good bacon and egg sandwich, and we all had a great time chatting and laughing at Jo's stories. Unfortunately James W wasn't able to get to the root of the problem on my bike, but he made it significantly better and the noise wasn't nearly as annoying anymore. James K also joined us for the rest of the day. We stopped at a beautiful castle for some pictures and a bathroom break, and to put our jackets back on as it started drizzling. I thought the weather was temperamental in New England, but it's a whole different ball game over here. It'll be hot, then start raining and cool down, and then it'll be hot again!
The next rest stop was at a grocery store, and I was able to pick up some snacks for my day cubby. We were rolling at a pretty good pace into what was supposed to be rest stop three, but the car was behind and the van had to go ahead to camp, so we just picked a spot on the sidewalk in Annan and rested for a little bit. Along the final stretch into camp we crossed into England! James K told us a cool bit of history about how English teens used to sneak across into Scotland to get married because the marriage age was lower there. A building at the edge of the border confirmed that there had been over 10,000 marriages performed there since 1830. We stopped for pictures at the Scotland and England signs, and then Naomi and I ran across the street for a picture with a signpost that declared Land's End was 478 miles away. Almost halfway there! I had a surprising amount of energy left for the end of a century day, and was feeling good on the final stretch. We reached the rugby club where we are camping tonight at mile 99, so we had to go a little bit further down the road to round out the full century. As we pulled in to camp, the cyclist who had already finished were sitting with some members of the local MS Society at a pub right next to the field. I hurried to join them, getting sidetracked only by an absolutely incredible, delicious, freshly baked snack that was in the van. Wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it resembled a moist, chewy granola bar of some kind. I learned later that they're called flapjacks (even though they're not pancakes). I quickly set up my tent, showered, and then joined everyone at the pub. The MS Society was very generous, and bought everyone a drink. I think I'll have to make a "century cider" a think from now on. After they left, we headed inside for a team meeting, and everyone got paninis. They were really tasty, and super cheap. We ended up hanging out in the lounge until around 10pm and then headed back to our tents. First time I've camped so far this trip! Normally I prefer to be indoors, but I'm honestly looking forward to having my own space for tonight.
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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