Day 12 - Full Report - Inverness to Helmsdale

Day 12 - Full Report - Inverness to Helmsdale

Miles: 74.4
Climbing: 2430 ft
Average Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 34.0 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 38 mins
Total Duration: 8 hr 11 mins
Steepest Gradient: 18.2%

Kessock Bridge

Day 12 started early, rolling out of the B&B at 8:20. Threading my way through Inverness I soon crossed the Kessock Bridge where I followed NCN 1 for a few miles before leaving that route and heading to Dingwall, where I enjoyed a fine banana toffee tart and a latte. The calories from which were soon burnt off as I headed north east into a headwind that would persist for the entire day.

After leaving Dingwall I headed to the A9 and followed this for the majority of the ride as I headed to Helmsdale, with only short diversions into towns such as Tain when stopping for lunch.
A note on the A9, many people had warned that it is busy and can be quite intimidating to ride on, I found it to be not as busy as expected and because it is wide south of Tain the traffic always gave me plenty of space and I never felt uncomfortable. After Tain the A9 does narrow but there is also a significant drop off in traffic so again I rode along comfortably.


As you can see from the above picture I was wrapped up warm with the windbreaker, providing a relief from the cool headwind which helped keep the temperature in the mid 50's which gradually dropped the further north I traveled.
As the A9 winds it's way northwards it provides for a huge variety of scenery, from rugged coastline to rolling farmland and much in between.




As I approached Helmsdale I met a 64 year old gentleman who has been walking from Land's End to John O'Groats for almost 3 months, I had to admire his determination and staying power. Alas I didn't get his name but wished him safe travels as he was planning to finish in time for his birthday this coming Sunday.
I arrived shortly after at my accommodation for the evening the Ruard House B&B, simple, comfortable making for a good nights rest.