Day 6, Last Day

I slept on the side of the road for a few hours and then up & off.  At this point I was well into a smooth steady routine.  The last day strategy was simple, easy and steady to the finish about 100 miles away.  I costed down into Fort Augustus by 8am and got some breakfast, cleaned up a bit in the public washroom.  I remember sitting in the warm sun thinking a nap would be nice but eventually pushed on down canal path to Fort William.  I enjoyed the easy pedaling while checking out the boats, locks and idyllic scenery.  

In Fort Williams I thought of finding a restaurant for a late lunch but settled for a small grocery store along the route. It was them some climbing up then down to Kinlochleven.

Kinlochleven has a touristy feel to it, lots of day trippers busing around, felt a bit hectic after the relaxed canal riding earlier in the day.  A quick resupply and then up over a long steep climb and on to the finish.  I rolled the last 10 miles as hard as I could and reached the finish at Tyndrum around 10:20pm.  Right at the finish line there was a small group of racers and friends hanging out.

I looked for my wife and son but they weren’t there so after a bit of banter I left to find them.  And so ends my HT 550. 

More of a ‘fast tour’ than race with a official finish of 5 days, 13 hours and 21 place out of about 40 finishers. Not bad for a 60 yr old.  If you get the chance I can’t recommend enough you race the HT 550.  One of the best multi-day races anywhere.

The rest of the week was spent playing tourist with Sharon and Scot. 

We saw castles galore and all the usual stuff.  We visited the McPherson museum (family tree stuff) and had fun driving on the wrong side of the road…..and in general just had a great time.  I would go back to Scotland in a heart beat........