The day after my last post I said to myself that my rear end did not feel comfortable after an hour in the saddle.

That is not unusual at the beginning of the season because usually people have not been sitting on a saddle that long.  I was surprised with my sensitivity after riding on the trainer for an average of two hours a day since January 1.  I thought about the seats  on my trainer bike and the recumbent and I realzed that they are wide and comfy.  Then my rear end was making the adjustment like everyone else.

Another week has passed and the long rides outside do not bother me until near the end of the two hours.
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Today will be the fourth day in a row that I will be riding outside.  The temperatures have been above 50F and I do not suffer from breathing the cold air.

As the title says, it has been a joy.  The winds may be strong, but there is a spring warmth that does not make you feel chilly.  A zipper hoodie has been enough to provide comfort.  Specialized is the manufacture and I had not tried it on a ride to test the utility at this temperature range.  Do you know the feeling of wind penetrating and hitting your skin?  It is that feeling that I did not experience.  There was joy in finding when is a good temperature range for this part of my kit.

We are not technically at spring, but the 50s are sure spring temperatures.  I remember flying a kite on these days.  I have been riding in winds that are two or three times the normal breeze.  Going into the wind is not pleasant, but I like the change from the steady pedaling on my resistance trainer .  I appreciate the added workout because it will build me up.  I have also had to hold tighter on the bars to keep balance in the crosswind.

There has been the joy of going a little farther each day.  On the first day I was ready to come in after barely one hour.  On the third day I was comfortable going one hour and forty-five minutes.  The progress is tangible.

It has not only been warm, but the sunny has been shining! What a boost to my mood. 

Spring is coming and there will be cold days again in Michigan.  I am ready to enjoy an outside ride when the weather cooperates.

I have enjoyed these virtual tours https://www.myvirtualmission.com will give you details about the challenges.  I have decided to to do a couple of the long ones, but they have shorter distances that are great for joggers, walkers, or runners. 

The post cards that you have seen are sent from them.  The other pictures and text I generated from Google searches.  I enjoy the interesting information that I can discover.  At my age, I know that I will never do this trip in its entirety, but who knows, I may do some pieces of it.  It would be a wonderful journey.  I hope that you enjoy this last post. I will soon start another virtual tour.

This area looks difficult to farm and I can see grazing sheep.  From 1750-1860 a practice of highland clearances were used to relocate those in the highlands to communities like Helmsdale. Those who had worked the land were hoped to get into a local industry like fishing, quarrying and kelp. As i got into this historical account I can see that this would be too involved to elaborate further on a volatile period. 

I am getting close to my destination of John O' Groats.  Here I see a sign about the JOG Trail, which is a walking trail from Inverness and part of the North Highland Way which covers 607 miles of Scotland.

,I bet you have done an "out and back route."  Remember going to a trail and following it out a ways and turning around to retrace your steps back to the car?  

This spring I came up with a new twist on the out and back route to provide variety when basically cycling streets repeatedly. I called this route a "snake."  How does it work?  I would start a ride and, without a fixed path to follow or a destination, make it up as I go.   I would remember my path, so I could later retrace my path to get home.  Once I get to a random point I decide to reverse my course.

I later added some challenges such as making no dead ends or loops.  I also did one with only right turns going out.  If I wanted to ride two hours, I could turnaround after the hour.  Below is an example of one of my rides that took me over 30 miles!

Oops!  I see that I created a dead end and a loop.  No big deal.  I was able to have a fun ride that last  2 hours and 40 minutes and I was only a couple of miles from home at the furthest point. I find that this gives me a feeling of variety.

A bothy is a basic shelter that is available for anyone who stops.  It is quite often used by hikers and touring cyclists. Please remember to leave it nicer than you found it.

This military road was part of the plan of General Wade, built in the 1700s, to help bring order to this part of the British Isle when there were uprisings with the British government.  The condition of the road now does not support the heavy vehicular traffic, so walkers and bikers do not have to worry about traffic. The elevation is around 2300'.

In the photo you can see some of the Loch Leven.  This castle held Mary Queen of  Scots in 1867. She was also referred to Mary Stuart and she reigned over Scotland from 1542-1567.