Saturday: Tyndrum to Glencoe, 30 miles against a 10mph headwind. 100m climb out of Tyndrum, 200m up Rannoch Moor and 75m up Glencoe. Headwinds are a pain, but good mind-training. The climb to Rannoch Moor felt a lot easier than the last time I did it, and I don’t think I ever used my lowest gear.
Sunday: Bealach na Craige (Aberfeldy), 319m ascent in 6.4km, averaging 5% with a 7% and 8% sections. It felt fine. I had a tailwind which helped the climb, but not my cooling systems – I was pouring water over my head to cool down.
So now I know I can do short steep slopes, and moderate moderate slopes. Now I need to find some long steep ones. This page has a road up Falkland Hill which is 10% for 2.2km – like the start of Alpe d’Huez, so that’s kinda useful. And then there’s Applecross, which looks more and more like a target …