Day 12: Tuesday 2nd August Dunning to Braemar approx. 61 miles

Well for all those hill fans out there you may be relieved to hear the Spittle of Glen Shee was no disappointment. However the weather was to prove the major factor here. We left John and Kate's early but refreshed - many thanks guys. Immediately a long but gentle climb, a good warm up. We were in good shape. Perth sailed by, then a bike shop for some vital supplies in the form of macaroni cheese and cakes were found in the Dome Cafe - I couldn't see any domes so I assume it was named after the North Greenwich landmark. Then followed rolling hills up to the major climb. We stopped briefly and collected ourselves together and did a bit of filming. As we departed the weather began to turn severe with squalls and what must have been gale force head and cross winds. On several occasions we actually had to pedal hard to go downhill. The weather tore into us, and began to sap our strength and will to carry on. Jelly babies and flapjack helped to bolster us somewhat, some shortbread would have been nice, however, the person entrusted with it had scoffed the lot the day before. He did try and make up for it by buying me a twix though. We struggled onwards, the road surface became rougher and snow gates at the sides of the road betrayed the terrain to come. Finally with the start of the ascent in sight, we became overwhelmed by the wind and took a breather... More later..