The day started with rain and I had to cook my porridge with an arm out of the tent and pack up a wet tent. I got on the road at about 9:30 and headed down the NCN7.

Within 2 miles came across a roadside cafe, I decided to stop before getting too wet, and becoming an embarrassment. It was a good move as a nice coffee and bacon sandwich set the day up perfectly. A work colleague, Richard, is starting his “End to end” today from Cornwall (the opposite way – LEJOG as opposed to JOGLE), so I thought I would let him know the benefits of neoprene overshoes for cycling all day in the rain. He was travelling on the train to Penzance ready to start later in the day and we should cross over in the Midlands somewhere if our planning has been any good. The route carried on gradually climbing after Dalwhinnie, it all became a bit wilder and the Pitlochry cycle track was alongside the A9 for miles, weaving from alongside the road to the old road, with lots of little bridges.

Three guys, also on 25mm tyres passed me, and I re-passed them at the summit. The were doing JOGLE, and had left on the Wednesday. The cycle track was a real obstacle course, with lots of loose stone and potholes. It was the latter that caused my first puncture. I took the tube out and I decided to fix it rather than put my spare in. I found a small hole which I patched and making sure nothing was in the tyre, put it back on. It went down again. There was a second hole right next to the first – a classic pinch puncture and a school boy error on my behalf. Rather than faff around at the top of the pass I put in a spare tube, and after turning the whole bike upside down managed to get the back wheel in without unloading everything.

During this whole time the three guys didn’t come past again, so they may have been having their own problems. I picked my way along the cycle route, carefully, to Blair Atholl, which seems to have a castle and a “out of town” discount clothing mall – which is very popular based on the car park. I indulged my self with a stop at a Spar shop, which had a nice bus shelter opposite for refueling on the supplies – its as close to heaven as you can get as a touring cyclist!

The three guys went past again. The roads from this point were idyllic, quiet lanes through woodland high up the side of the valley away from the road and railway.

The route goes through all the towns, so I was able to stop in Pitlochry for a coffee and the cash machine. I assume Pitlochry is famous for something – fishing maybe – but it was just jammed with woollens, whiskey, kilts and outdoor shops (including a Greggs) – but its clearly a very popular place.

A new sign post began to appear and just before Dunkeld, the NCN77 became my new route.

Unfortunately, this route took me down to a quiet track alongside the river, which was beautiful, but very rough and bumpy. Worse still, a slow puncture began to manifest its self. However, by regular pumping and pushing over the roughest sections, I made it both to the Co-op and the Inver campsite. I was about a mile in total, just the other side of the River Tay, but I couldn’t face more puncture repairs so close to my destination.

I got to the campsite just in time to put up my tent, rig up the side of the tent to cook under and be ready for the England – Russia game on the radio. It had been a tough day, it had rained all day, and still had two punctures to fix.