Dave is currently on the final legs of his cycling tour round the UK where he will travel to the most Southerly, Easterly, Westerly and Northernly parts of the UK mainland. At the same time he is stopping off at venues on the way to perform his own unique brand (apologies for the cliche, I couldn't think of a better description and besides it's true!) of comedy. This has all been nicely bundled together as the SIT DOWN, PEDAL, PEDAL, STOP AND STAND UP tour. At the end of each days cycling he somehow manages to recover enough to perform a pretty energetic show in front of anything from 33 people in a railway carriage to 1000+ in a 'proper' venue.
At the time of writing he should be making his way up to Dornoch (it's pissing down!) and should finish up in Dunnet Head in the next few days - he's stopping to do gigs in Dornoch and Lyth on the way.
During the tour he's relied on his Human Sat Navs to guide him on each stage of the journey, these are people who have heard about the tour and have volunteered to help him out. It was my turn yesterday along to take him from Fort Augustus to Inverness. I roped in Colin from work to help out as he's a bit fitter than me and could get him there quicker if it turned out he was in a rush. There were two options I could have taken; the flattish and shorter A82 via Drumnadrochit on the North Side of Loch Ness or the hillier South side through Whitebridge Foyers and Dornoch. We decided to go with the South side because it's more picturesque and the roads are a lot quieter - cycling along the A82 would be tantamount to suicide!
Starting lineup at Fort Augustus
View from the top the hill after F.A - the descent was fantastic! I let Gorman beat me up the hill (honest!) - I whupped his ass when it came to the downhills though.... I did, honest.
Falls of FoyersWe had a couple of stops along the way, a wee look at the Falls of Foyers followed by a stop at Dores where the Nessie Hunter lives on the shores of the Loch.
Fortunately the weather was kind, with a tailwind helping us along the way and the forecast rain staying away for the most part.
The light kept changing on the Loch and as soon as I put the camera away it brightened up - typical! No sign of the monster though.We got back to Inverness in good time.... just as the rain started, couldn't have timed it better.
Dave was kind enough to give us free tickets to his show at the Ironworks and I can't recommend it highly enough. I don't want to give anything away (honestly it would spoil it for you) but if you get the chance you should go and see him.
The finishing line - I look like a right grumpy arse. I had a great time, I just hate getting my photo taken!
