Biking

No rest for the wicked...on Saturday night we all went out to the after-race ceilidh, also organised by Trigger Events, and had a great time dancing. Fred MacAuley was a guest speaker (comedian from MacAuley & McCoist) so that was funny, and I asked him to dance when we were short of a man at one point :)










On Sunday Bob, Kasia & I set off on a bike ride - round by Linn of Dee to the Quoich, then through Invercauld and up the Slugain. The wind was against us just to add to the challenge, but it was still great fun with fantastic views. Passing the ruin we dropped back down to the Quoich river and pushed/carried/dragged the bikes through the mud & heather until the track picked up again. It was a nice cruise downhill to the punchbowl, then we went through Mar Lodge and back to the house :)










Home on Sunday evening and an early night was in need, ready to start work again on Monday. Sometimes I wish I was still travelling, with no real responsiblities other than the daily requirement of pure fun and adventure. I guess it couldn't last forever though :)

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Eastern Cairngorms Challenge

I started the weekend with nice new shiny running shoes. It didn't last very long... Went up to Braemar on Friday night and joined Mum, Dad, Tony & Jenny for a meal. Robert (who I did the Wan Dae with) & Kasia (who I also met on 5-minute car journey along with Bob) came up from Glasgow later on and polished off the leftovers :)

On Saturday we did the Eastern Cairngorms Challenge, really well-organised by Trigger Events. Transport took us from Braemar to the race start at Glen Clova on Saturday morning. Bob, Kasia & I (along with 50 others) ran Old Jock's Road over to Lochallater (approx 13 miles). All bikes had been stored at the bothy overnight, and we had a short but sweet 3 mile bike ride to the finish line.

prize winners!

We were pretty successful overall - Bob won the whole thing in 1hr 51 mins (or something ridiculous like that), I got fastest female, and Kasia was right behind me as 2nd fastest female so we all got a wee trophy and medal!









preparing to climb!; views over Loch Callater; challenge walkers!

Meanwhile, the folks completed the same course as "Challenge Walkers!" along with about 200 others. They thoroughly enjoyed the hike, and probably saw a lot more views than we did (hence the photos along the route!).


We did the Cairns walk in Balmoral Estate in the afternoon - get great views of the Castle from above and then drop down into the grounds without having to pay...bonus!

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