North Coast 500 Day 2 had been a challenge, with wind and rain having a major effect. Overnight, we saw more rain, but thankfully, once for North Coast 500 Day 3 it began dry. Today we would be cycling from Applecross to Shieldaig and on to Gairloch. It would be one of our longer days of cycling.

We left Applecross Campsite and began our day by dropping down to the Applecross hamlet by the coast.

Then cycled around the headland.

Of course, it might be wet and windy, but the scenery along the coast was fantastic …

… and barren

The waterfalls, with all the rain, were a particular highlight.

As we climbed over one hill after another, I confess I was struggling. I’d been unwell the week before the tour, and maybe this along with the wind, rain, and the sheer fact the route was challenging was taking its toll … and it was only day 3!

The single-tracks and constantly having to wait made progress slow.

Though passing some of the locals could be amusing.

Still … around every corner was another view to admire.

Indeed, taking photos were slowing us down too 🙂

As I struggled on I decided to slow down and stay with Sarah, particularly when cycling up the hills. This would possibly be the most important tactical change I would make for the coming week. I’m more used to being a strong hill climber, so initially, this seemed a setback. However, as the week progressed it would prove to be a wise move.

To add to my difficulties for the day, at about the 20-mile mark my gears started playing up and I was suddenly reduced to just a couple of them working.

Thankfully, Shieldaig was just a few miles further on. We met Nicholl here for our second stop of the day.

Our second pit stop was at Nanny’s. We also had time to fix my gears.

Back on our bikes again we continued to essentially follow the coastline for a while.

Leaving the coastline just past Torridon we began cycling down the valley with the Torridon Hills on on our left, all the while tracking the River Torridon.

As we began making our way up the valley we had a favourable wind behind us.

However, further up the valley, the rain took over making it quite a miserable ride.

By the time we reached the end of the valley, we were fighting strong winds and heavy rain. So, we took shelter at a fuel station at Kinlochewe. Unfortunately, the cafe attached to it had closed. When the fuel station owner suggested we could shelter under a covering with a heater, his wife took pity on us and brought us a cup of tea. By now hypothermia was beginning to take hold of us all … and we still had 20 miles to cycle. However, with the winds now reaching 50-60 miles per hour, we decided to curtail today’s ride for our own safety. So, Nicholl picked us up and took us on to our overnight stop.

We were staying at The Millcroft Hotel. The wind was so strong that as we left the car park and turned the corner to the front of the hotel we were blown back by the strength of the wind.

When we opened the door of our hotel room every item of our clothing was wet through.

At this point, I just wanted to go home …

This had been another challenging day of cycling. We had cycled 43 miles and climbed over 3500 feet into a strong wind and, latterly, even stronger rain. We had been due to cycle an additional 20 miles than we managed but were beaten by the weather.

You can view our North Coast 500 Day 3 route from Applecross to Kinlochewe below:

Tomorrow we are due to cycle to Dundonnell.