Day 19 - Ballater to Tomintoul    

Ballater is a terribly swish village, and I shall explain for why; It is the train station to which the Queen arrives to visit Balmoral.

Cycling up from the River Dee out of Ballater I started a climb through pastureland and ancient silver birch forest; I have never seen such old silver birch trees and it made me think of my time in Sweden fondly. In Swedish weddings, people make an arch of silver birch as you enter the church.

These birch were covered in super thick sleeves of lichen, of varying types, they looked very cosy!

I then came across a superbly steep stone bridge, I am sure the ascent was almost vertical! And then the climbing began, winding through stunning moorland, where I heard Grouse for the first time. What a comical sounding bird!! And I also saw them too, black grouse, darting about the moor, safe for the moment.

The descent was super steep too; I am realising with my parkinson's that grip strength can be challenging, particularly on a laden bike descending steeply, so I am considering a bicycle with disc brakes when I upgrade. A friend with parkinson's also recommended electric gears so I shall look into that.

It felt like I was entering the Alpes Maritime in Provence, the pines and verdant verges, with steam rising evaporating the recent rain.

A treat discovery was a road side cafe, serving delicious hearty and warming lentil soup and super strong espresso! Perfect!

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AS anyone who knows me will attest, I strike up conversations whereever I go; I thank my grandmother for this trait! This mornings conversation was with a group of motorcyclists; I complimented them on their high viz jackets ( I have great conversational skills!!), and then they asked what I was up to. Well this group of chaps were icnredibly generous as they donated £40 to Cure Parkinsons, andthen a lady on a different table said she'd overheard our conversation and donated £10, thank you Karen and Gary! Wow!!!

Bolstered by this geneoristy I continued the climb, past Corgaff Castle, a quite imposing sentry post, and then up the steepest section to date, combining pitch reminscent of Cornwall with duration fitting of the epic landscapes of Scotland!

Onwards the climb rolled, and at one point it felt like I was cycling up the surface of a revolving ball, never quite reaching the summit. It rather reminded me of Mont Ventoux! And so the Tour du France, version Ecosse continues!

Finally I reached the summit, Lecht Ski Station, having misssed skiing desperately this past year I am glad I have happened upon a new mode of Ski touring!!

And then a most enjoyable descent following the course Of Conglas Water, to the Avon,  to Tomintoul, 

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