Day 8 Stirling to Dalwhinnie

85 miles in 6.5 hours. Really tough day but worth all the effort - what a fabulous part of the world. I've not been able to upload photos from my mobile onto this blog but I've managed it to my Facebook page - take a look! The day started well really quick ride from Stirling to just south of Perth. Spot of lunch just north of Perth and that was main mistake of the day. I've worked off between 7,000 and 8,000 calories a day on this tour. I've not been able to consume that many calories (believe me I've tried!) as exercise takes blood away from digestive system - the result is I've lost just over a stone in weight. I didn't eat enough for lunch then ended up working very hard to get up to Dalwhinnie - result was I was totally cabbaged by the time I got here - driving rain and gusty winds didn't help much either. Worth it in the end - what an amazing isolated place in the middle of the Cairngorms - check out the location on my tracker. 90 more miles tomorrow - though hoping will be less demanding. Meeting a mate's parents in inverness for lunch and should end up in Tain. Keep up the support and comments. Thanks to all, John.