Day 2
Day two of Ride and Stride dawned bright and sunny. Ahead of the team stood the Applecross Pass - the steepest climb on the challenge with gradients of up to 1 in 7 on some of the hairpins, so not for the faint-hearted! Phil was today's King of the Mountains as he made it to the top without stopping and joined the team to be rewarded with some of the best views in the Highlands, looking out to the Isle of Skye.
The trip continued on with the running and walkers also facing their own challenges amidst the beautiful scenery and big skies, as they descended into Kinlochewe for their overnight stay where they received the sad news about the death of Queen Elizabeth. The beautiful sunset over Loch Maree seemed to take on an extra meaning.
Day 3
The team were once again rewarded with blue skies and sunshine for the 70 mile combined run, walk and cycle from Kinlochewe to Ullapool. The runners 10 mile stretch led them through some beautiful scenery to Slattadale.
Today the Highlands excelled themselves in terms of providing some of the most spectacular views in the whole of Britain and comparable with many across the world.
Nick trekked across country today on the walking stage and the cyclists wove their way over 50 miles from Poolewe to the day's destination of Ullapool, with a slightly lower total ascent than day two of 3,791 feet. Tough work, but the team were once again rewarded with some of the most beautiful big skies at sunset. The photo below was taken at the spectacular Rhue Lighthouse.
The donations continue to flow in and we're closing in on our target total of £9,000, raising money for three great charities: Cancer Research UK, MIND and Parkinson's UK. You can make your donation here www.justgiving.com/team/rideandstride