Fox - Ross

Todays ride was one of our favourites so far with two climbs almost immediately and then a long stretch predominantly downhill and little wind! The climbs were quite short and not as steep as we'd seen before so relatively easy. The scenery was really pleasant too, lots of mountains, some snow capped and lush greenary everywhere. The weather was great and we were feeling pretty good. The final climb in the middle of the route was awesome. The road was ace a bit like apple peal if you peal the whole thing at once. We had been used to long straight climbs so this was a bit different and very pretty too. As we got closer to Ross the west coast came into view and it got a little breezy but nothing major.

We arrived in Ross quite early as the cycling was relatively easy. We had visions of getting supplies for the next day and chilling out for a bit. Unfortunately our "hotel" room wasn't really the sort of place you'd want to chill out. In fact it was the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. We were offered a choice of rooms by the very friendly manager. We collected our stuff together and walked up the stairs with threadbare carpets and cobwebs hanging off everything in sight. At the top of the stairs was really long corridor of rooms, beds all made up but empty, no other guests. It was a bit eery and as Mark pointed out, a bit like the hotel from The Shining, except tired, dirty and dusty. The room we chose had a nice view and that is all it had going for it. It was dusty, dirty, the bed was on its last legs and there was no ensuite. Instead we had to use shared bathrooms, not that there were any other guests to share with. In light of what I have just said, why didn't we leave and go somewhere else ? Our alternatives were to camp (not easy without a tent) or hire a backpackers cabin which was literally a shed with a bunk in it. Ross is an old gld mining village with a population of about 100 so we really were a bit stuck in terms of options. On the plus side thought the hotel had a nice bar, very traditional/local rather than something modern! There were several locals in there each with a jug of beer and glass in hand. Mark found it quite amusing when a couple of tidy girls walked in the bar and back out again and the locals were craning their necks to get a good look at them... a bit like when a fit girl walks in the Cha Bar.

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