Part One
Part Two
£23.00 night in four-bed private room with en-suite in backpacker hostel, Dundee
£3.28 open smokie, Stuart's fresh fish smokie shop, Arbroath
£17.20 lunch for three, Madison's cafe, Montrose
£5 bike service, Mr Bikes, Montrose
£12.45 dinner and drink, The Anchor Hotel, Johnshaven
£2.10 bus fare from Johnshaven to top of road for Miltonhaven campsite
£26.00 repayment to Vaughan for protein bars and carbohydrate drink powders bought in Dundee
After the soaking I'd got the previous day, I was pleased to wake to a dry and warm day in Dundee. I decided not to go back to Kinross as a 2 hour drive seemed crazy and I would have just put pressure on myself for subsequent days. The 36 miles between Kinross and Dundee would have to remain as a gap in my journey, and a reason to do another End to End trip in the future.
The coastal route was lovely including cycling alongside some big golf resorts. It was clear I was entering golf holiday country now.
I stopped for a smokie in Arbroath (my brother had said it was the thing to do). Whilst stood outside the little kiosk eating my fish with a plastic fork, some guys in motorbike leathers came along, laughing and joking about sending their wives some smoked fish home rather than flowers. They kindly took a photo of me tucking into the smokie and we shared our experiences of the roads in Scotland. They were from Hull but were based in Perth for a few days motor biking holiday.
I'd noticed that my gears needed adjusting as the chain was starting to rub against the front derailleur in certain gears. Considering the miles I'd done on the Roberts, and the terrain and weather conditions I'd subjected it to, I was surprised this was all that needed attention. Montrose looked like a fair size town so I decided I'd see if I could find a bike shop there to take a look.
When I got to Montrose I looked out for someone who looked like a local cyclist. As I came to a junction and an elderly gent passed me on his bike I called out to him and asked about somewhere to get my bike fixed. He pointed me in the direction of a cobblers who would say if the bike shop next door was open. I thought this sounded like a strange arrangement, but in the absence of any alternative set off to the cobbler shop.
When I asked about the bike shop at the cobblers, there wasn't a hint of surprise or amusement, and I was simply told that the bike shop had moved across town. When it was clear I didn't know my way around Montrose another customer said she'd take me there if I followed her car as she could drive that way home. The Montrose residents were proving to be exceedingly helpful to me.
The mechanic at the Montrose Mr Bikes was delighted to look at my bike and commented on the components and hand finishes. He was about to do it there and then when I said I'd get some lunch and come back. He recommended the cafe Madison's in the main square, so I headed off there, feeling a bit weird to be without my bike but still wearing all the Lycra.
I discovered that Vaughan and Liz had also just arrived in Montrose so I told them where the cafe was and we ate together, looking at the map and discussing that night's campsite which looked to be right on the beach.
When I went to pick up the bike I was expecting to pay between £20 and £30, so was flabbergasted when I was asked for £3! I insisted on giving him £5 knowing this was still an incredible bargain as he'd done a thorough job on the bike in the time available and it was a joy to ride again.
I rode on for the remaining 7 miles to our amazing campsite pitch right next to the beach in a small cove. This was one of the cheapest campsites so far, yet had the most fabulous location. Vaughan had been told by the owner that the nearest place for food was a 2 mile walk around the coast, along the shoreline, so he and Liz went off to investigate how rough the track was whilst I finished setting up camp.
We had a beautiful evening stroll around the shore to Johnshaven and walked through the old fishing village to find The Anchor Hotel. After a lovely meal I decided it would be a good idea to have a malt whisky each to finish off as we had 30 minutes left before our bus to take us back to the campsite track.
The bus dropped us off at the top of the lane down to the campsite and we experimented with using our different torches or using the moonlight to see our way as Vaughan tried to spook Liz and I with ghost stories.
After going to bed, I woke at 1am with a raging headache, so had to hunt around the campervan for the Nurofen. I guessed it was the whiskey as I hadn't had a headache all month, and cursed myself for being greedy and off guard whilst knowing I had to cycle in the morning.
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