Day 3

Key stats: 107 miles, current location: Kidron House Hotel, Treghorn (south west of Glasgow) (www.kidron-guesthouse.co.uk)

Most days start off the same: Will comes down for breakfast 20 minutes late, everyone fails to finish their porridge, Bob convinces another hotelier that they should contribute to the cause in exchange for him paying their bill, and James mends his punctures. This morning, despite his bike having spent the night in the grand dining room of the Falls of Lora Hotel, he had one puncture.

Too early for sambuca, the team set off. We were treated to some excellent weather as we wound our way around Loch Awe and headed south over the Tullich pass to Inverary. Inverary was always going to be a good check point for the day, 35 miles in, but the fact that the sun came out really buoyed up the lads for the next few hours. The sighting of a mini-Rolf in the town was also a portentious sign of a good day ahead.

Meanwhile, Bob was struggling. He’d got so excited about the price of the Merlot in the Falls of Lora Hotel, he’d decided to treat himself to a bottle (£6.50) which he was topped off with a couple of cask strength Oban whisky chasers. He woke at 3am in the morning realising that he was asleep on top of his sheets. Not being able to manage hangovers as he used to, he was lagging behind the cyclists a little, struggling with the winding roads.

It was the windy roads which featured large today for those in the saddle. We had one long stretch when 24 mph was the norm, when James would stoically move to the front to lead for a while, before “tiring” when we turned a corner and faced a nasty headwind. This helped us reach Dunoon in good time to catch the ferry to Liverpool … only joking, to Greenock to head south down the west coast of Aryshire (the “Glaswegian costas”, west Scotland’s answer to Marbella, complete with the power station to warm up the local waters).

As with other days, we’ve enjoyed some tremendous generosity along the way, feeling like real celebrities, thanks in part due to Bob getting ahead of us and whipping up a real sense of anticipation with the tea ladies and OAPs in the tea rooms. We’ve also noted a generous spirit from Glasgewegian drivers, having received more beeping and hand signals than the rest of Scotland put together – the Glaswegians have a very aggressive way of expressing their support.

Tim got his first puncture today, parking it in a rose bush at the hotel this evening. That kind of behaviour deserves a puncture.

With England less than 70 miles away and the clocks going back, we’re getting an early night.