I like camping – most of the time. I like it better when there is a hostel across the road where I can book a breakfast and sit in a lounge with access to wi-fi. No-one seems to mind me sitting here and I’m happy to have somewhere to relax and be happy that my hunt of wi-fi nearby has come to an end. It’s not raining, but there’s no rush today. Yesterday, I road my bike on an informal 12km TT bike course from brewery to bar (Aviemore to Glenmore). One effort at this is enough for me. It took 27:02 in the wind, with a rucksack on. That’s a good enough benchmark time for me, but I might have one more go. Then I had a good sleep and rode my bike up Cairngorm mountain. It’s only a 6/10 in the 100 climbs book and easy enough to have another ride up. The ride down was very tricky in the wind and the three and half mile downhill was enough of a novelty to need to do it again – and again.

My arms are covered in bites. This is my fault. I have midge spray and haven’t used it enough. The problem is that I haven’t seen any midges. They must be there because they’ve found me. So that’s another lesson learned. I kind of knew that, but it’s easy to forget when camping is only once a year. I slept well last night, unlike the night before. The difference is not drinking four pints of beer during the day. This is my final, final reminder to stay off the beer. A pint is appealling, but delivers very little. The shock is the difference in the quality of sleep. More than once, I woke up with sleep paralysis. Put simply, I woke up and couldn’t move. On a more comfortable bed I might not have noticed, but when you’re uncomfortable it’s a bit scary. So that’s it. No more.

Bees! Outside the hostel window I’ve seen bees on a bush. That’s very rare these days, so I’m going to come back with my camera.

That’s enough sitting around. I know where I can get a signal, where to get a sit down if it rains, where to take a bee video, and I know I should be getting ready for a run/walk up Cairngorm.

Now where did I put that midge spray?