Day 17. Lairg to Thurso. 75 miles. We dithered quite a bit about today's route and ultimately settled on 75 miles that included
significantly less climbing than the sadist-designed National Cycle Route 1.

There was a nice, easy 15-mile climb and a fun descent followed by a fun romp along some lake.
We talked to several other riders today. We have way more gear than anyone else doing the End-to-End--even the guys
who were camping had less gear than us. But I have no regrets. None.

We did some stunt photography on the easy section of the day--along that lake--Loch Naver.

Notice the road width. This is an A road. They all seem to be A roads up here.

But the woolly menace was everywhere.

Nature sighting!

Nature sighting!

Nature sighting!

Then an easy ride down to the sea.

First glimpse of the north coast. In Bettyhill (sadly not Bennyhill).

We ate lunch at the only cafe in Bettyhill. I had the Jumbo Fried Sausage. It was spectacular.

Later, I came upon Mr. Balint at the top of a hill, hard at work. He claimed to be working on contacting the AirBnB person, but it
might have been actual work work.

And then Mr. Balint did not have a flat tire! No, he broke two spokes!
Eventually we reached Thurso (in the rain) and met up with Linda at the AirBnB apartment.
Tomorrow we sprint for the finish. Will Mr. Balint's wheel hold up with only 34 spokes? Will he get another flat tire?
Will there be sheep there? All these questions will soon be answered.