After yet another good nights sleep, which might be a reflection of the quality of the beds I had at each B & B or the amount of exercise and fresh air I was enjoying each day, after a shower I got dressed and headed down to sample breakfast number three.

Only 72 hours earlier I had no idea of the veggie / vegan haggis existing, but here once again I was able to enjoy another slightly different take on this delicacy as part of another excellent scottish veggie breakfast. The plan on the bike for day four was simple - after arriving at Inverness and getting to John O'Groats I was to head back to Inverness retracing my earlier bike route and then head further south into new parts of the country (new to me, obviously lots of people had been there before!)

Teeth cleaned, water bottles filled and loaded onto Red I completed packing my bags and set up Satnav with the address we were heading towards. Carrbridge, specifically the Cairn Hotel in Carrbridge was my focus, a cycle of around 83 miles give or take a slight error on my behalf and / or on Satnavs behalf.

The weather was once again very nice, mostly sunny with a few clouds and relatively warm as I set off heading out of Golspie. Having only been here a couple of days earlier cycling in the other direction there was a nice familiarity about the route, if in reverse...... and within a few miles I was back on the bank of Loch Fleet.

My earlier encounter with the large group of sunbathing seals was not replicated however as the tide was in and no obvious seal sunbathing locations were to be seen by me or enjoyed by the aforementioned seals as I cycled past. From here I continued to work my way around the coast roughly following the direction of the A9 but very nicely avoiding actually using the A9.

Warnings from fellow cyclists as I prepared for this adventure mostly focused on logging lorries on the A9, and whilst I had seen a few of these trucks I had been quite some way apart from them with the exception of a couple of bridges over large bits of sea / rivers / forths.

I revisited the Lidl in Tain (topping up sarnies and maybe a donut or two, and a white chocolate cookie or two...) and having completed over 150 miles on the bike at this point since landing at Inverness airport I was feeling surprisingly full of energy with very few aches at all.

As the morning continued its fair to say that the temperature increased and phone over heating became a risk I had to manage, especially given the reliance I had on using Satnav on the phone to guide me through the days riding. A stop for a sandwich, crisps and some Irn Bru in the shade of some birch trees was welcome relief from the heat of the midday sun, but once again as I got back on the bike I was making sure that I was fully appreciating everything I was experiencing.

Cycling towards Dingwall the view south over Cromarty Forth was breathtaking. In fact there had already been a number of times over the past few days where the scale and beauty of the Scottish landscapes I was riding through were overwhelming. Whilst I know the weather might have been a little exceptional for mid June, but everywhere I went the countryside was just incredible.

Visually this is something I can share through photos and videos (and my Instagram page will allow you to see some of what I saw  Andrew (@greenhorseontour) • Instagram photos and videos  ) but its impossible to share the assault on other senses I was experiencing.

Wildflower fragrances were in the heat almost overpowering, especially the broom in bright yellow flower beside almost everywhere I cycled. Bird song was the main sounds I was experiencing, species I recognised like the skylarks and many more which I need to google.

My remaining senses were enjoying the food and Irn Bru to keep me energised, and mostly focusing on handlebars and pedals to keep the show on the road. As I sit and reflect on this part of the adventure I am taken back to the realisation that I was very much in the moment, enjoying every moment, appreciating every moment and totally appreciating how fortunate I was to be able to experience this opportunity .

By mile 56 or so I began to cross the bridge over the Moray Firth and headed back over the bridge into Inverness.....to be met with a series of roads to cross with Red to avoid riding on the A9 which at this particular location was a busy dual carriageway. Once over the A9 I cycled carefully through the campus of what looked like a newly built university in Inverness and then onto a series of relatively minor back roads heading south out of the city.

Now I'm sure I've mentioned this before (and the paragraph a little while ago reflecting on being in the moment would emphasise this) but clearly my cycling adventure was not a lycra clad rush on the bike. In fact it was the opposite, a tour on the bike and each days cycling so far had seen me average between 10.5 and 11 miles an hour for the days cycle.

Partly this could be because there were so many hills (which there were) but mostly this is a reflection of simply not having to rush to get anywhere, which is another reason I can honestly say that this was a real holiday for me. Physical effort needed of course, and fuel for this effort was delicious , but its fair to say that cycling at these sort of speeds means you have every opportunity to see the world as you travel through it.

Not that I intended to capture photos of everything on the way, but Red and I were able to see a huge number of birds, animals and other wildlife without disturbing anything. Observing rabbits or hares playing is not an everyday occurrence in my life (or seeing  a middle aged cyclist ride past from the rabbits point of view...) but it was lovely to see.

Heading out of Inverness the air was becoming more and more humid, and on my horizon it was looking like heavy rain, thunder and lightning was likely to be encountered as I continued south towards Carrbridge.

Heading down into a valley I encountered my first wet roads for the ride (and being 200 miles into a cycle through Scotland statistically this is unusual), and as I continued to cycle back up out of this valley over another beautiful river wet tarmac was all I encountered. Somehow I had managed to miss the heavy rain.

The ride was however continuing to only be uphill, even if the roads were gentle slopes I kept expecting some form of downhill payback from all my efforts. Missing the thunder storm was excellent (although the humidity was tough this far into the days cycling, maybe rain would have been refreshing, even energising ?) but the hills kept on coming.

As I continued racking up the miles I started to hear the sounds of the A9 getting closer, mostly because I was getting closer to the A9 of course, and as I joined a cycle path adjacent to the main road with a fair bit of traffic heading in either directions I was greeted by a sign.

Helpfully this sign told me some important information ; I'd reached the top of Slochd summit and this was 1328 feet above sea level. I'm sure Sat Nav and Strava could confirm these sort of details if needed, but this was the first sign telling me how high I had cycled. I'm sure there is an ongoing debate about how big a hill needs to be before it is called a mountain but I'm pretty sure its 1000 feet or around 300 metres.

I had officially therefore climbed / cycled my first mountain - the sign had told me so. This sign also gave me hope that the downhill payback I had been expecting for around 15 miles of the ride might now kick into play, and I was not disappointed.

The remaining 10 miles or so of the days cycle was either downhill or sufficiently flat to not feel like a hill climb and in what felt like no time at all I arrived at the Cairn Hotel, my destination for the night in the village / town of Carrbridge.

My first mountain was also my introduction to the Cairngorms National Park and whilst my planned route for the next few days was likely to mean a few more hill climbs I wasn't planning on adding too many mountains to my cycling achievements list.

The hotel was great; a lovely room with excellent facilities, a lockable garage for my bike and a pub / restaurant allowing me once showered and rested to enjoy an excellent evening meal.

What an incredible day; 83 miles completed on the bike, minor phone overheating, I'd somehow avoided a major thunderstorm, climbed my first mountain and had lived in the moment for what felt like the entire four days so far, soaking up everything I was able to take in, in every moment, in every way my senses could have experienced.

However rather than feel in any way overwhelmed by this as I reflected on the days adventure, spoke with Jan and shared details on social media to family and friends I actually felt at peace. A feeling of guilt sat with me as I reflected with Jan that I was able to enjoy this whilst she was coping with normal life on her own (and I know she knows, but I am truly and forever grateful for her support on this adventure and always....) but I was almost certainly having the best experience I could on my own.

Next on the list was a good nights sleep and it wasn't long before I was fast asleep to get my body and mind ready for the next day on the bike. What would day five bring to the cycling adventure ?