Summer seems to have switched to Autumn pretty quick up here and after a week of damp weather I was hoping for some more sunshine. The forecast for Perthshire seemed good but it looked pretty dreich everywhere else so I hightailed it to Dunkeld with a loaded straggler in the boot of the jalopy. After a bit of a delay sourcing a spoon (once again I had forgotten my spork) I headed north then west on NCN 7, the sky looking decidedly grey. This is all back roads apart from one section of path out of Dunkeld and was very quiet this dull day. I left NCN 7 just after the amusingly named Dull then it was up the hill and along the Schiehallion road to Loch Rannoch. Looking west showed only cloud and rain, no sign of the forecasted sunshine. East looked better and it occurred to me to ride back to the car as I wasn't in the mood to battle the elements.
In the event I pushed on and cruised round the loch, whereby the drizzle came on. This suggested a change of plan but it was now to far to bale out back to the car. As it happens there are plenty of bothies and other huts that would make for shelter at a push hereabouts so it was just a case of picking one. The sky cleared a bit so I decided on Duirnish, scene of the epic 2017 Scotland winter bivvy. This lies some 6 miles north of Loch Rannoch at the top of a broad strath which pushes right through to the A9 a Glen Garry. Last December this track was and hour of hard going on deep snow. Today the straggler disposed of it in about 35 mins, a stiff breeze helping me on the way.
There were a couple of local guys in the bothy but they were sociable and had lugged a pile of wood and drink down from the A9 which they were happy to share. There followed a convivial evening chewing the fat before I turned in about 11 feeling somewhat worse for wear.
The forecast for the next day was for heavy rain but in the event I woke to a steady but light drizzle. So I grabbed breakfast and clattered down the track, my head louping after far too much whisky....
Alongside Loch Rannoch there was a constant stream of roadies on TT bikes, all going like the clappers. I'd seen all the signs the previous evening so it looked like they were doing a lap of the loch in double quick time. I soon got bored of saying 'hi' every few seconds so contented myself with a surly grimace as my hangover slowly abated. Greggs in Pitlochry was my saviour with pies, cake and coke so I was feeling quite chipper by the time I got back to the car. Total distance 105 miles.
This is the third BAM I've done on the Straggler and its proving itself to be a worthy tool. Its at least as capable as the fargo off road, despite the narrower tyres, and on road it rolls easily. Gravel bikes seem to be the thing just now and the press seems (as usual) to be struggling to pigeon hole them into a suitable category and to clearly define their purpose, by turns either slagging them or praising them. Away from the gravel roads of the mid west of America, their forte is just what I've done this weekend - riding sections of track and back roads whose potholes would make a 23mm tyred road bike a liability. There are tons of such routes to choose from across Scotland as well as the vast areas of forestry and attendant fire roads. So away from the hype they make great bikes for avoiding traffic and bagging those tracks that would be a chore to get to by mountain bike.
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