Anyway my main issue is an epic fail on this years (wait for it) bivvy a month. Finland was meant to be February's but I forgot to stop and sleep, so it wasn't. Then March seemed to come and go before I knew it, April did the same and suddenly it was the end of May and I was fully focused on this years Highland Trail 550 group start.
Actually I wasn't. Occasionally I'd think something like "hmm its going to be really hot and I don't have any lightweight shoes that are comfy for 16 hour days". Or "Hmm its going to piss with rain so I need to tear everything off the bike and re- pack as per my 2015 campaign". Or "my knee issues are going to kybosh it so why bother". But overall I was going into it as if it was just another bikepacking trip. Which it is really....
Why bother? Well its a great laugh, you get to ride great trails, the banter is first class and hopefully the weather will actually be alright and my knees will be fine. Final score 3/5....
For once my prep was utterly rubbish. No long rides, no bivvies, no kit fettling, no route reccying, no nothing. I've averaged about 9 hours a week since the Rovaniemi. In 2017 I was up to 14, 2015, 16 and even the build up to my epic fail in 14 showed more riding than the last 3 months. True I'd done a lot of hilly rides and I could go up repeated monster climbs without issue (from knees, legs or lungs) but I had no idea what my form was. Still I know the route off by heart, I'm fairly well versed in bivvying thanks to BAM 18 and my bike was mint so no problemo.
This year saw a further increase in participants including the usual types - total racer heads, a fair few old hands and a fair few shocked looking newbies. The start line was relaxed with lots of chit chat, banter and smiles. We knew what was coming. It wasn't going to be pretty....
My usual crap weather load out but still a bit less than last year thanks to a few gear tweaks.
9am and we're off, the favourites like scalded cats and many newbies caught up in the moment pushing on up the early climbs. The first rain drop hit me just out of Tyndrum but to be fair the next 30 miles only saw a few sprinkles and the odd more prolonged shower. The forecast heavy rain didn't appear until.... (guess when?) Correct. The top of the first big beallach. As per situation normal. I mean how the fuck does the weather know? "Right then Phil's just about to pass the 500m mark, time to start raining!" Its enough to make you paranoid but I didn't really care as I had plenty of gear with me.
To that point it had all gone swimmingly with only some minor knee niggles causing concern. The Ben Alder cottage bog path scored a 5 (1= dry, 10 = paddle, 7=normal) and I hoofed it up the climb only dismounting for the burn crossings. They are all rideable, just not by me. Hmm, halfway up I caught Steve Large stopping for a breather. He's a fast type so I stressed a bit but his "I'm having an energy drop" comment reassured me that soon he would roost past so no drama. I did discover I moved in to 9th place at this point but as its not a race and as I don't care and as I binned it in Fort Augustus who cares?
The last bit is super steep. I generally get up it un-loaded but struggle with bags on. Today I got up without too much gurning, probably thanks to dropping 10 lbs in the last couple of months. The descent, despite the dreich was as good as ever. A rider fixing a puncture near the lodge turned out to be Lee Craigie. The number of strips she was cramming into the hole didn't bode well and neither did her tyres - Schwalbe thunderburts - a great gravel tyre but they puncture as soon as look at them. Given the terrain and weather they seemed an odd choice but she hooned past me soon after so who am I to judge....
Finally it was the good old Corrieairyack. Its a big old climb and steep at the top but a gentle breeze behind us indicated the shift to an easterly wind as per forecast. That meant we'd had a tailwind all day which is rare but very pleasant. The descent in the now steady rain took a while and it was cold. My clothing choice suddenly seemed appropriate as others were suffering.
That was the good news. the bad news was my bloody knees which were starting to hurt. Not too bad but I knew from the previous three months that this would be the start and they wouldn't be getting better, especially over 450 miles of biking and walking. I guess I knew this was coming but it was still a downer. I did grab food for the onward journey in the Fort Augustus garage but as I settled into pizza at the Mariner restaurant I knew it was silly to go on. I'd had a good day but beyond Fort Augustus it would get progressively harder to scratch. If it had been sunny, I might have chanced it but the now incessant rain made a bail out an easy option. I've already done this route in crap weather and feel no need to repeat the experience.
I told Alan G who seemed a bit shocked but even he was muttering about not continuing given his six completions. So I said cheerio to the people around me and tootled off down the Great Glen Way.
There is a newly installed shelter at Glas Coire by Loch lochy but I failed to find it in the dusk so pitched the tarp in the woods and had a pleasant nights sleep. This is the first time for quite a while I've had to pitch up in the rain so it was good practice. The next morning I cruised down to Fort William in varying degrees of dreich, my sore knees further ratifying my decision.
Fort Bill train station was chaos and others arrived to try to get back to Tyndrum without having to schlep up the A82. Fortunately the train had 12 bike spaces and the guard was extremely helpful so we all got on including a tourer, two local mountain bikers and Bryan Singleton. He'd ridden down to Fort Bill to get his cleat fixed, had intended to ride back onto the route (that's commitment for you!) but given up when he'd heard that any sizeable burn was desperate given all the rain.
As I write this many people are still out there having dealt with some truly horrible weather. So I'm sorry to have had to stop but the route will still be there next year. I now have to concentrate on sorting my knees to make sure I'm up to the job before deciding to commit again. The good news is I got a bivvy in and I'm now going to get my BAM campaign back on track - push through until next May!
