Touring to The Tour

I took a few days off last week to head down to Yorkshire to see the first stage of the Tour de France. I'd planned this a while ago as a relaxing recovery ride after the Highland trail and at one point I was going to continue on into Belgium. In the event I rode to Yorkshire in back in 6 days with one day spent sat on a hillside waiting for a bunch of blokes on road bikes to fly past....

My route down involved training it to Paisley via Glasgow and then down NCN 7 to Ayr, cut across to Galloway forest and doss down in the trees somewhere. Thereafter it would be a leisurely ride east then South to the (hopefully) sunny Dales.

Arriving in Glasgow Central I noted a train leaving for Ayr in 5 minutes - hmm cheat time? Instead I got the slow train to Paisley canal as the station platform leads right into the cycleway. NCN 7 follows an old railway line for around 20 odd miles from Paisley. This was meant as a bit of memory laning for me as the last time I was here was in '99 when I worked for Sustrans. I spent a lot of time on this route doing upgrades, bridge repairs and putting sculptures in so it was nice to see how it was looking 15 years later. There were tons of folk on it - all ages and bike types.



This thing was a total nightmare to erect - I was young and stupid in those days and trying to co-ordinate a crane and two excavators to get it in place was a bit of a challenge. Its supposed to represent the northern lights...

After Glengarnock your on a back road to Kilwinning and then its a mix of cycleway and back streets to Ayr. The route gets a bit convoluted in places but its better than the A78. I came down this way on a bike tour in '92 before the cycleway was put in and ended up on said A78 - total nightmare! In a couple of places I did take a few on road short cuts just to chop a couple of k off my run. Ayr sea front was mobbed - I had chips but forgot the mandatory food photo - sorry...

From Ayr NCN 7 heads up over the heads of Ayr in a big loop south so I headed on a more direct route to Maybole. This was the end of the flat riding and the road climbed in earnest. Maybole provided food for the night and a couple of much needed bananas. There was a bit of respite for a few miles to Crosshill then it was climb, climb, climb on the wee road to Glentrool. This is quite a bump - in fact 2 bumps as you go up to  340 m, down to 145 and then back up to 345m.

Looking up to the Nick of the Balloch - 345m

As per the rain arrived at the start of this climb but I didn't need to put waterproofs on until the way down to Glentrool when the rain came down in sheets. It eased off as I went alongside Lochtrool and stopped as the road ran out and became an easy track. This is signed as NCN7 with a dire warning about needing a mountainbike and all manner of kit to survive but the fargo handled it with ease. In '98 I lead a team of volunteers to build a path from the bottom of this track along the line of the Southern upland way. All I remember was the horrendous midges, the hassle getting plant and materials as you were so far away from everywhere and continuous rain all week....

Climbing out of Glentrool over to Loch Dee.

The rain kept coming and going, albeit fairly lightly but worse, the midges were horrific - every time you stopped they materialised instantly. I'd say that Galloway midges are actually worse than their West Highland cousins - maybe its due to there being less victims to feed on around here. Just over the hill from Glen Trool I'd sussed out a bothy on the MBA site - White Laggan. I suspected it would be full of folk doing the Southern Upland Way on this damp evening but lo and behold, it was empty. I could have gone on as it was only 6pm put the rain and midges made up my mind. No wet tent to manage and the ability to hang up damp kit and have a relaxing evening reading and eating, which I did, whilst the midges battered fruitlessly at the windows. Total distance for the day was 90 miles.

Thursday dawned with the forecasted sun shining and much mist rising off the hills.

Loch Dee, blue sky and sun.

I cruised down to Clatteringshaws loch and tarmac, made a quick diversion to the visitor centre for some ablutions and then headed south east along the Raiders Road forest drive. All day Wednesday I'd had a head wind but now heading east it was giving me a gentle but welcome helping hand. The raiders road was super smooth gravel. At this time there was no other traffic on it and I made rapid progress to Loch Ken. You can follow estate roads and then an easy track through the RSPB reserve to the bottom of the Loch, then pick up a wee road which avoids the A762. This was followed by a couple of B roads, one short but extremely unpleasant section of the A75 (turning right across a busy trunk road with a climbing lane in the other direction and no central island...) and then I was back onto NCN 7 along the old military road - a quiet C road that undulates gently toward Dumfries. 

Dumfries provided food courtesy of Greggs and a tin of gas courtesy of halfords. Thereafter it was more C and B roads along the Solway Firth to Gretna via Annan, mostly on NCN 7 and mighty pleasant it was too, in the afternoon sun. 

So into Englandshire then more wee roads to Brampton, immersed in that blissful state of cycle touring on empty roads with no cares in the world and fine views all around. Brampton had been a possible stopping point but it was only 4.30 so I settled for a cuppa and an incredibly good scone with jam and cream, bought food for tea and then spun up the hill heading due south. This area between the M6 and the North Pennines has a network of B, C and U roads which I've explored extensively on a motorbike so it was nice to be pedaling gently along them in the early evening sun. I'd sussed out a campsite from Cool Camping about 15 miles south of Brampton and this seemed a good place to stop. As I headed through the village of Kirkoswald I spotted a fine looking pub with benches outside - there followed a screech of brakes then refreshment!



The beer was fab, so I had another. There was a lot of chat in the pub about where people were going to watch the race - from normal people!

1 mile later and I pulled into Mains Farm campsite. This is a top spot and very quiet. It also had a bunkhouse and did baggage transport along the nearby C2C route. As I was eating tea a bunch of guys appeared on road bikes - they had cycled down the A7 from Edinburgh to here in one day - pretty good going as its about 125 miles and they had headwinds all the way. The next day they were heading for Leeds to see the grand depart - nice one. For me the total distance was 101 miles. That said, after I'd eaten I saw no reason not to stroll back along the road to the pub in the evening sunshine for a couple more pints before bed.

Friday dawned overcast with rain clearly coming. I got packed up dry but it started as soon as I set out. Only 50 miles to do today to the town of Hawes in Wensleydale but I knew I would have to fight for it. Soon it was lashing down with a strong headwind - head down and pedal. The good news was that I was staying in my folks static caravan in the town so at least I would have a dry night. After 3 hours of this the weather cleared and the sun came out for the last few miles. There were signs of the race everywhere and loads of cyclists out. Cars were giving me a wide berth and thumbs up signs and the town was mobbed with thousands of bikes and people - fantastic! I stopped for a jar from one of several good pubs in the town watching all this cycling culture. If only it was always like this...


On the hillside above the 'Col du Buttertubs' (honestly, I ask you!)

I'd just got into my luxury digs when the heavens opened once more. It lashed it down non stop until the early hours of the morning. The forecast for Saturday was good but I had my doubts... In the event it dawned warm and sunny. The buttertubs road was already filling up with people so I got my gear together sharpish and headed up there. Rather than take the easy way up the road I followed a Byway / bridleway I knew to avoid the crowds and bring me out near the top of the road climb

Apparently you can go mountainbiking on a fargo

After much waiting, several hundred cars and bikes, the bizareness of the caravan and various team cars, the race arrived...

WTF?

Jens Voight - age 42 and smashing 'em up the hill - star!

Cavs backside heading out of shot...

'Oh my legs hurting, give me medical attention!' hitching a lift up the hill is allowed apparently

From Jens going through until the broom wagon went by was about 10 minutes, after a 4 hour wait. It was well worth it though. The town was still buzzing until the wee hours, so I soaked up the atmosphere and a few beers while it lasted.

Sunday was 45 miles of easy riding up to my folks near Darlington. For forms sake I rode over the butter tubs road (fully loaded I kicked numerous roadie ass up it) to Swaledale. I was amazed at the number of campsites along the road set up just for the tour. Also loads of cyclists and people giving me thumbs up and smiles. All cars that passed me gave me loads of room a fair few gave thumbs up and waves - I wonder how long this will last.... I picked up a few easy bridleways along the valley then rejoined my route home of old from Richmond.

I Spent some QT with the folks for the rest of the day and then on Monday headed for home. First up was a ride to Kielder. My route was more touring goodness - firstly via the old waggon ways linking Bishop Auckland to Durham and Consett - 28 miles of continuous off road on a mix of tar and dust cycleways; followed a by a few of the famously fierce road climbs from Derwentside to Tyndale. From here I picked my way through a route of quiet roads, bits of cycleway and rolling country to Bellingham then finished with the lakeside path round Kielder water. Finally I pitched up at the Kielder campsite another 90 miles done.

Funky bridge on the Kielder path.

Kielder campsite is another famous midge spot but the breeze was just enough to keep them at bay. After tea I wandered along to the nearby Anglers Arms and was gratified to see they had a couple of ales on. So I sampled a few before retiring to the tent for a sound sleep. 

Tuesday dawned  to the unwelcome sound of heavy rain, contrary to the last forecast I'd seen. It kept easing off to allow the midges a go at me (Kielder midges are indeed nasty) but looked set in. No messing about I just got my head down and rode. I'd vaguely scoped a route out at Mum and Dads but winged it on the tiny GPS screen and actually it was pretty good - mostly on quiet roads with only the odd busy(er) bit near Hawick, which I bypassed on more wee roads. The weather cleared up at Lilliesleaf so I had sunshine passing through the borders tracing roads I'd last ridden when I lived in Edinburgh, many years ago. I did do one bit of the A7 north of Gala which was less than pleasant but got off this on the old road which goes as far as Heriot. Of interest was the works going on to re-open the railway line to Galashiels - quite an undertaking as lots of new bridges are needed as well as re-aligning a couple of bits of the A7. At Heriot I took a chance on a trail I had done before but couldn't recall what it was like. The alternative was more A7 so off I went. In the event it was easy and led me onto the route we'd used to get to and from Innerleithen when I was a student in Embra. Heading through Scotland's capital was also a bit of memory laning as I'd not ridden a bike through busy city streets since 2005. All good fun but I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore. I got home just before the rain clouds came back in. Mileage for this day, 100!

So in total I did about 500 miles. The fargo was brilliant - comfy for long hours in the saddle and just at home on forest tracks as tarmac. The wtb nanos also seemed the ideal tyre for this kind of riding. I was carrying kit in my now usual bikepacking set up of frame bag, bar harness and saddle bag and it worked great. I was surprised at the number of people checking the set up out and a fair few folk asked me about it having never seen anything like it before. I tend to think this set up is common these days but it seems we are still niche...

Midsummer in the Cairngorms

It was the 21st of June. As usual for a Saturday I'd woken late and was contemplating various bike ride options when it occurred to me - it was mid summer, I should be riding my bike into the the sunset! A quick weather check indicated that the Cairngorms area looked to be pretty good so I quickly threw bags onto bike, camping stuff into bags, bike into car and then hightailed it up to Blair Atholl.

By the time I set off pedaling it was 12, not exactly the best time to start a major traverse into Britain's wildest mountain range, but given that it wouldn't get dark until after 11 I was fairly relaxed. Bugger. Just realised I'd forgotten my camera so no pics. Also forgotten lights so no overnight nonsense.... As usual I headed off up Glen Tilt. I'd last been up here in April when it was quite chilly so it was nice to be heading up in the dry and warmth of a June afternoon. That said there was a fair bit of cloud around and the odd sprinkle of rain. but the trails were pretty dry so progress was good and soon enough I'd done the usual progression from smooth track to rough track to single track, finally topping out at Bynack lodge.

As I pedaled alongside the Dee, I noted that the cloud was lurking over the Cairngorm Plateau but it looked brighter to the east. So an earlier plan to head up through the Lairig Ghru was abandoned and instead from Linn of Dee I traced my April route up Glen Quoich and along the single track through the woods to the wide glen below Ben Avon. Also as per April I headed up over into Glen Gairn. This trail is one of my favourites hereabouts and with less weight, less water and more heat it was fab. The rivers and burns were nigh on dry - chalk and cheese to my April traverse in a deluge with burns off Ben Avon full of snow melt.

The last time I'd done the Loch Builg trail was 2011 and it had been very very wet. This evening it was bone dry and easy going. Likewise the river crossings into Glen Builg were so low as to be ignored and soon enough I was cruising down Glen Avon. Another plan had been to turn up Glen Avon and make for the fords, possibly staying in Fainduran bothy. But the cloud was persisting over the high ground so I kept on down the glen. I rolled into Tomintoul at just after 6 and thankfully the shop was still open. Food was acquired and eaten sat out in the warm evening, my onward route options floating through my mind. In the end I figured I'd just do the usual Glen Brown / Dorback / Egg path route and then try to get down into Glen Tromie for a camp.

The track over to Glen Brown had been done up since my last visit and I managed to find the right trail through the valley bottom so soon enough I was climbing out over to Dorback Lodge and out onto the road. I briefly contemplated a cop out on the road but given the dry trails and having plenty of daylight I climbed over the egg path (So called because it passes below Eag Morr, a small rocky gnoll) reveling over how dry it was compared to when I'd done it in 2011. 

Somehow going up ryvoan pass I got on the wrong route and rode up by a house before managing to drop back down onto the right trail. The top section seems to have been cleared out as if its going to be upgraded. I bypassed Ryvoan bothy as I figured it would be busy on a midsummers night and instead bombed down the empty trail to Glenmore and the logging road to Aviemore. 

Aviemore supplied more food courtesy of the Happy Haggis Chippy - smoked sausage and chips washed down by a large cup of coffee. It was now 9.45 and starting to get dark, thanks to heavy overcast. So my lack of lights meant I needed to do the 10 miles down to the Glen Tromie turn off sharpish. Despite the distance I'd done I hared off down the Insh road into the gloaming. The last few miles were a bit iffy with no lights but there was bugger all traffic so no worries.

Finally I reached the turn off and could relax now I was off the public road. Next up was finding a camp spot before it got full dark. I'd hoped to reach an area I knew just past Gaik Lodge but given the rapidly disappearing light instead stopped at a wide grassy area by the river, just past Lynaberack Lodge. The tent was out and up in double quick time thanks to the midges which made an instant appearance when I stopped. Once it was up, I dived in, splatted the midges that had followed me and then crashed out, some 11 hours after I'd started. On checking the GPS I saw I'd done 157k i.e 3k short of a 100 miler. Oh well nowt I can do about it now! Sleep was instant thanks to my long day.

My bladder woke me at 4am but I couldn't face getting out of the tent into the midges then back in again so made breakfast, packed up sharpish and headed up the misty glen. The sun quickly burned the mist away and it was great being out so early on such a nice day. The traverse of the Gaik was as good as usual and I noticed some fossilised bud and nate tyre tracks from my ride through the previous week. Then it was the fast cruise down the track, along the cycleway, back to the car for just after 8.

I was pleased. This was the longest ride I'd done since my failed Highland Trail attempt and I'd ridden a fair old distance over some hard terrain without too much effort and at a nice easy pace that was perfect for this kind of distance. Next up the full Cairngorms Loop!

Fat Bike in the high hills

Well fairly high; just not as the high as the nearby Cairngorms...

Anyway, I went for a wee jaunt today on the Mukluk with the aim at tackling the least well known of the rights of way that head vaguely northish from the A9 in the vicinity of Pitlochry, Blair Atholl and Calvine towards the main lumps of the Cairngorms. There are four in all offering different degrees of challenge and rideability. The Gaik which runs from Dalnacardoch due north to near Kingussie is the easiest closely followed by Glen tilt which offers a long through route to Braemar. The Minigaig is a more serious challenge with a long length of single track requiring varied amounts of hike-a-bike depending on the ground conditions and your determination. I've done all of these at various times over the years as part of multi day trips and one day epics, but one that had always eluded me was Comyns Road or at least the main section between Calvine and the Gaik lodge.

https://scotways.com/heritage-path/?id=281

Looking on the OS 50k map an estate track heads north from Clunes lodge (abt 3k up the cycleway from Calvine) up Glen Chrombaidhe. Where this track turns NE the ROW drops down to the burn by some old shielings and then strikes north up over a significant bump before dropping steeply into Alt Gharb Gaigh and out onto the main Gaick track just up from the lodge. The challenge being that a lot of it was pathless or at least the path looked vague and largely undefined. I'd never given it much thought but Fatbikes open up endless possibilities for routes such as this so at long last I was going to do it.

Driving up into the horizontal rain didn't fill me with confidence about tackling a large section of trackless wilderness over a featureless heather moor. Neither did my GPS going in the huff and eventually powering down with a dead battery despite it having been fully charged the day before - fecking things. But the weather cleared before Pitlochry and I brought a real map with me as a back up so there were no excuses. After easy riding up the track I stopped for an early lunch at the old shielings shown on the map  prior to tackling the main gig. The first section was OK with a clear argocat track following a reasonable line through the marshy ground and climbing easily but steadily. Heading up onto the main ridge the going got firmer but steeper eventually requiring a push for a few hundred meters before remounting to get to the summit of Sron a Chleirich.

 
Looking back down the first pathless section - in reality a good argocat track shows the way

The actual line of the ROW misses the summit and skirts round to the west but easy pedaling over the short heather encouraged me to keep on the ridge before rejoining the route where it dips down to cross a burn.


The line of the ROW clearly visible but hard going. I stayed higher on the ridge and avoided a fair bit of down then up

Another short push and I was back onto more great riding before dropping down significantly to cross another burn. This was the roughest terrain encountered so far - big tussocks and the beginnings of peat hags. The line of the path is actually quite clear - these routes were all drove roads for cattle and this is clearly evident looking at the wide strip of rough grass marking the line of the route, often benched into the hillside. I've no idea when cattle were last driven over this route but evidence of their passing still hasn't fully grown over even now. There is also minimal evidence of foot traffic - not many people use this route... A final push up to the top of Bac na Creig and a serious area of marshland and then it was downhill all the way to the Alt Gharb Ghaig.


Final summit...

The route is marked by the odd wee cairn but care is needed here as there are many false descents down to the burn line. The line of the route is just about discernible as a bench into the hillside keeping its height until the last plunge. This section is well steep and oddly shows signs of having been worked on - a few eroded waterbars were evident – but a lot of it was rideable, albeit on the brakes at walking speed.


Looking back its hard to see where I came down - its the upper most of the various vague lines you can see on the left hand side of the ravine and much clearer when your on it!

Once into the glen bottom there was a k of nadgery single track followed by easy riding on a grassy then stony track. I emerged into the main Gaick pass glen feeling like I’d conquered some major climb – in truth it was a lot easier than I’d allowed for and definitely worth doing again.

I’d vaguely thought of heading up Glen Tromie and then back over to Calvine via the Minigaig but it was 4pm and there was now a stiff north easterly breeze blowing down the gaik route. No contest. I’ve been doing some incredibly hard riding recently either due to distance, terrain, wind, pace or a combination of all of these so the prospect of doing the Gaik single track followed by the easy run down from Stron phadruig lodge with a generous tailwind seemed like some serious redemption. I’ve done the gaik a few times in recent years and its always been into a headwind – north or south. The singletrack section isn’t particularly difficult just a few wee rocky bits to keep you on your toes but on the fatbike with a tailwind and with plenty of life in my legs, it was a hoot. The final run down the estate track was a lazy cruise with the racket of bud and nate on gravel music to my ears. The tailwind continued down the few miles of tarmac on the cycle way back to the car. 

This kind of route is a big reason why I get fatbikes so much. I could have done this on a normal bike but it would have been a slog with far more pushing and carrying. This was the first time I’d tried my fat and a half set up on the Muk with a Bud wedged into the forks up front and my more usual nate out back. It works ace and kind of makes me wonder whether I need an ICT as the big front boot jacks the BB up a bit and kicks out the head angle as well – both criticisms of the original muk geo….

How not to do the Highland Trail

So the HT560 is coming to an end and I'm sorry to report I binned it after day 2. Mucho pissedoffo as I'd trained my baws of all winter and thought I was well capable of knocking it off. My failure was for a number of reasons but the following sumarises my learning points from this sorry debacle, just in case anybody else is fancying this madness next year....

1. Training - I knocked f*** out of myself since last November, starting from a pretty reasonable level. However training advice for a race involving 5/6 14-16 hour days over totally hardcore terrain is thin on the ground. The advice I found was mainly aimed at club stage racers. Still 5-7 hour rides on road and mountainbike at full gas should hone my endurance and stamina to a level plenty capable of the aforementioned? Yes and no. The problem I had was that the 'easy' pace I rode off at on day 1 wasn't easy enough. Overtaking the entire field should have been a clue.... Also I did tons of hill climbing but this just meant I stomped up the first 5 climbs of the route far too fast, whilst thinking I was cruising. Plus by the Sunday lunchtime my carefully toned quads just ended up being so much dead weight... See point 2. What I missed was lots of long 12-15 hour rides to learn a good easy pace that would last the distance.

2. Pace. Don't overtake the whole field on the first climb, including all of the race favourites. Even if I was capable of maintaining this pace for the whole event (some hope) its still a bad idea. In my defense my pace felt like a nice steady tempo which I would use on every climb and I didn't know who anybody was so didn't know I'd blasted past Phil Simcock on the climb out of Loch Tulla until we got to Fort Augustus (98 miles in 10 hours) and he told me I'd lead the race for 40 miles. Gulp..... If I 'd stopped for some proper food (see point 3) at KLL it would have made all the difference. In any event backing off would have meant I'd have finished yesterday. Keith Bremner also made it to F.A on Saturday but took 3 hours longer than me. He finished yesterday in 8th place - bloody well done!

3. Food. You don't need to carry 4 days of food in Scotland. There will always be a shop open, or a pub / hotel or something. I was paranoid about missing open shops on the northern loop, hence the 4 days of grub. If it looks like your gonna miss something you alter your pace so you don't. I reckon 1 full days food, some extra odds and ends and maybe emergency rations for say 1 more day which you top up if you use them. Also a constant diet of cereal bars, porridge oat bars, chocolate and horrible fecking gels don't work for more than 5 hours. I had a constant upset stomach from about Saturday lunchtime onwards until I got some decent scran in Contin which made me feel immediately better. For next year I'm going to really look into what food to take and eat.

4. Gear. I got this spot on. Fook bivvy bags and race kit, this is Scotland. I had all the right kit for surviving the miserable drookit day Sunday turned into (15 hours of rain, 130 miles) and was able to don full waterproofs and gaitors to keep me dry and to keep the resulting mud and filth out of my kit. Plus having a tent meant I could have got out of the rain and midges and still operated well the next day, had I not blown my legs up on day 1. On my feet I had goretex boots, seal skin socks and merino wool inner socks. Despite numerous dunkings on the flooded track over to Contin past Orrin Res my feet were warm and dry

5. Bike. Anything goes as long as your comfortable on it. It doesn't have to be bling as long as it all works. Its going to be totally wrecked by the end so don't worry about renewing everything before the race. My Kramp was nigh on perfect despite weighing in at 30lbs less kit. Where I went wrong was several changes to grips / bar ends etc. prior to the day. I should have spent much more time on this over long distances and probably just stuck with my extra thick super star grips. Instead I ended up with a pair of ergo grips which were utterly horrible. After day one they felt like 2 ill shaped blocks of wood and my hands were in agony. My left pinky is still numb. One thing I didn't have with me was spare brake pads. After I'd bailed and got back home I discovered the horrible noises coming from my front brake were due to the pads being down to the metal, despite being only a quarter worn before the start. 130 miles of gritty water will do that..

6. Attitude. However good you think you might be, its always worth taking it canny on your first race so you can prove how good you are (or not as the case may be). If things are going well you can always up the pace later on - you have 5-7 days to do this.... That said I'm glad I quit when I did as if I'd have pushed on I would have had a truly miserable experience which might have seriously affected my desire to try this again or in fact go anywhere near a bike again.

7. Planning. I thought I'd planned this thing to death but I got it completely wrong and in such a totally obvious way - I underestimated how long it would take (durr!) sections I thought would be easy - Strathglass to Contin being the worst case of this - took ages and knackered me mentally and physically as a result. I think you should work out a schedule then add a day to it as with point 6, if things go well you can up the pace later on in the race.

8. Why? Dunno really - I was looking for a challenge and this fitted the bill. Plus I would bag a large number of trails that have been on my to do list for several years. I like the low key organisation and the whole informal format. My plan was to do it once only and then look to other things but having failed dismally I'm very likely to try again next year as what I learned in the 210 miles of the route I did should immediately mean I'm better prepared already. We'll see, what I'm really looking forward to this summer is just doing some normal bikepacking and touring where I set my own route, pace and schedule with no need to stick to anything prescribed. I fully intend to do the norther bit and the Fisherfield and torridon sections this summer, midges or not.

9. Etiquette. Work out what the favourites look like before the race and don't burn past them on the first climb....

This was taken in ullapool on Monday morning after I'd jacked it. A minute later, eventual winner Phil Simcock rolled into town having done the whole northern loop in less than a day. His eventual finish time was 4 days, 1 hr 45mins. Bloody hell....

The ride.....

For completeness I feel I need to describe my ride, such as it was.

The start was very relaxed with lots of people milling around with varying amounts of kit. A few seemed quite lightly loaded but others had more than me so I was quite happy. There was even another Krampus there so I didn't feel too self conscious amongst all the xc exotica much in evidence. 9am and we were off. I was trying to keep the pace down but its hard to do this in a group of people all with the same aim in mind. I just about managed it until soon after Bridge of Orchy when I settled into a fast cruise. Passing everybody was a warning I failed to heed. As noted above on the climb up over Rannoch Moor I blazed past the (eventual) leaders feeling strong and fit. The push of the devils staircase was a chore in the sun but it passed eventually and I made short work of the descent. I had loads of food on board so didn't feel the need to stop in Kinlochleven and blasted straight through. 

I was still convinced that there was a bunch ahead so I had no inkling that I was in the lead at this point. This continued up the big climb out of KLL and past the two lochs on the way through to the Abhain Rath. It was warm and sunny so I took off shoes and socks, paddled carefully across and then sat in the sun eating some food and waiting for my feet to dry. Phil Simcock appeared at this point and shook my hand. His name rang a bell but I really had no idea who he was....


Feet drying on the Abhain Rath

The next section is a rough path with many burn crossings and a fair bit of off and on riding / pushing. I'd done this in 2003 whence it had been very wet so today it was straightforward thanks to the dry spring we've had. Finally it ended at Loch Treig Lodge. The bridge over the river now had handrails - far cry from when I was here last the deck seeming very narrow with nothing to restrain you from falling into the river below....
Selfie on the bridge by Loch Treig Lodge. Feeling good at this point! 

I was nibbling as I rode but my stomach was not feeling very good. I'd packed oatcakes, a couple of bananas, loads of fruisli bars and nuts and raisins. Nothing seemed to satisfy and I was starting to feel the first inklings of doom. A stiff headwind didn't help and this was looking like it would be with us all the way north. Then on the climb away from Loch Treig it happened. Suddenly my legs felt like lead and nothing was working. Past Loch Ossian it wasn't much better given the wind and on the long descent down strath ossian, it was a solid pedal. I had a couple of energy gels but these just seemed to make my stomach hurt more and provided no noticeable energy. Then it was the corrieairyack. I'd last done this in 1998 with a sore back and had failed to get up it. Today I actually managed to ride the whole lot (20-34!) and I felt I was recovering again.
Selfie on the top of the Corrieairyack, not feeling so good.....

The descent took a while and the 3 climbs were a shock, I'd no memory of these on previous visits. Finally I reached Fort Augustus and I was utterly knackered - I'd got there in 10 hours in third place. Phil S was there and that's when I realised what I'd done - i.e. lead the race. I felt one hell of a fool and confessed to Phil about my ineptitude. Reading his write up later where he mentions my high pace and the need to push on to keep up was extremely embarrassing but maybe I made a small contribution to his eventual amazing finish time.....  I wandered round the shop buying some food and wondering what to do, all confidence in myself gone. Eventually I figured that I should stop in the campsite, even though it was just coming up to 8, have an early night and then try again tomorrow. 


Pitched up.

I'd several dried meals with me and so prepared and ate one. Looking back this was not nearly enough - I should have had two! Finally I turned in but sleep took a while. 5am saw me awake and cooking porridge for breakfast. I exited the tent to a very grey but dry morning. A few other tents had appeared around me with bikes next to them and for the first time I felt a bit of the community spirit that makes these things what they are. I chatted to Keith Bremner in the loos who had just made it here late the previous night. I told him of my mad dash and he was helpful - "no worries just take it easy today and you'll be fine".

So off I went into the gathering gloom. Heading along the road to Invermoriston the rain started. It would continue for the next 15 hours..... Nothing for it but to don waterproofs and keep going. But on the climb up to Loch Ma Stack the next inkling of doom struck. My legs were dead and I had no energy. But on I went at least knowing what this next section would be like after my April recce. 

The track after the ruin was seriously wet. Any hope of staying dry disappeared but there was nothing else for it and at least I was warm. Then it was the big track, the sign I'd seen in April (3 miles not Km....) and some easy pedaling. Next mistake - should have called in at the cafe in Cannich or at least the shop. But on I pedaled the rain now continuous. 

Fuck. I'd been riding on the back road down strath glass for ages. Where the hell was the turn off? Eventually I checked the GPS only to see I'd pedaled some 3 miles past it. Fuck fuck this was not good enough. I turned round and hammered back the way I'd come shouting and cursing. Then another monster climb and my head was mince. I was hating this and in a foul mood, exactly the wrong place to be. Worse; when the climb ended the track started to deteriorate into a muddy mess with countless major puddles. It got worse with a couple of seriously steep climbs. I should have been roosting up these but everyone was a grind and the rain was relentless and in my face. On one particularly big puddle the water went over the top of my boots. I had waterproof socks on but this still wasn't good.

On the track of 1000 puddles. I'm not smiling, I'm grimacing....

Then it happened. The thought. "I don't want to be here, I want to stop" I kept going. Eventually the track improved. Past the dam it was tarmac but every little climb was a labour and I cursed them. No good, no good at all, given what was coming. Eventually I got into Contin and cowered in the rain eating some better food and drinking coffee. Leaving I felt much better but the penny still didn't drop - I needed to eat a lot and rest a lot and then I'd be fine. I could of but it was like my brain was stuck in a rut. It didn't occur to me to head into a pub or hotel as I was so wet I reckoned they wouldn't serve me. Onwards and upwards I went. For a while the clouds receded and it even dried up for a bit. This lifted my sprirts but still the penny didn't drop as I rode past the Inchbae Lodge hotel advertising coffee and food. Up strath Rannoch the rain returned and on I went my spirit broken. Finally on the road to Ullapool past Croik Church I lost it all. I was broken, wrecked and done with this. The hours of prep and all the chat with friends about this thing were forgotten, I wanted out. The thought of the wasteland of the northern loop with no shops or facilities made an impenetrable barrier I could never hope to cross.

I reached the top of the mid loop and didn't even stop. I just turned left instead of right, thinking I'd head for Ullapool, recover a bit and then maybe do the rest of the route as a tour. Crucial lesson:- when your knackered and pissed off, your decision making abilities go totally out of the window. 

I plodded through the next section, cursed my way over the sodden path to Loch Damph and down the long valley to Ullapool, at least with a tailwind. I ate fish and chips sat in the next door pub feeling thoroughly pissed off. I was also starving. After I pitched the tent in the Loch Broom campsite I ate another of my dried meals and anything else appetising in my bags. At least I could get a shower and actually slept very well.

The next morning I took my time getting up and eating more food. I headed into the town, found a cafe on the harbour front and set to into another breakfast - the full fry up. Any thoughts of continuing on route had gone, I just wanted out. Unfortunately this would involve a long road schlep to Inverness at least. As I was finishing up a guy on a bike appeared - Phil Simcock no less. I went out to greet him but he was in one big hurry and the queue in my cafe too long so we exchanged brief greetings and off he went.

And off I went - back up the road all the way back to Contin. From there the reverse of the route I'd done in April to Inverness. There wasn't a train due for 2 hours and I couldn't be arsed waiting so just rode on out and up NCN7. I was now much recovered and the magnitude of my blunders were writ large in my mind. I finally reached Aviemore to be greeted by my mate Rob. Iona his partner was still out on the trail. Turns out I'd just missed her as she started up Strath Rannoch and I was heading back the way. We talked about the route and what I'd done. Rob said the fateful words - "If you've managed to ride so far today, why didn't you continue?" Good question.

The next day I managed to get on a train to Pitlochry and then pedaled the 40 miles west to Tyndrum. I didn't hang around; just chucked the bike in the car and headed home, tail firmly between my legs. That said I was in good company. Out of 37 odd starters only 12 finished and I made it further than most. Phil Simcock finished first in 4 days 1hr and 43 minutes.....

I penned this several months after the Highland Trail and after I'd done a couple of long rides and the Cairngorms Loop. Immediately after scratching and returning home I wrote the 'How not to" bit on the Bearbones forum and got a fairly sympathetic response. My mistakes were obvious looking back but biggest of them all was quitting. If I'd just stopped at a hotel for the night, ate lots and rested, I'd have been able to continue. The rain on the Sunday lasted all that day and night but Monday was much drier and Tuesday to Friday dry and sunny. Iona finished on the Monday, first and only female entrant and finisher. She was rightly scathing of my failure (but in a good way!) but this has motivated me to get in for it again next year. I know what I need to do, and what not to do so all being well I'll be in a much stronger position.

April Bikepacking in the Cairngorms

I'd booked a week off work in the middle of April as I wanted to do some bikepacking in preparation for the forthcoming Highland Trail which I had rather foolishly entered at the end of the previous year.....

So Sunday morning saw me take an early train up to Blair Atholl. It was a bit damp as I bought food in the shop and crammed it into various bags on the bike. I've been using frame pack / seat pack / bar roll for a couple of years now and its definitely the way forward. I've been trying to cut some weight so this trip was to be a further evaluation of what I did and didn't need on the Highland Trail. Anyway as I pedalled up the long climb that is Glen Tilt the weather brightened up and the sun came out.


The beast, ready to go

The singletrack beyond the Tarf Water is quite techy and this was my first real go at such riding with most of my gear on the bike instead of the more trad rucksack. In the event I was surprised at what I was getting up, only bigger steps stopping me.


Sunshine at Bynack Lodge. It was quite cool as I ate lunch but the sky still looked pretty bright and I had plenty of gear on. The geldie was a bit high but no major drama. Rather than head to Braemar and the usual route to Glen Gairn I decided on the spot to follow the trail I'd discovered the previous August. This goes up the Quoich water on a double track and then follows a path not shown on the map roughly north east through the woods. I'd been surprised to see a couple on bikes with skis on their rucksacks at the track end - they talked of amazing spring snow conditions on Ben Avon. Little did I know what this was to mean later on..... Still the trail was pretty dry for April and again the bike was handling it all well, despite the bags.

On the climb off the main Ben Avon path the cloud rolled in followed by a fine dreich. I met a chap who asked me if I'd seen his D of E group anywhere (I hadn't) so he ran off back down towards Invercauld. Passing over the top of the climb the rain suddenly became quite heavy and very cold. Nothing for it but to carry on, picking my way down this extremely challenging trail. I got across the Gairn no bother so I was fairly relaxed about the rest of the route. The rain cloud passed over and the weather cleared once more. As previously reported this trail is a cracker and I was soon well into it.

Lower down you re-cross the Gairn again. It was still low so I had no other burn crossing worries. This lasted for about a hundred metres where I came a cross a side burn which was flowing off Ben Avon itself and a raging torrent. Hmm, there had been no issue with this last year. Snow melt was the answer after a winter that had seen some of the biggest snow depths for many a year, but all over 500m. (below that it had just rained a lot). Foolishly I tried to step across on rocks to keep my feet dry, but a slip saw me plunge in, feet wet and boots full. Bugger, so much for goretex boots and waterproof socks. I squeezed as much water out as possible but then a short while later I came across another raging torrent and just plunged right through it. 

(End of year edit - this ended up the first of many many problematic river crossings I got embroiled in, in 2014!)

Another heavy rain shower came through and suddenly, the thought of camping somewhere paled. I hit the double track eventually but was a bit alarmed by the footbridge over the Gairn (now also a raging torrent) as one of its handrails had fallen onto the deck making for a tricky crossing, the river roaring below....

Rolling out down the Gairn I decided that I'd wimp out to the bunkhouse in Ballater. Its a good one and equipped with a drying room so an easy choice to make. Best of all on Sunday evening out of season I was the only one in. The Co-op provided food and beer and I had a relaxing evening drying out. Total distance 60 miles.

The next morning was cool, breezy but sunny. I got going early and rode out of Ballater heading for a trail I'd done in 2011. This climbs steeply up the hillside from Bridge of Muik on a good track and then follows the ridge south. I was aiming for the Mounth Road, a route I'd missed out on my 2011 trip, due to horrendous weather. It turned out to be an engaging trail and fairly dry. The descent was rocky and technical, just what I needed. Looking up its continuation over the flanks of Mount Keen, I decided that this would have to wait as it would involve a long detour from my chosen route. So it was an easy roll out down Glen Tanar to Aboyne. In Aboyne I sat in the sun eating chips and drinking tea, whilst contemplating my onward route. 


Another old ROW I'd missed on my 2011 trip was the Ladder road - another Mounth road north of Deeside. I figured that today was the day, given the weather, so headed up to Tarland and then further up to pick up the A97 over to Donside. A minor road took me to Strath Don and then I followed a track up through the woods North west to Glen Nochty and the start of the Ladder Road.

The first section is on a forest track and easy. You pass by the 'Lost Gallery' - a local artist with various stuff on display. The art theme continues as you pass an intriguing sculpture at the side of the trail:-


"In Ferrous Defence of the Lost"

Not sure what this means but I do like this kind of thing. The track deteriorated towards the end of the wood and then it leaps straight up the hillside. There is a ruined cottage here called 'Duffdefiance" named after its builder who managed to get it up before the estate found out - the rule being that if you could do this, you could live their un-molested. More of Scotland's dark and feudal past, some elements of which still live on today.

Anyway the climb was a stinker and the wheel ruts so deep they were unrideable. Walking wasn't easy either as the heather was so deep and the weight of the bike a drag. Hey ho, I got through eventually, rode a section of upgraded track and then stomped up the last section which was a fairly overgrown line through the heather, complete with a patch of snow. Eventually the beallach was reached and the prospect of a lengthy descent. 


Steep! looking back up to the summit of the trail


And the way down the ladder burn to Glenlivet

It was easy going on such a gradient but its clear this trail gets little use. After a few twists and turns you end up at the ladder burn (very low thankfully) and ladder foot cottage. From here it was an easy track back to the road and up to Tomintoul for a much needed shop. I sat in the evening sunshine eating and drinking and contemplating my next move. I was heading for Aviemore but I didn't fancy the A939 so headed for Glen Brown as usual.

Glen Brown lead me a dance as I tried to follow the line of the original track which is now largely gone. I got back on track eventually and made short work of the remainder of route to Dorback. I passed the turn off to the eiggh mhor path as I reckoned it would be wet and I was now fancying a quick run to Avie so stuck to the now empty back roads through Nethy Bridge to Boat of Garten, finishing the day with the cycleway to Dalfaber where my pals stayed. Total distance 85 miles but I was pleased as there had been some hard riding and I felt pretty good at the end.

Tuesday dawned sunny again. I'd vaguely thought of reccying the HT route north of Inverness but this would end up being a mission so I decided on a compromise whereby I headed for schnecky, picked up the route at Cannich and then reverse it to Tyndrum from where I could ride home. 

Inverness was done on NCN 7 and a section of Wades Road which after a vague start was a good way into the town. NCN1 to north Kessock and then a nice wee road along the north shore of the Beauly firth. I ate food at North Kessock on the sea shore. A Large rat appeared briefly but refused to come out to my blandishments and offers of oatcakes. A bit of A and B road work took me past Muir of Ord and to Beauly then I picked up a back road that would take me into Strathglass and Cannich. Once again the miles were racking up and as with the previous day, my legs were coping fine.

I bypassed Cannich heading up the A831 to Corrimony. This next section was unknown to me other than what I'd read on a couple of blogs of the 2013 HT group start. I'd done some geograph research but it didn't reveal much about what was in store, just that it was all double track. From Corrimony up it was all motorway standard - all thanks to the Beauly to Denny power line that has been exercising everybody's mind recently. This power line has created many miles of new tracks and the line itself has caused no end of protest from various environmental and conservation groups. I'm fairly equivocal about it. If we are going to use all this electricity then it needs to be transported... 

The motorway continued as it was clear there was a wind farm ahead, not shown on my map. Eventually it turned off and my route continued on a rougher track. At its turn off I'd noted a sign stating 'Loch ma Stack 3 something'. No probs I thought. I had a quick check out of the bothy but was keen to carry on as it was only 5. Hmm, the track was pretty rough and pretty wet and 3km seemed to be taking a long time. But I was dealing with this no probs whereas a few years ago I'd have been stressing about it. Eventually after numerous false summits (the track follows a steep ridge line which the OS 1:50k entirely fails to show, all thanks to contour spacings) I was looking down onto the loch and its spooky ruin.

As I'd read the loch shore was clear and I made quick progress round it, 29+ showing its prowess once more. At last a good track - from the loch dam down the glen it was all good and I had a stiff tailwind so dispensed with this in short order.

At Invermoriston I took an easy option - the main road. There was bugger all traffic on it and with the tailwind it passed easily enough. A cop out but I felt I'd done enough and in fact as I pulled up at the Fort Augustus camp site I'd clocked 94 miles - plenty for one day. Tent pitched, a pint in the campsite bar and then a sound sleep.

More sunshine! The previous April had been snowy then rainy so this was most pleasant. I'd had a leisurely morning with a large breakfast from the petrol station shop and then headed south on the Great Glen Way. This is an easy route following the canal tow path and various bits of disused railway line and yet another section of one of Wades old military roads. The only rough bit is alongside Loch Oich. You follow Wades road for most of it and then the old railway line which is covered in huge tree roots. I bounced over these as best as I could but it seems a shame that no-one has been able to do this up to a proper cycleway. Next is a nice bit of gravel path and then forest roads along side Loch Lochy. finally another 10 miles or so of canal side path to Lagan Locks. 

I stopped at Fort bill for a feed and then set off up the Military Road (tarmac!) to pick up the West highland Way above the town. The HT route follows the WHW out of Glen Nevis but I couldn't be bothered with this bit as I'd heard it was pretty rubbish with several stepped sections. After the road end it follows a good if rough track which climbs steadily into a wide corrie, the Mamores vast ahead. I've done this route a few times and it seemed much easier today, a sign of my fitness? The now north westerly wind helped.

On the descent into Kinlochleven the loaded bike started to show its limitations. This is a pretty gnarly descent and I wussed it a few times, not fancying smashing my face into a rock. KLL provided sustenance in the form of the Ice Factor cafe (cake and coffee) and then it was that mighty climb up the access track. I rode most of it but the last section is steep and loose and my now tiring legs weren't up to it. Beyond the top of the track the WHW follows more military road but its an eroded path rather than a track right up to the devils staircase. All rather hard going with two further big climbs but, again, I was getting up it without too much bother. The descent was all ridden but carefully as there were still a few folk about - something of a shock after the solitude of my route so far. 

The section to the Kingshouse was pretty eroded in places but I guess its still better than the A82.... Then the final climb up past the ski centre. The sky had clouded over somewhat by this time. I'd had a few sprinkles over the devils staircase but it came on in earnest on this section - a typical West Highland dreich that penetrates all known water proofs. Anyway, Bridge of Orchy soon came up, more track, one last push up under the railway line and the final track to Tyndrum. I tried to visualise what it would be like to do this after the full 560 miles of the HT route, but my imagination failed me.....

So it was a wet pitch up at the campsite in Tyndrum, food in the handy camp kitchen and an early bed. Days total 78 miles.

It was still raining the next morning but in view of an easy day I had a leisurely start with breakfast at the Greenwelly cafe. By the time I'd set off the clouds were starting to break so I was hopeful of a reasonable ride home. Now the WHW between Tyndrum and Crianlarich is horrible. The first bit is OK but then there is a right faff of stiles and paths until you cross the A82 and head up a ridiculously steep climb, then descent, then climb....  I followed the first section but then couldn't face the next. I'd done it the other way in 2012 so didn't feel the need to do it again. The A82 was quiet so I got my head down and pedaled fast to Crianlarich and a few miles further to pick up a farm track. This crosses the river Dochart, passes a farm and then follows a level path through fields until it joins a wee road that takes you to Killin.

From Killin to Callander NCN 7 follows a fine route, a lot of which is on the old Stirling to Killin railway line, long since closed. I'd had a fair bit of involvement in this in my Sustrans days both designing and contract managing various sections. Its a great route and well worth doing. Better still it was sunny and I had a tailwind! Strathyre shop provided a late lunch and then it was on down past Loch Lubnaig. I was hammering all of this in defiance of the distances I'd travelled and loving every minute of it. Eventually after one last twisty singletrack bit and an easy roll out on another bit of disused railway line I reached Callander.

From here it was nearly all on road, but all of the small and quiet variety. A few bits of trail and cycleway took me past Bridge of Allan and Stirling then more quiet roads home, 76 miles after starting.

I'd learnt a lot and tested my fitness properly. A lot of my training has been on the road bike and whilst this has involved plenty of smashing it up hills, I've not done nearly enough long distance stuff. This trip has proved I've got what it takes for the HT fitness wise, I just need to keep the head together. Kit wise the bike was great, swallowing everything in its path and comfy too. But I need to lose some weight. I'd too much up front in particular but overall just too much. Fine on rideable stuff but hard work on the steep hike-a-bike climbs. I'd carried water in the frame bag but I think I'll use my camel back for the event. Also my tent is too big and heavy and I need to get a lighter and less bulky mat. More money......

September mini tour

I recently bought a Salsa Fargo frame. As usual my justification was a mix of carefully thought out reasons and blind want. My On One 29er which I built a few years ago as a rough track tourer had served me well in Iceland the previous year but since then had languished until getting pressed into service as a rigid mountainbike prior to my full time switch to rigids when I got the Krampus at the beginning of this year. I'd fancied a go with a drop bar touring type bike that would handle some rough stuff and my pal Iona raved about hers. I could use most of the bits off the on one and Triton Cycles were doing fargo frames for £400. What more encouragement did I need?

Of course you always end up spending more money on new bits (brakes, bars, stem, seatpin, headset, cables, etc. etc) but it went together fairly quickly and a few test rides as part of my usual adventure commutes showed it was a nice handling bike and comfy to boot. Long mudguards were an issue. You could get them in the US but not in the UK - the usual story of UK importers failing to see an upcoming trend. Fortunately I could buy them through Amazon although by the time you added import fees, postage and VAT they were nigh on £50.... Still I now had a sorted tourer that would take on anything you could throw at it. All I needed to do was to give it a proper test and do a tour.

The pleasant weather we've had this year still seemed to be persisting in September so after a quick squint at the forecast, Friday was booked off work and a plan was hatched. As it happened Iona was helping to organise a girls only mountainbike race in Inshriach Forest, south of Aviemore and the race base was at Laganlia outdoor centre. A bash was planned for the Saturday night post race and un-official camping would be available. Right then that's where we are going! The bike was loaded, using my now de-rigeur bikepacking set up. 



I had a leisurely start, departing the house at about 10. I followed various back roads and bits of cycleway west through Clackmannashire and past Stirling. Then it was a bit of A road to Bridge of Allan followed by quiet back roads along the Teith valley to Doune and then Callander. I stopped at Callander for an early lunch, noting with some concern the somewhat cloudy and murky skies to the west. The forecast had been for sunshine and a cool breeze so this didn't bode well. Sure enough on departing Callander on the cycleway, a cold dreich blew in. Fortunately the cycleway quickly disappears into woodland so waterproofs were avoided. This is the start of a long length of off-road cycleway all the way to Killin. It follows a mix of paths, tracks and a long length of disused railway line including the famous Glen Ogle line and viaduct. Years ago I worked for Sustrans and I'd been involved in constructing a lot of this route. It's a corker and well worth a ride. I bombed along it on the fargo, having particular fun on the wee trail up past the falls of Lenny. We used to stay in an old CTC hut near Loch Lubnaig and used this path as the route to the Lade Inn near Callander. The ride home was always done seriously under the influence and lead to many crashes and silliness......

A while later, I passed by the hut and it still seems to be intact and owned by the CTC. Whether its still used, I have no idea. Beyond this point you pass some Forestry Commission chalets then its another nice section alongside the loch with a couple of narrow trails and some forest track. At Strathyre I stopped for a late lunch, sat outside in the now warm afternoon. There followed a short road section and then a great section on an old military road followed by more railway line to an old viaduct. This had all been my project and this was only the second time I'd ridden it. Nobody else was around so more fast paced riding followed.

This bridge replaced a center span of a viaduct which was removed when the line was shut. It turned into a mission of a scheme as the Contractor assembled it incorrectly which meant it didn't fit. Basically they had measured the skew wrong and offset the two big tubular arches 500mm out.... There followed two weeks of very long hours (for the contractor) taking it to bits and putting it back together; whereupon it was raised into place again, this time successfully. By the look it had just been re-painted and looked fab.

Soon after it was the long climb up a series of steep switch backs to the upper rail line. Finally the sun was shining so I stopped on the old viaduct to take in the views. This line used to get regularly blocked by landslips. When Mr Beeching was reviewing Britain's rail network with a view to rationalising it there was a particularly bad slip on this line and the decision was made to shut it there and then. 50 years later and its back open again, albeit for bikes, peds and horses.

My legs were starting to tire by this time. I've done a fair bit of bike riding this year, broken collarbone excepted, but nothing really long distance. Still I had plenty of recovery time on the long descent to Killin but after another short road ride it was straight into the humongous climb out of Loch Tayside over to Glen Lyon. Oddly I felt OK up this but a few more patches of dreich came through making me feel a bit dubious about camping. I was aiming for an FC basic campsite beside Loch Rannoch but another huge climb lay between me and it.

This is over the Lairig Ghallabhaich. I rode this in 1994 and had vague memories of it being OK but with some big puddles along the top. The first part of the climb was steep but fine given my nice low bottom gear. It did seem to go on a bit though and after leaving the forestry more dreich came in leading to me having to dive into waterproofs. Then the track roughened substantially and kept climbing. Its the usual story. When its the end of a long day, your not sure of the route and the weather is closing in, big moor crossings like this seem to go on for ever. I was also finding the limitations of a bike with dropped bars and 50mm tyres over the rocky track. It was just a case of keeping it in a low gear and twiddling your way along. Eventually I reached a gate into more forestry and soon enough was bombing down a smooth forest track. I skidded to a halt at a junction looking for the nice descent we'd climbed up on that day in '94. After a bit of faffing and nose following I got on it and what a nice descent it is. The map shows it as a double track but its a nice smooth path beside the river and under pleasant pine trees. The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing once more.

At the bottom I had a bit more faffing finding a way across the river to the campsite that I could see opposite. Then it was a quick throw up of the tent, a wash in the bathroom (no showers) cough up a fiver for the privilege and then make a late tea. Couscous, cheese and smoked sausage, yum.... At least I had cookies for afters! Then it was into the tent as the midges were coming out (in September!) read book and crash out after what had been a long day - nigh on 85 miles.

The next morning was somewhat grey and damp - a low lying mist which soaked everything and allowed the midges full reign. I cowered in the tent making breakfast then packed up and made a sharp exit to beat the winged menaces. I was aiming for a track / path from the north side of Loch Rannoch to Dallnaspidal Lodge on the A9. The mist was clearing as I cycled round the head of the loch revealing steeply wooded slopes and bigger hills to the north. The map indicated two tracks out of Rannoch which joined some way above an estate house. I took the first one but it was pretty rough for the most part and made for hard work on the fargo. Once it joined the other track it improved to a smooth estate road which climbed steadily for several miles. The map showed a building near the end of this track which I hoped would be a bothy.

Duinish - a bothy right enough. It was a bit rough and ready but would make a nice stopping off point. It was now quite sunny and warm so I sat outside for an early lunch. The track continues to a bridge over the Alt Shallain and then fades into the moor. The map showed about 1.5k of path before another track alongside Loch Garry was joined. This path turned out to be a vague line and an argocat track. I followed the argo track until it ventured into a flat, wet area then traced the vague path line along the foot of the hillside. This avoided the prodigious bog land between me and the loch. In fact everything was pretty dry so soon enough I was back on good track all the way to Dallnaspidal. From here I stuck to the Sustrans cycleway all the way to the turn off for Laganlia. For once I stopped at the cafe just off the A9 and Ralia. Its the usual over priced tourist affair but my need for coffee and cake outweighed any financial considerations. 

The A9 cycleroute is pretty good, using bits of the old road and sections of new path. From Ralia it follows the road to Newtonmore, a fine bit of cycleway to Kingussie and then the back road to Insh and Feshie Bridge. All pleasant pedaling with a stiff tailwind. On arrival at Laganlia I was greeted by a large volume of people. By this time the race was largely done so I'd arrived just in time for the social bit. Effectively I was gate crashing this event but being pals with one of the organisers got me in buck shee. So I availed myself of the barbeque and soon enough got stuck into the beers. I met a few folk I've known over the years including a few I'd not seen in ages. Ionas' partner Rob was there as he'd been a race marshall. So there followed a very convivial late afternoon and evening which went on to the wee small hours. I'd taken the precaution of pitching the tent before the ale flowed too freely so I was able to crash out easily enough when the drink finally ran out. 

Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny. I went in search of breakfast, aware that my tent was pitched on the course of the kids dirt crit (i.e. race) due to start later on. Then it was pack up, say cheerio to all and commence by journey home. As part of a tour I did in 2010 through the Western Isles, I came back via Aviemore. Iona joined me for part of my journey south on her then newly acquired fargo, keen to test it out on the Gaik pass. So it was fitting that I should do the same on mine today. There was a bit of a stiff headwind heading up Glen Tromie but its a great route and well within the fargos capabilities. 

Even the short single track section was taken care of without too much grief. Again it was just a case of getting into the granny gear and trundling slowly, but steadily along. After the usual faff crossing the Eddendon water I was soon bombing down the doubletrack at high speed.

Emerging at Dalnacardoch presented a choice of routes. I could stick to the NCN south to Perth and thence home via a good mix of wee roads. I could probably do this in one go but I had the Monday off as well so a longer, more scenic route was on the cards. From Dalnacardoch there is a great mix of wee roads over to Trinafour, Tummel Bridge, Aberfeldy, Crieff and then home. How far I'd get along this was debatable after a late start but there should be plenty of camping options so I was fairly relaxed. Its a hilly route but there was very little traffic so I was able to maintain a steady pace that suited my somewhat tired legs.

Aberfeldy provided a late lunch stop and then it was over the big moor to Sma Glen and finally Crieff at around 5pm. I knew of a campsite attached to a mini trail centre a few miles along the A84 west of Crieff so this seemed like a good stopping point. It was actually only about thirty odd miles home but I didn't have any lights with me so this was a no-no. Crieff Co-op provided food and beer for the evening and then I spun along the main road which was empty at this hour. It did cross my mind that the site could be shut, given that it was a Sunday night out of season but on arrival, a guy appeared to sign me in and indicate where to camp - basically anywhere. Given the midge situation I avoided the woods and pitched on one of the fields in the light breeze. It was pretty much dark by this time so I sat in the gloaming eating, reading and drinking. A perfect way to end an 85 mile day and this mini tour. 

The next morning I had a leisurely start given my short journey home. This was dispensed via more great wee roads, none seeing any traffic, finishing with the steady climb out of Dunning, home by lunchtime.

As a test for the Fargo this trip was spot on. I did nearly 250 miles and it was super comfy, I definitely found its limits but it also showed that it could deal with rougher trails, you just had to go slowly. I was less convinced by the Salsa Woodchipper bars as these seemed to put your hands at a funny angle and weren't that comfy on the hoods. So yet another pair of bars is probably required at some point. This will probably be my last trip of 2013 but I've already got some ideas for trips next year. This weekend has also shown I can do back to back long(ish) days so I'm seriously considering entering the Highland Trail next year....