Ben Lomond Loop

I decided to do something a bit different for last Saturday mornings run.  Since many of us ride CycloCross (CX) bikes during the winter I quite fancied making the most of their off road capabilities by doing a loop taking in some of the great forest trails nearby.  The route I had in mind took in the Trossachs Forest Drive by Loch Venachar and the Dukes, followed by a run up through the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park from Aberfoyle over to Loch Lomond.  At Loch Lomond side the route was south to Rowardennan, Balmaha and Drymen then home.

Richard and Eddie joined me for this winter epic.  Not the best day for it - howling westerly with horrible sleet showers.  I've ridden some of the tracks before but after all the mega rain in the last week we were a bit unsure how ridable it would be.  With a lot of the off road sections being well used for forestry work they can get quite broken up by logging trucks and in pretty bad shape.  We were all on CX bikes with 35mm CX tyres fitted.  These have a shallow tread, like an MTB tyre but are not as knobbly or as wide.  I find these are pretty good on the road as long as you dont try to go too fast, and off road they give great grip.

Eddie and Richard with snow capped Ben Lomond in background

Callander to Aberfoyle
The first section on tarmac up the Deanston Road we do all the time, but after Callander its onto the gravel and almost single track along the side of Loch Venachar.  We all had big grins on our faces after this: blasting round gravel bends and over wee jumps.  The climb up to the Dukes Pass from Loch Venachar was much slower on the soft gravel track than the usual route up, but it was good to do something different and the descent down into Aberfoyle was an absolute blast - it felt like driving a rally car, beasting round corners, ripping over the rough gravel surface.

Milton to Cailness
After Aberfoyle road and the short tarmac section up to Milton we crossed over to the Queen Elizabeth forest park, and back onto more gravel trails.  This gradually climbs up toward Ben Lomond.  The Ben appeared up in front of us from out among the trees and initially it was quite some distance away, with the top capped in snow.  Fortunately I'd plotted the trail into my Garmin, as there are a lot of criss crossing junctions in the forest and way finding can be tricky.  Having ridden round the forest before I'd often found myself having to stop and check the map to try and work out which way to go, but with the course plotted in the Garmin it was dead easy - just a case of following the line on the screen on my bars!

From Milton up into the Comer estate the trail surface through the forest is actually really good, much firmer than the climb up the Dukes, so we made pretty good progress.  It did gradually become more full of potholes and rough in places.  Almost at the top of the main estate road you pass a small cottage and there is a turn off the main estate path, through a gate and up a very steep, much smaller side track.  The gradient was getting on for about the limit of what we could ride up on the CX bikes due to the slippery wet surface, and gearing available.  After a while it slacked off a bit and it was just another few miles grind up a lumpy but ridable landrover track to the top of Gleann Gaoithe.  By the time we got here it was absolutely pissing down and blowing a gale and seriously cold, so we were pretty glad to see Loch Lomond appear almost directly beneath us.

The descent to Cailness was not really my idea of fun.  When you come over the top of the hill you start at about 350m and Loch Lomond is at about 10m and feels like its directly beneath you.  The track is about 25% gradient, rocky, broken, and was like a river in places.  Theres several switch backs, but the gradient is unrelenting.  Even going down it was tiring, especially on arms and shoulders.  I lost it in a rut at one point and took a header into the mud which wasn't very pleasant.  There was a 4x4 parked at the house at the bottom, but I found it hard to believe you could even drive down the track!  Riding up would maybe be doable on an MTB, but certainly not on a CX bike.

Mechanicals
Half way down the descent I discovered one of the crank arms on my chainset was coming loose.  I fitted a new chainset a few months back after the west coast tour and presumably didnt get it quite right.  The crank arm on the non drive side clamps onto  a post which comes out of the drive side crank, and the bolts clamping the arm on must have worked loose over time.  The arm with pedal attached was now wobbling about.  Richard had a multi tool, so I attempted to tighten the crank arm back on, but a mile or so further on it had worked its way loose again.  After Cailness we joined the West Highland Way and headed south toward Rowerdennan.  The surface is pretty rough along here too, and it was Eddies turn to have a mechanical next.  His chain jammed in the rear mech, and this caused the mech and hanger to be ripped off the back of the bike.  He managed to do a not bad fix up job, shortening the chain to run the bike as a single speed.  Fortunately from Rowedennan back to Stirling there arent any really significant hills, so this was ok to get him home

Unfortunately my crank arm kept on working loose and after a while it started falling off altogether.  After a several attempts at reattaching it I decided it the problem was terminal and it was going to prevent me managing to complete the full circuit.  Fortunately Laura was home and after a phone call she was able to come and get me about and hour later from near Drymen.  Eddie and Richard carried on back to Stirling along the A811, while I pedalled slowly, one legged back to Blamaha and as far toward Drymen as I could.

Broken TCX

The original plan had been to ride the route in the opposite direction, however on the morning we decided to reverse it due to the gale force westerly and the idea that riding westward through the woods would be better than plugging along the A811.  I think going round clockwise would be preferable if the weather was different as the trails are more rideable going the other way, and I'd rather push my bike up the climb from Cailness than ride down it again!  This route would be brilliant in the summer when the trails are drier and harder, and I think you could probably do the loop in about 5 hours if you went at it hard.  Having looked about theres quite a lot of other similar loops that can be made by joining up sections of gravel road.  The only potential problem with wanting to do more of this type of route is the potential maintenance cost fixing all the broken kit!

West coast tour: after thoughts

What worked and what would I do differently next time?

Next time I'd definitely think about going with someone else.  It was good going alone, setting my own pace, deciding where I wanted to go each day and when I wanted to stop etc, but it would have been nice to have someone there to experience it too and talk to.

The route was excellent.  I found 60-80mile days were pretty good, but also nice to have a 35miler in too, to have an easy day.  Using the ferries was brilliant.  Bikes go free, and they have to be one of the best bargains going - crossing cost between £4-£12 as a passenger.  A 5hour crossing from Oban to Barra costs £11!

Camping: I found it relatively easy to find places to wild camp all over the west coast.  There is very little in the way of proper camp sites on the Western Isles, so just as well its easy to wild camp.  Getting fresh reliable drinking water I found a little tricky.  Most public WC, village halls etc have an outdoor tap.  I guess you need to use your judgement on whether you trust the water coming out of the tap to be drinkable.  Doing long miles on the bike its essential to drink plenty though.  I found I needed minimum of 3.5litres for my evening meal, hot drinks and breakfast.  During the day I'd drink Lucozade, coffee and water on top of that.

The tent I took - a Wild Country Aspect 1 was one of the larger 1 man tents I saw.  I was lucky with the weather and could sit out every night to cook and organise my kit.  If it had been poor weather I think I would have wanted a larger tent, or would have been making use of some of the hostels and bunkhouses  Taking a slightly heavier, larger 2man tent (3-4kg) probably wouldn't have been a problem.

Kit:
Of the kit I took everything worked pretty well.  I didn't have any major problems, and there was very little that I took that I didn't need nor stuff I didn't take that I required.

Charging electrical gadgets: I took a Blackberry, Garmin, and an old Sony Eriksson mobile.  I took a PowerMonkey Explorer, which I had as an old Xmas present to charge them.  Its basically a fancy rechargable battery with a variety of plugs to fit different devices.  The Blackberry wouldn't charge off the PowerMonkey, but I found I could find a 3pin socket on most ferries and a 45min-1hour crossing was enough to get the BB full.  The Garmin ran for 3 or 4 days without needing a charge, and I was then able to top it up from the PowerMonkey.  I used the Sony Eriksson mobile to avoid running down the BB battery - Sony Eriksson would run for days where as the BB doesn't.  I tried charging the BB in cafes, but I didnt find that very effective!

Stuff I took that I didn't use:
Waterproofs: I only wore my waterproof jacket on the last day and didn't take the over trousers out of the pannier.  I wouldn't go without them though!
Pump: I bought a new pump especially for the trip, and didn't need it.  I used it once to check the pressure in my front tyre but had difficulty attaching it to the valve and it let the tyre down!  I got it pumped back up, but didn't attempt to use it again.  I checked the pressure each day by hand and the tyres stayed firm.  Again I wouldn't go without one.  I was perhaps lucky not to get any punctures, but I think the Conti Gatorskin tyres are excellent and stood up well to gravel roads, heavy load, bumping across fields etc.
Book: Didn't really read it! Infact I swapped the one i'd brought in a tea room on Bernaray for a different one.  Next time I'll not take one at all.  I found there was more than enough to keep me busy.  I guess if the weather had been bad and I'd been in the tent more I might have read more.
Clothing: I lost a long sleeve base layer on day 2 - took it off because I was too hot and forgot to pack it.  Didn't miss it for the rest of the trip though.  I packed 2 of these so the one I had left was enough.  I worn the same bibshorts and s/s road jersey every day.  I washed them out most days and was able to hang them out and they'd be dry for the next day.  I had spares but didnt really wear them.  I took a down jacket and a fleece gilet.  I suppose I could have left the gilet at home and just brought the jacket, but it is pretty light and nice to wear.

Stuff that was really good:
Therma-rest chair: you inflate your therma-rest and fit it into the fabric holder and it makes you a comfy chair with a back rest.  It weighs next to nothing, and I packed it in alongside my tent poles. 5star
Garmin Edge 705: Before the tour I'd not used the mapping or routing functions on this much, but got plenty use out of it last week.  The maps I downloaded free (google OpenStreetMap), and they were fit for purpose.  The routing is a bit lame, but you can get it to do the job.  I'm not sure if the routing and ETA functions are better if you purchase the expensive OS mapping software, but the free maps I got did the job.  I found it essential for keeping track of distance to destination, average speed and so on.
Trangia stove with gas adapter:  Its a bit of kit I've had for years, but it once again was outstanding as one of the best items I took with me.  I wasn't sure I'd have enough gas, but the Primus 1kg(I think?) bottle I took was plenty, doing hot breakfast and dinner, plus a hot drink at lunch for 7 days, and still not empty.  Quick to set-up and boil, just brilliant!  I took a Thermos mug with a lid and that was a great idea as the lid helps if you knock it over and it keeps your drink warm for ages.
Ortleib Roller Panniers: Do exactly what you want them to do.  Keep your kit securely attached to the bike, easy to attach and remove, spacious, waterproof.  I packed 3 of them crammed full with stuff I wouldn't need access to during the day, and the fourth I kept semi full with a camera, food, extra clothes that I'd need during rides, plus my food.  They do act like a bit of a bucket with the item you want seemingly always right at the bottom, but I got better at packing them.  It took me a while to work out to always pack the one I'd need access to on the right hand side of the bike, as I found I inevitably stopped the bike and leant it on something on the lefthand panniers, making them hard to access.  Bungee cord on the rack was handy for securing extra bits and bobs (water etc)
Giant TCX: Ran without problems or any adjustment for over 400miles.  Lots of admiring looks from other riders!  I gave it a good service before setting off, and made sure the chain was well lubed.  The wheels (my winter training wheels, handbuilt by Mark Leadbetter - Mavic CXP22 on Tiagra) were comfortable and reliable and capable of taking me riding out of the saddle with the bike fully ladden.

West coast tour: Day 7

Sheildaig - Oban - Home.  The One Five Oh.  I decided on Wednesday night that I had to get home on Thursday.  Things were going on at home and I had to get back.  Easier said than done though, in Sheildaig, car in Oban 140miles away.  140miles by road via Inverness, Loch Ness and Ft William, not a route I was willing to ride - punishment of the wrong variety.  The original plan had been to cover the ground back to Oban via Skye, Mallaig, Ardnamurchan and Mull (connecting with ferries).  I made the mileage going that way at about 120-130 miles (2 x 65 mile days).  So theoretically doable in one big day.  Problem was the ferry times, as to do that route I had to get 3 different ferries and cover the ground between them them fast enough to get each in turn.  To get the last ferry from Craignure at 1900 I'd have to get the 1745 ferry from Lochaline, and to get to Lochaline in time I'd need to get the 1135 boat from Armadale, some 65miles away!  I worked this all out after a couple of pints in the hotel in Sheildaig!  Basically it meant a very early start and riding reasonably fast, but I decided it was doable.

I got up when I first woke up, and it was light.  The weather had broken, the tent was blowing about quite a bit and when I looked out there was a lot of cloud about.  I had to have breakfast, as if I skipped it I'd suffer later, so to full process of cooking porridge followed by the packing up faff was all completed and I got away just before 7am.  The first section of the ride (40 miles to Loch Alsh) is particularly brutal.  It started raining after I'd climbed the first hill andkept up for the next 2 hours.  The road to Loch Alsh is extremely hilly, the bit between Strathcarron and Auchtertyre being particularly bad.  There're bits where the road climbs away from the lochside at 14% for about a mile then drops straight back down to the loch again.  I kept pressing on and got to Kyle of Lochalsh with enough time left to make it to the ferry at Armadale, but I was starting to suffer by this stage.  The thought of food in Mallaig and the problems it would cause if I missed the boat kept me going though, and I got there at about 1115.

Once in Mallaig I got the food required to fuel me for a few more miles, but by the time I'd eaten and got underway again it was after 1pm.  Using my Garmin I was able to work out fairly easily that I wasn't going to make the 1745 boat at Lochaline.  Plan B was to head to the ferry at Corran instead, and then ride from Onich all the way down the coast.  So thats what I ended up doing.  Hills and headwind all the way up past Loch Ailort, Glenfinnan and along Loch Eil.  I keep coming to a corner thinking I must get a tail wind for the next section, but it was one of those days when the wind is always in your face!

The ferry at Corran was a relief - more food and a bit of a rest (free crossing with bikes!). By Onich I'd done 115miles, and the Garmin said it was 35 to Oban.  I stopped at the service station for more juice and food, where a guy in a camper van stopped me to comment on how well I was going.  I looked at him puzzled, and he said he'd been on the Mallaig ferry with me earlier in the day!  He was more surprised and impressed(?) when I told him how far I'd gone and still had to go!

The road from Balahulish to Connel is a bit of road I quite like, the scenery is good, and fortunately for me its quite flat.  I just pushed along as best I could.  I found I became quite fixated with the GPS, checking how far I had to go, how fast I was going, what the time was etc.  After 9+ hrs in the saddle its hard to keep concentrating I suppose.  I really dont think I could do a 12hour TT.  When I got back to the car the trip meter said 148 miles...... I rode straight past the car and cruised on for another mile.  Then turned round and rode back to the car..... 150.  Would have been a shame to got so close but not ticked that box!  Don't suppose I'll be riding that far again in a hurry.  I felt OK afterward.  I've felt worse thats for sure.  A 70mile road race can be tougher.

West coast tour: Day 6

Wild fire damage on Liathach

Dundonnel - Sheildaig.  More sun, and lots of hills!  After tea of fish and chips in Ullapool, I pushed on to camp at Dundonnel to try and reduce the amount of miles I needed to do to get to Torridon.  Arriving at Dundonnel late I ended up just camping by a lay-by, enjoying the last of the evening sun and heading to the local hotel for a couple of beers.

The ride round the coast to Altbea, Poolewe, and Gairloch was very scenic and really enjoyable, but hard work with lots of climbs and fast desents.  Lunch at Gairloch was large!  I'm having to put away a huge amount of food which is nice to eat, butmeans i'm continually thinking what I'll eat next and where I'll get it from.  Also getting a mix of carbs, protein, and avoiding too much sugary crap is tricky.  Eating apples and cakey bars whilst riding topped up with Lucozade and water keeps me going, but a big lunch of rolls, cheese, spinach, oatcakes, sundried tomatoes, bananas etc is also required.  Generally I just stop at shops and top up the supply of stuff I have on the bike.

Dinner at night is also large. I've been sticking to rice or pasta with veg, meat and sauce.  Rehydrated mushrooms have been good as they're tasty, lightweight, don't go off and add good flavour and texture to the meal.  Precooked chicken works well as you can fling it in with whatever and its got the protein needed.  Frozen prawns also worked well as I can buy them at lunch time and they'll be defrosted ready to eat at tea time.  I took a supply of boil in the bag rice and some pasta with me, as well as a selection of sachet sauces, so my evening meals have been pretty healthy, filling and nutritious.  Also particularly enjoying sundryed tomatoes with cheese!  Salty tomatoes go down a treat!  Today it was 3 rolls with ham, spinach and relish, a pack of oatcakes with cheese and tomatoes, an apple, and cakey bar for lunch!  The more I eat the less weight is in the bike!!

Breakfast is pretty good, although I've been having the same thing every day and getting a wee bit sick of it tbh!  It's been porridge with dried fruit mixed through it washed down with a black coffee.  A good kick start for the day and keeps me going till mid morning when I top up with more snacks!  The sachet porridge with dried skimmed milk has worked well and its tastey and good to get something hot, but I do like cereal with yoghurt in the morning, so have been missing that.  I've also found myself yearning for bacon rolls, but not given in yet.

After lunch at Gairloch there was a nice climb over to Loch Maree then a long push along to Linlochewe where I stopped for cake and coffee.  It was proper hot by this stage, and its easy to see why the area has had a lot of wild fires recently.  It it soo dry just now, and there is so much dead wood and heather lying about.  When I got down to Torridon the scale of the wild fire on the south west side of Liathach was amazing.  It must have been an amazing sight.  From the valey floor to almost right up to the summit for several miles has been burnt  -pic above.  I didnt stop in Torridon after all, but instead pushed on to Sheildaig for the night, as I'm considering riding up the Bealach-na-Ba tomorrow morning if the weathers good.

Garmin stats:

West coast tour: Day 5

Harris to Ullapool. Once again lots of sunshine today! Can't believe what a jammy git I am! Made an early start today so it was cold and windy when I set off. Seemed a shame to be leaving such a beautiful place. I said before that Barra was a highlight in the Outer Hebrides, well for me Harris is the other highlight. Ironically these are two islands I've been to before! I'd still say my favourite is Mingalay, but Harris is special!
I'd made my way round to Tarbert by 9am hoping to get to Stornoway by 12 in order to faff round town a bit before the ferry. Luckily the wind had shifted direction and I had a great tailwind for a change making speed good. Past Tarbet there is a large hill to be negociated. It certainly seemed large pushing half a ton of gear anyway! Must be about 2miles averaging 6-7% and max about 12%. Hard going! The descent on the other side was superb though! Pic above.
After that comes the crossing of Lewis. I've been to Lewis before several years ago and wasn't particularly inspired by it. It is rich in history and has some great scenery however it is the ugly sister alongside Harris. Fortunately the tailwind kept up and I flew?! northward averaging and impressive? 15mph and reaching Stornoway shortly before 12. Time for a bit of gift shopping, coffee&cake and restocking a few provisions.
They haven't full adapted to cafe culture in Stornoway yet unfortunately. Despite it being a beautiful sunny day and there being tables set out in the sun there was noone sat at them. You had to go into the coffee shop (via the library?!) buy you're food then return outside through the library again to use the tables. A bizarre customer experience but that seemed to be what was on offer! The food was good though, I had a large slice of apple pie with cream as reward for managing 47miles before lunch.
You meet some interesting people on ferries travelling alone. Yesterday I meet a cyclist who was riding from Barra to Stornoway in one day. This is posible going north if you catch the first boat in the morning from Barra to Eriskay. Its maybe about 110miles riding. Depending on the wind direction and traffic (single track roads are a PITA!) it could be an easy run or a major ball ache. I guess if you're a roadie living in the islands your choices of route are kind of limited. Not like living in Stirling where route options are endless.
Todays interesting punters were a couple of guys who were on a trip out to St Kilda the previous day with a company called Sea Venture (I think). Lucky with the weather they were, they said it was a brilliant day. I passed a place signposted for St Kilda view point yesterday but it was 1.5miles up a hill and the weather was kind of hazy, so I have it a miss. Some day it would be cool to go though.
Another highlight of the day I've pictured above. The Coast Guard were doing some training and winched a guy down to our boat a couple of times. Hard not to get a smile on your face seeing such an impressive aircraft hovering over head!

Garmin stats:

West coast tour: Day 4

North Uist to Harris. Sunburn! My ears are toast. Not complaining though. I think I only packed factor 20 thinking there was no way I'd need anything stronger. My Oakleys have been doing 15hour shifts, and although it doesn't feel hot on the bike, the sun is strong.

I'd thought this morning i might make it over to Lochmadday for a coffee and cake before heading for the afternoon ferry to Harris, but I underestimated the distance and just came direct to Bernaray for my refreshments before getting the boat. I didn't find North Uist an awful lot more appealing this morning but at least the roads were quiet and it was less built up round the north west corner. Open moorland with the tops of dunes and the sea in the distance. Some of the scenery is spectacular but for me it isn't a patch on what Harris has to offer. Berneray was ok and the ride north was good but it was the view out into the Sound of Harris that I found appealing. Hundreds of little rocky islands with a backdrop of hills in the distance.

The passage across the Sound of Harris is the craziest rock dodge I've ever been on! The boat takes an hour, but that's mainly because its going sideways round rocks half the time! Really beautiful crossing though, skooting between the islands. A guy I was talking to said the islanders plan to build a causeway across the channel eventually, similar to those between other islands. I think that would be a great shame as its a fantastic waterway. I would dread to have to navigate it in a boat however!

Harris definitely has the whow factor and it is just as dramatic as I remember it from when Laura and I visited several years ago. Sun sparkeling on turquoise water, white beaches, green hills and blue sky, its a brilliant place. When we visited before we camped at a place called Horgbost where there is a basic campsite next to a beautiful beach that looks across toward the hills and beaches on the other side of a large bay. I got here at 4 so its been nice to spent time chillin before tea. The last few days I've been on the go till 6 or later. Today I only did 35 miles though where as yesterday was 60. Tomorrow might be tough as I've got to get to Stornoway for the ferry to Ullapool by 1330 and its 40+ miles away with some hills. I'd I cut out the faffing and photo & cake stops I should make it no bother!

The pic shows Taranasy I think, and standing stone, which seem to be pretty common round here.

Garmin stats:

West coast tour: Day 3

South Uist to middle of nowhere (North Uist). Turned out a slightly longer day than expected. The plan I made this morning was to cruise leisurely northward stopping whereever I fancied eventually ending up in an idilic camping spot somewhere on Benbecula or North Uist. I've found my idilic camping spot but it took a bit more work and a few more miles than I expected!

The day started perfectly with bright sunshine and breeze to keep the flys away. Once again I slept like a log. 9hours without a problem! Porridge again and packed up by about 9am I thought I must be getting into the swing of touring, normally I'm champing at the bit by 8am! On the way back across the dunes I stoprd to inspect some old prehistoric dwellings which acording to the board had been inhabited from 1100BC till 200AD, some 900years! I thought that was pretty nuts! 900years in a crummy wee hut!

Anyway after marvelling at the lack of ambition of Uists ancestors to develop beyond the bronze age I pedaled across to Loch Boisdale to see if I could get a coffee and a cake. Far to much to expect on a Sunday morning in these parts though! The place was a ghost town. So I headed back for the road north and a few miles along it found a visitor center with a tea room. A little bit like the shop in The League of Gentlemen! But they had cake and the gift shop did post cards and it got me out of the wind so I was very happy. I also manager to plug in me blackberry to charge so it was all good! The guy there advised that I could get provisions at the coop on Benbecula but on North uist everything would be shut on a Sunday. So I headed off north again expecting to be at benbecula by about lunch time but u must have been going slow and it was clearly further than it looked as the time got to 1.30 and I was still some way off!

Touring is a good thing though because if you want to stop you can. So I found a nice spot at the side of a wee loch and had a beautiful hour sitting in the son eating cheese and oat cakes and stuff and enjoying the view! I carried on north again after than and felt strong enough to include a detoure to visit a closed smoke house shop. I love smoked fish and the sign said 2.5 miles so I thought I'd try but it was dead when I got there.

Benbecula had the coop I was needing and it does have some nice beaches on the west coast. But I was slightly disappointed as I was expecting it to be beach lovers utopia. And its not. The bit at the north end by the airport is pretty minging. Ok there's a huge beach you can see in the distance but there's also a scabby housing scheme an ex military base. The best buy about the north end of the island is the causeway across to north uist!

And if I'm being totally honest I haven't found North Uist a whole lot more appealing. The beaches are inaccessible hidden away behind miles of farm land the roads are smooth but the drivers are wankers and overall its not a patch on the southern islands. Barra has to be the highlight so far. What happened to the rule that you always waved when someone gave way on a single track road? Does it not apply to bikes? I've decided I'll just wave like an idiot at them anyway and hopefully it'll rub off!

Anyway I had a great meal tonight of beef with black bean sauce followed by sticky toffee pud with custard washed down with a bottle of red! Maybe that's way the fighting talk is coming out! Tomorrow is a shorter day with a run up to get the 1330 ferry across to Harris. Hopefully the wind won't get up in the night as my tent is pitched at the top of the beach in the sand and will blow away pretty easily!

Todays pic is a beautiful cottage I saw on South Uist this morning :-)

Garmin stats:

West coast tour: Day 2

Vattersay to South Uist. I had a pretty good nights sleep in my new tent. I was certainly comfy and cosy in my down bag on my therma rest! The tent is small though and I'm really glad the weather has been good as I'd be short of space for cooking eating and storage if it was wet. Its sunny though so life is good!

The day started cold grey and windy however I think it was mainly because I got up early because by 10 the sun was out and it was warming up. Plan for the day was to climb Heaval, the highest point on Barra (and the southern Hebrides), then ride up to get the ferry across to Eriskay.

The climb up Heaval was dead easy and I was at the top by 11. The views south toward Mingalay and Barrahead, and north toward Eriskay and the Uists are spectacular. I always enjoy the view across Castlebay to the beaches on Vattersay particulary though and it reminds me of the first time I came here a few years ago when Don and I sailed across from Coll. That was a cool trip! Its funny coming back as a cycle tourist rather than as a yachtsman as you see everything from a different perspective. Rather than being confined to the water you're confined to the land.
After the climb up the hill I still had a bit of time before lunch so took the longer route to the birth end of the island, going back through Castlebay and round the west coast. The beaches up the west side are breath taking and I had to keep stopping go get my camera out. I've now got about 50million pictures of beaches and I've only got as far as south uist yet!

Lunch was at the Barra airport (another beach). After that I had a pottle round the bay before heading over for the 3.30 ferry. Surprise surprise half the cycle tourists from the previous days ferry were already there. Infact I'd seen several of them earlier in the day and got a bit of chat going with one guy which was good. Touring on your own is good, but its nice to have a chat with other people as well sometimes. He was saying hed been staying in the hostel in Castlebay and got pretty hammered the previous night.

After the ferry docked I headed north again across the causeway onto South Uist with a tailwind driving me on. I've got myself camped at the top of a huge fine tonight on the west side of South Uist just north near somewhere called Garryhaille I think! Although tbh I'm about a mile from the nearest road as I had to bump across the machair to get here. Fortunately the Vodafone reception seems to be good here. Its bloody awful on Barra!

Sun is just setting over the Atlantic in front of me, time for a hot chocolate, some cake then bed! :-)

Garmin stats:

West coast tour: Day 1

Home to Vattersay. Set off yesterday with the drive up to Oban through the terrible public holiday traffic. Luckily I'd left a little spare time as it was 40mph the whole way up virtually. It was great to ditch the car again and head for the ferry to get away from it!

At the ferry it looked like half the world had turned up to go for a touring trip. The bikes out numbered the cars which was pretty cool. I was also surprised at the range of people going touring. There were several old over weight couples lots of older women as well as the skinny middle aged men that you expect.

The passage out to Barra was very smooth with just a bit of swell crossing the minch. Unfortunately I forgot you're not allowed back on the car deck once you're sailing so left my book water etc behind then had nothing to do for the 5hour crossing.

Once we got off at Castle Bay I had a plan to head round to Vattersay to camp for the night. I got round there no problem but had been expecting it to be easy to find a water supply which unfortunately it wasn't. Fortunately some guys in a camper can were kind enough to supply a bottle full and from now on I'm filling up whenever I get a chance!

So the first day was pretty good. The weather was excellent, I managed to do what I'd planned and haven't forgotten anything important! Only 6miles cycled so far!

Garmin stats:

The Shake Down - Loch Tay trip

Loch Tay from Kenmore

Aside from the interesting route, the shake down trip was worthwhile in testing my touring gear, kit list and identifying gaps in my preparation.  The route I took was certainly rough enough in places to be called a shake down!

There were a few obvious problems - one of my front panniers bounced away from the rack at one of the attachment points a couple of times.  After I'd done about 20miles I stopped to adjust it a bit and found I had to go round and tighten the attachments on every pannier.  Probably should have known to do this anyway, but it hadn't occured to me before.  On getting home I adjusted the front panniers so they attach slightly differently onto the front rack, and hopefully more securely.  While doing this is checked the bolts holding the racks onto the bike and discovered that one of the front bolts wasn't really long enough and had pretty much come loose from the fork! So that was replaced with a much longer bolt thats made it much more secure.  Fortunately the cable tie attachments for the upper arms of the front rack seem to be adequate as they were still super secure.  I packed a few more cable ties into my tool kit though just incase!

Packing of the panniers and my kit list is another thing I've spent a lot of time trying to work out.  Looking at the kit lists on other touring sites online I just cant see how the guys manage to get all the stuff they've listed into the available space!  The two things that are on my mind now is whether I will be ok with just one mid layer long sleeve jacket (what if it gets wet?) and where I'll put my food after i've been to the shop?!  Do I camp first then go back to the shop!?  Should I sacrifice some other item to fit in another jacket?!

On the road the bike handles pretty well.  Its obviously heavy and cumbersome to manvouver, similar I'd expect to a motorcycle.  Uphill it is slow and hard work, even on fairly minor gradients.  For example riding up GlenOgle on a 2-3% gradient I could manage a steady 11mph, where as unladen I'd manage closer to 20!  On the flat and down hill the bike goes well though.  Provided theres not a headwind I could build it up to about 18mph on the flat.  Average speed for Saturdays run was 14mph, which I think is not bad.  I didn't find it took too long to adjust to it either, you quickly get used to a more steady pace.  It's not ideal if you need to be somewhere in a hurry, and if i'm going for a ferry then i'll probably plan on a 13mph average speed.

Riding heavily laden on the gravel roads I was worried I'd maybe get a few pinch puntures.  Fortunately I didn't get any.  Not sure if that was due to luck or good tyres.  I put 90psi in them and the comfort was very good indeed.  I don't think that was just because I'm used to riding 25s at 120psi either, I genuinely think the ride quality of them is great.  I've got a bit of debate going on about whether to get a couple of spare spokes to take incase one snaps or if that unecessary.

I got my new pump in the post and have tried it out to make sure it works.  Its an Axiom Enforce Pro with Gauge and its basically a mini pump with a short hose so you can stand it on its end and use it like a track pump - its has a small fold out foot brace too.  The end fits both Presta and Schrader valves, but you need to take the end apart and swap a couple of bits round.  Took a while to work it out and there where no instructions, but once I'd got it sorted it attaches to the valve securely and I easily got the tyre up to a good pressure - 120psi without any problems.  The pump is relatively heavy (250g) and bulky for a mini pump, but I'd rather have something like that which does the job properly than a small light pump which doesn't work!  It comes with a fitting to attach to the bike frame so it wont take up room in my panniers anyway.

Other thing that arrived is the Therma-rest chair.  I'm really pleased I got this.  Camping last weekend I just chucked a couple of fold out chairs in car and was glad I didnt need to sit on the ground, but I'll not be taking them on tour.  The Therma-rest chair fits round any standard therma-rest mattress and provides a comfortable seat, with a strong back rest.  Yeah, you're still sitting on the ground, but you can sit back comfortably and take the weight off very comfortably.  It weighs new to nothing (170g according to the packaging) and it rolls up so, I put it inside the tent alongside the tent poles.

Dunblane to Loch Tay (Sustrans route7)

On Saturday, as planned I rode up to Loch Tay with my touring gear, where I met up with Laura and Oli who'd driven up in the car.  Its not a particularly long way - 38miles in total to where we camped at a site at Loch Tay.  It was good fun going camping, and worthwhile testing out the touring kit prior to the week away.  Previously when I've ridden to Killin either on my own or with the club I've always used the main A84 to the majority of the trip.  Having seen how good some of the cycle paths are and how much more interesting it is using them it makes me wonder if they could be incorporated into club rides more often.  Watching races like Paris-Roubaix, where riders tackle the notorious pave, or Italys Montepaschi Strada-Bianche shows that road bikes are capable of the odd section of poor road surface.  We often go out of our way to include hills in our cycle rides, why not throw in the odd gravel road too?  The Dukes pass for example can easily be climbed on forestry fire track!


So rather then just riding directly up the A84, I stuck mainly to back roads and cycle paths which provide an excellent alternative for riders who are not keen on heavy traffic and aren't in a rush.  From Dunblane I rode over and joined the Doune cycle path which is tarred and flat and much nicer than the A820.  At Doune I joined the Deanston Road (B8032), which runs along the south side of the Teith up to Callander.  This road is virtually traffic free and is a great scenic ride up alongside the fields and river.  The surface isn't brilliant, but its quite acceptable.

At Callander I joined Sustrans Cycle Route 7 for the climb up to Loch Lubnaig.  We used to use this path a lot when we lived in Callander and I found it much preferable to dragging my heavy bike up the hill from Kilmahog on the main A84.  The surface is smooth gravel, and despite being on slick Continental Gatorskin 28 tyres I found it pretty good going.  Smooth enough to ride comfortably along on a touring bike, but not as fast as tarmac.  At the Ben Ledi car park I did rejoin the A84 for the section up to Strathyre as I fancied making some quicker progress along the flat tarmac.  I've ridden cycle path to Strathyre a few times before and its much the same - smooth gravel.  I thought I'd leave that bit and check out the next section which I've not ridden.

So I rejoined Sustrans7 at Strathyre for the section up to Balquhidder and LochEarnhead.  This section of the route is on a minor unclassified tarred road which initially runs through pine woods, and again not a single car: great riding in the morning sunshine!  I had assumed the cycle path would follow the main A84, and that Balquhidder and Balquhidder Station (on the main A84) were pretty much the same place.  They're not however!, and the cycle path takes you a few miles off the direct route, via the small hamlet of Balquidder, before you cross the valley and join another road back toward Balquhidder Station.  I found the maps on my Garmin handy at this point as I was able to easily workout where I was going.  At Balquhidder Station the cycle route again becomes a prupose built gravel path, initially dropping down a bit toward the back of Loch Earnhead before a rather steep climb up some zigzigs up the hillside at the start of GlenOgle.  Gradient on this was maybe 10-12% and on the touring bike it was a bit of a grind, but it doesn't go on for too long before flattening off onto the old railway line.  The run up the glen has had some recent improvement work and its excellent. 2-3% gradient, smooth gravel surface with Glen Ogle and the main road below.  I was very glad I wasn't on the main road as I rode up the glen, watching trucks and traffic make their way up the climb.  From the top of Glen Ogle its a fast descent to Killin.  I just rode down the main road for this section, as I could easily manage 25+mph all the way, and find traffic less of an issue when I'm going faster.  I think the Sustrans route takes a different way but I didn't bother checking.

What would people say to including more untarred sections in club runs?  I know the Davie Bell Memorial Road Race in June will include sections on gravel roads, and the Ayrshire clubs use untarred stuff fairly frequently.  I think it would be quite good fun to have the odd section thrown into some club road runs.  Might help folks bike handling.

Dry Run

This weekend, weather permitting we're off camping!  As advised by various bikey touring sites I'm doing a touring dry run to test out my kit prior to the Western Isles trip.  The plan is to ride up to Killin where Laura and Oli and Gus will meet me in the car.  Lot of potential faffing having to pack all my kit on the bike plus stuff in the car for the family, but I'm keen to get Oli out camping and its probably one of the few chances left to get Laura out camping in the wild before she gets to big and pregnant!  With only another couple of weeks to go before the tour its my last chance.  Next weekend is the Tour Doon Hame 3day stage race, so its now or never!

Killin seems like a good destination as its about 35miles from Dunblane, and has a decent campsite in the village.  The ride up there is one I've done many times and will give me a good indication of what to expect on tour.  The ride starts with a section I do several times a week across to Doune, however most days I do it on the way to work, as fast as possible.  This weekend I'll be trying to get into a touring mindset, so will probably use the excellent cycle path past Argaty allowing me to get used to riding a cumbersome touring bike without getting run down!  After that it's across Doune and up the Deanston Road to Callander.  Deanston Road is well know with local riders as its a quiet, pleasant alternative route to Callander avoiding the A84.  Its get a fairly poor road surface and its quite rolling, so will provide a good shake down.  After Callander, theres not much choice but the join the A84 and press on up to Loch Earnhead before tackling the climb over Glen Ogle.  Hopefully by this stage the sun will be out and the wind at my back! and I not be having any problems being overgeared....

Having reviewed the kit I'm taking I've ordered a couple of new bits and bobs this week too.  Hopefully the last editions to my inventory!  I punctured last week, and when repairing the tyre discovered my pump is a pretty rubbish.  A bit of experimentation at home shows with a lot of hard work I can get a road tyre up to about 80psi with it.  Tbh, the pump was a bit of a freebie anyway, so no surprise its no much good.  So I've ordered a new one, an Axiom Air Pro which will hopefully be in the post tomorrow.  It looks like a mini track pump and should get the tyre up to at least 110psi if needed!  Wiggle were selling these on discount for £11 which seemed good.  I've also ordered a Therma-rest Treker chair.  Its basically a lightweight frame you can push your therma-rest into to create a comfy camping chair with a back.  I found the chair on Jackson Outdoor for £25.  Various reviews I've read say they're superb and I thought they'd improve comfort when camping a lot!  Final thing I've ordered is a cheapo bike cover (£2.75 from eBay).  Thinking about the amount of space available in my tent I expect I'll be needing somewhere to stow stuff outside the tent at some point, and it'll keep the weather off when I'm not riding.  I found this website: http://travellingtwo.com which is one of the best I've found for cycle touring advice.

Quite looking forward to the weekend now though!  Hopefully the weather will be good.  The forecast is currently looking decent.  It'll be nice to do some riding that isn't race training, but just for pleasure.  Last weekend was pretty good, although Laura was working I had fun with Oli and managed to fit in a 25TT on Sunday.  Despite taking a wrong turn at one of the roundabouts, and doing it on my road bike I managed a 56.03, so I guess thats a reasonable time.

Packing

Having decided  pretty much what I need to take on tour I thought I'd better check it all fits in and the bike still moves.  I'm pleased to say it does fit! with a bit of room to spare (although the spare space will be filled with food when the time comes).  The bike still moves as well, infact I am quite pleased following the very short test I have done with how the bike rides.  Its obviously heavy, but I can certainly ride it up decent gradients, and along the flat it rolls fine.  I loaded the front panniers with a good amount of heavy kit to balance the larger volume of kit that will be mounted on the rear.  I found this works pretty well, and provided I'm going in a straight line and the surface is good I could actually ride no handed which was a bit of a surprise.  Might seem like a daft thing to be doing, but its pretty handy being able to remove a gilet, or get a snack from your back pocket without having to come to a stand still.  The Continental gator-skin 28mm tyres I've got fitted are just a new pair replacing what I've been riding on all winter.  I find they're pretty good for comfort, soaking up bad surface well, and super durable.

Since the weather was great today I took the opportunity this afternoon to have a go pitching my new tent in the garden.  Its a Wild Country Aspect 1 (made by Terra Nova).  Being a one man tent it's obviously compact, but I think the size is good compared to other lightweight backpacking tents on the market.  It pitches outer first, with the inner already clipped in, and its up in about 5 mins, with another 5 mins faffing to get the guys set right.  There's guys at either end you cross over which provide a lot of extra stability, so once its up and pitched properly its really solid.  I was pretty pleased to find inside its really cosy and there is a reasonable amount of porch space, certainly enough room to cook, although there's not going to be a huge amount of room for storing kit.  Its also good for head room, as the picture shows, you can easily sit up anywhere inside it.  Packed away its fairly compact although quite long, but it fits on top of the rear rack with a bungee cord no problem.

Tomorrow is quite a big day cycling wise as well.  We've got round two of the Super6 Road Race series through at Helensburgh, and the Tour of Flanders to watch on the telly later on!  I should probably be more focused on tomorrows road race and less on preparing for my cycle tour, but to be fair, the preparation for the race is already done and its too late now to be worrying about whether I've done enough.  I've been training harder than ever before in the last month, and I feel like I'm starting to get to where I'd like to be fitness wise.  At the same time though the competition tomorrow is really strong, and everyone seems to be going well at the moment.  So once again I'm not sure what to expect results wise, but this time I am looking forward to the race.  The course is certainly one I relish riding and its good to race good competition.

Tour of Flanders looks like a fore-gone-conclusion.  A 260km grand circuit of Belgium taking in numerous cobbled climbs, its one of my favourite classics, and it looks very much like Fabian Cancellara will romp away in the last 50K once again.  It will be exciting viewing never the less!  Who knows maybe Tom Bonnen, or Slyain Chavanel can cause an upset.

Western Isles Tour Kit

4 weeks today the big Tour starts.  William and Kate(!) will be getting hitched, and I'll be making the most of my free day off work to head West for a new adventure.  Hopefully going cycle camping touring on the western isles at the start of May won't be too early in the season and the weather will be ok.  This weeks weather has provided a good reminder of how wet and windy it can be in Scotland, even in landlocked Stirling.  The thought of several days staying in a tent in the weather we've had this week isn't particularly inspiring, however it has prompted me to have a good look at my kit list and think about what I need to keep warm and comfortable.


Since deciding last year this was something I wanted to do I've been slowly accumulating the kit I think I'll need.  As posted before I already have a Giant TCX which I'll ride.  I've just given it a good service - its had new cables all round, a new chain and cassette in the last 2 months, and the wheels have been looked at too.  Only slightly dodgy part is the bottom bracket which is going to need replaced, but I think has a few thousand more miles in it yet.  I've fitted it with a freebie rear rack I'd got from Ian a while ago, and a Tubus Tara front rack I got 2nd hand off ebay.  Xmas and birthdays provided the Ortleib Roller panniers I'll be taking.  They're basically like dry bags that attach to the racks.  Once adjusted properly they're really secure and hopefully won't rattle too much and drive me nuts!

Clothing wise I've already got a huge amount of cycle clothing, so the problem is just deciding what to take. Hats, and waterproofs are obvious.  I'll probably go with 2 pairs of gloves (short and long finger), arm warmer and knee warmers to go with short sleeve jerseys and bibshorts, rather than taking tights and long jerseys.  Gilet, few pairs of socks, buff, and a pair of MTB shoes will cover bike wear.  Off the bike I've got a pair of Craphopper trousers, and Altura shorts that are water repelant and quick drying.  I think I'll avoid taking any cotton gear, and just take a couple of Lifa vests and a Mountain Hardware down gilet for on top.  How many pairs of boxers?  Given I'll be wearing cycling shorts a lot I think I'll probably just go for 3 pairs!  Last thing is a pair of light weight Addidas running shoes.  I've gone for these as they weigh bugger all, will dry really fast as they're basically a mesh upper, and they've good grip for any walking i might do.

Camping and cooking gear is a tricky one.  Obvious stuff is tent: I bought a Wild Coutry Aspect 1 in the sale (£75) weighing 2kg and has plenty room.  Sleeping bag I'm taking my Alpkit down bag, and Therma-rest 3/4 mat.  I've been debating buying a Therma-rest trekker chair which allows you to convert a mat into a seat with a back. £25 online, if i've spare cash later in the month I might still get one.  After looking at stoves a while ago I've decided to just go with the Trangia I've already got.  Its just the basic one, but I got a gas adapter for it a couple of years back which is brilliant.  I've just ordered a 'Light My Fire' meal set (compact spork, plate, bowl etc) and lighting flint. As well as this theres some washing up gear and swiss army knife.

Food wise I hope to cook most of my meals myself with the odd cafe lunch.  Buying most stuff en-route and hopefully saving some weight, I'll still start with some basics needed for any meal and top up where possible.  On top of that theres all the other gubbins that is needed - repair stuff for the bike (tools, spares etc), and luxuries(!) like a camera, phone, garmin (how do I charge these?!), book, maps, etc.  And not forgetting the wet wipes.....

Hopefully all this will fit in the panniers and I'll still be able to pedal the bike - I'll be trying this out in the next few days, so might post a picy.  I'm pretty confident the panniers will provide ample room, I think one problem is the more space you have the more stuff you take!  Who knows, maybe i'll not have room and need to chop some of the clothing off my list!  Pedalling up hill fully loaded will certainly be a test, as the TCX only has a compact double, so my crawler gear ratio is a 34/25, rather than what tourers probably often have which is a 30/27.  Hopefully I've got enough power in my legs to overcome this!!! well see.  Next post I'll do a route preview

Tour planning and the start of the race season

Things just seem to get busier and busier and this time of year is particularly mental.  Start of the race season is just over a week away and there is so much to do.  Still to get my new race bike, licence, kit and all the other stuff I need for racing.  Although its exciting to be starting a new season with a new team the pre season nerves are just the same as ever, and the mixture of feeling some pressure to do well mixed, with uncertainty about what kind of form I'm in is still not something I like much.  Once the first race is out of the way I'm sure things will all be a lot cooler.

So the new bike is apparently in the shop being built and will (hopefully) be ready to be collected on Thursday night.  Exciting getting a new bike, but I'll have no time to ride it prior to the first race at Gifford, so hopefully it'll be the right size and set up about right!  I'd hoped to get the bike a bit earlier, but things didn't really work out.  This weekend we're off to Switzerland to see Tom and Nat for 6 days which will be good.  6 days with no bike will be strange, especially so close to the start of the racing.  Hopefully my legs will be fresh and rearing to go after the break.

Other thing that is taking a bit of thought is my forthcoming Grand Tour of the West of Scotland.  This is going to be a 7 day cycle tour, taking in the Western Isles and hopefully a significant chunk of the rest of the west coast.  Last weekend I fitted a Tubus front rack to my Giant TCX.  I'd been a bit worried this might be difficult because the forks arent really designed for a rack, but with the use of a few cable ties I got it really secure and hopefully it'll do the job in May.  I've also been doing a bit of route planning and working out what kit I'll need.  Overall it's quite a lot to organise - more than I'd realised, particularly as I'm planning on camping, so the amount of kit required to be self sufficient seems to be so much greater!  I guess I can blog more on this later.