[Closed] Cycling the West Highland Way

I would do it in the other direction for starters. Mainly for the descent into Kinlochleven.

You have a section of carrying for about 10 - 15 miles at the top of Loch Lomond - that can be missed out by using the ferries and a short road section.

There is also a lot of walkers - obviously, fit a bell, makes a lot of difference, most walkers are fine as long as they know your coming.

Hi

take the lightest bike you have as there will be a fair amount carrying I think. I have done the section from Balmaha to Inversnaid at the side of Loch Lomond and there are some nice bits of riding but also a lot of pushing/carrying with the path being very narrow in places and a bit tricky. It only took a few hours though and I was at the ferry faster than I thought. From what I have seen on forums the section North of Inversnaid along the Loch is very hard going and is generally hike a bike stuff for a few miles. Go light is my advice.

This blog is worth a read. http://www.thedailysplash.co.uk/?page_id=505

glasgow to fort william? ah ok, i had heard that the descent down the devils staricase ran the opposite way and thats what i was aiming for. so is the descent into kinlochleven better and worth the climb up the devils staircase? also what about places to stop for food?

I've done, BoO to FW and milngavie to rowardennen. I'd like to do FW to BoO I reckon you'd get better downhills that way.

Also something else to think of is that rather than do the full WHW as the bottom half of it isn't really all that special(and i ride in mugdock every other week anyway), I've thought a ride from FW to Oban through glen kinglass, loch etive, glen lonan could be a better alternative to finish it. I haven't done it though, just a thought at this moment in time.

There is lots of better riding available. I you want to do the WHW then you need to do the whole thing including the hikabike, if you want an epic ride in the highlands there is much better avaialbale

where is BBO or BOO? sorry not familiar with the acronym. if you're saying take my lightest bike as well would a hardtail be better? i have 100mm and 140mm travel hardtails as well 😕

sorry bridge of orchy. BBO was just a typo!

Is 1 day realistic? Possible but can the Way be appreciated head down pedalling like a banshee?

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/2010/10/online-feature-west-highland-way-on-a-mountain-bike-with-one-brake/ ]STW WHY Blog[/url]

I cycled it last year from Fort Bill in two days the descent are awesome doing it this way. We averaged 6mph and i think im fit if you need any more info my email is in the contacts

[i]I think i am reasonably fit just now and could probably go out and batter out 50 miles ok

as its the first time i'll have done anything like this is there anything i might have missed?
[/i]
I'd think very carefully before attempting it an day then...

so it looks like i'm being a bit optimistic by thinking about riding it in a day then. So short travel full sus? just had a look at one of those side on gradient over distance style maps to try to determine which direction has the most climbing and its much of a muchness but still a touch more favourable to ride from FW back to glasgow.

http://www.sherpavan.com/trails/west_highland_way.asp

Also i dont like the sound of this hikabike section round Loch Lomond so i think i'll chicken out and take the ferry. so thats from Inversnaid over to tarbet then back to rowardennan?

riding north to south you will be approaching most walkers head on which will make life easier

pretty sure the rough bit you want to miss out is before inversnaid if you are going north to south, probably want to do the road section from crianlarich to ardlui i think and then get the ferry to inversnaid from ardlui.

Beardy, 1 day is realistic and wouldn't require any pedalling like a banshee, just between 12 and 15 hours in the saddle I guess (I made it to Kingshouse in 12 in the rain, having started at 5am and included the Inversnaid hike-a-bike).

Haggis, a wee blog entry I wrote when I was drunk with a sort of stage by stage breakdown [url= http://ianezzi.blogspot.com/2011/04/misadventures-on-west-highland-way-pt-1.html ]Pt 1[/url] [url= http://ianezzi.blogspot.com/2011/04/misadventures-on-west-highland-way-pt2.html ]Pt 2[/url]. My vote is always for South to North but for no rational reason really, maybe because I don't like steep switchbacky descents a la the Devil's staircase ridden north-south, when the alternative is fast and open more gradual descents (a la Devil's Staircase South-North).

I'm surprised that so many of you would prefer the N - S option for the descents.

The descent into Kinlochleven from the South,has to be the best on the route.

Winston, I've argued the same in the past. South North is also a better descent to the Glen Coe ski centre than the fairly dull descent onto Rannoch Moor.

Would find the finish in Milngavie a bit of an antimclimax too, nice though Milngavie is.

i think the appeal comes from, apart from the fact that the downhills appear to be longer running north to south that once i finish in Milngavie the Mrs will be waitin to pick me up and i have 20 mins till i'm in my own house. Can anyone tell me a bit more about the devils staircase riding from north to south? is it brutally technical and thus slow?.....

In fairness I wouldn't want to finish in milngavie either, why i reckon FW to oban via bridge of orchy, if i was doing purely the whw I reckon S to N would be best, the anti climax thing does ring true..

[i]Can anyone tell me a bit more about the devils staircase riding from north to south? is it brutally technical and thus slow?..... [/i]
have you done any proper riding? i look forward to hearing about your adventures on reporting scotland / highland rescue...

I did it North to South in May this year.
The ascent from Kinlochleven was pretty brutal, and would have been a lot better going the other way, but the Devils Staircase would have been even worse! I seen nothing to convince me that we made the wrong decision regarding which direction we took. We met 99% of walkers head on, which is a good idea in my opinion.
We decided against taking the ferry at any stage, felt the need to do the whole WHW, not just parts of it. The bike carrying bit at Loch Lomond is hard work, especially the approach to Inversnaid, but unless your bike is heavier than 14kg it shouldn't be a major problem, just a bit time consuming. If I wanted to miss any it would be pretty much the whole Lomondside.
We did it over 3 days, starting at FW, staying a night at Bridge of Orchy and a night at Inversnaid.
It rained, a lot.
I wouldn't want to do it in a day, it should be a pretty relaxing affair and an opportunity to take in some lovely scenery. To be brutally honest doing it in a day is a hell of a challenge. 😀

cheers guys all good stuff. am quite impulsive so will probably decide what direction nearer the time 😀

Proteus: i've been mtbing for 19 years now since i was 15 and ride black routes fairly competently so i dont think you'll be seeing me on reporting scotland. how long have you been riding??

i read a comment somewhere that the devils staircase was very rock strewn hence my question

Haggis, sounds like you'd cope easily, so long as you don't hammer into everything blind at full tilt (a bad idea anyway due to all the walkers). There's a couple of wonky drainage bar/switchback combos that could mess you up if you were taking it full speed.

22 years give or take. Thanks for your interest in my mtb career, but I'm not the one asking a series of naive questions on the forum...

handbags

Naive questions? i'm only asking for guidance as i have never cycled 90 miles before or for that matter have i spent 2 days in the saddle and thus i am trying to do a bit of forward planning. If you have nothing constructive to add to this thread might i suggest you develope an interest in sex and travelling in the near and nigh future. Thanks very much to everyone else who has passed on some great information. Peace out.

the descent into kll from the south the best?

was i walking the wrong signposted WHW - that was just a fast fire road to me ?

now the descent from the north down the devils staircase to glencoe was better imo ...

dont wear race shoes - too much walking

dont expect to ride it all

be ready for 1 or 2 brutal climbs that normally you could ride but after 50 miles of relentless up and down youll be shagged

large volume tires or a full sus - its brutal on your bum/back and hands ...

id take the 100mm bike with large light tires on .... the 140 bike will be over kill

I'd suggest a shorter reccie before committing to the full stretch in a oner. The two bits I've ridden were pretty physical.

FW to KLL (N to S) is teh Awesome (I enjoyed it much more than the FW trail centre loops).

Tynedrum to Kingshouse (S to N) v. picturesque, but not exactly a thrill a minute. Battering down the steps at the BOO railway station was about the highlight!

Battering down the steps at the BOO railway station was about the highlight.

The hill at orchy is a wee bit more fun than the steps! 😀

[i]I'm only asking for guidance as i have never cycled 90 miles before or for that matter have i spent 2 days in the saddle and thus i am trying to do a bit of forward planning[/i]
What it sounds like is that you haven't actually done any research or even looked at a map before posting a series of questions which make you sound like you're lacking in the experience required to do a long, sometime remote route.

The hill at orchy is a wee bit more fun than the steps!

Ah yes, is that the rocky descent to the underpass? I remember thinking that a dropper seatpost would have paid for itself there, but that's another thread altogether.

Seriously though the WHW way has a bit of a weird character, in that it's essentially one long trail centre for ramblers. As such, no concessions have been designed into it for bikes. Uphill effort is often not rewarded with equal downhill speed/fun, which is where it quickly gets knackering. i.e every mile has to be earned.

As for the Devil's staircase chat, I've walked up and down it loads of times and couldn't imagine riding it, but I know guys who have. It's more about the rider than the parcours.

FWIW I'm looking at the Southern Upland Way but will be launching into a few investigative forays just to gauge its character. The guide book is next to useless, as it's from a walker's POV.

Suw - you got a fat bike - might be well employed there ! Everything ive ridden on the suw is boggy

Everything ive ridden on the suw is boggy

disappointing to hear that. Every time I go to Inners the SUW tempts me.

Ah yes, is that the rocky descent to the underpass? I remember thinking that a dropper seatpost would have paid for itself there, but that's another thread altogether.

Seriously though the WHW way has a bit of a weird character, in that it's essentially one long trail centre for ramblers. As such, no concessions have been designed into it for bikes. Uphill effort is often not rewarded with equal downhill speed/fun, which is where it quickly gets knackering. i.e every mile has to be earned.

As for the Devil's staircase chat, I've walked up and down it loads of times and couldn't imagine riding it, but I know guys who have. It's more about the rider than the parcours.

FWIW I'm looking at the Southern Upland Way but will be launching into a few investigative forays just to gauge its character. The guide book is next to useless, as it's from a walker's POV

Don't remember the under pass, I went out the station down the road and then straight on the whw, up the hill, took in the views(great btw) then downhill to the pub, pint of guiness before the next up and over to kinghouse, another pint of guiness, then up and over the devils staircase to kinlochleven for another pint of guiness

I kind of agree about the reward thing, i'd heard loads about the descent from the top of the Devils Staircase to Kinlochleven, but i was pretty underwhelmed by it tbh. When i did it, it was terrible weather, raining, and i could hardly see 2 feet in front of me as we were in the clouds, so conditions weren't the best. But when you hit that fire road it's a bit of a disspointment, especially when you are walking up the devils staircase thinking; this would be great to come down.

Similar to the up from kinlochleven, thinking also that would be great to come down, though i did enjoy the bit after the up when you fly across through the peaks to the next fork at the choice between the road and the actual WHW into FW, i think that bit would be good either way. I took the actual WHW from there and that felt as if it would flow better the other way, plus there was a big long fireroad descent again into FW when i did it..actually more i think about it, N to S, aleast as far as orchy, does sound more rewarding i think. Hmm, I think i've just talked myself into that at some point this year!

rghty. i've found a just out of date penguin in the biscuit box, so i'm in a less grumpy mood.

1. don't underestimate it just because it's waymarked
2. the shit section of loch lomond is between inversnaid hotel and inverarnan. it's frustrating and gruelling - figure in ~3 hours
3. fit a bell.
4. if you're doing it alone then work out your bail outs.
5. fort william is a deeply depressing place.
6. crianlarich probably about the right place to split a 2 dayer. it's not a great deal less depressing than fort william.
7. greet the ~1% of WHW users who know hee-haw about scotland's wonderful attitude to access with a cheery smile (and a whispered FO).
8. be aware that walkers listening to an ipod and wearing a goretex hood means that some won't hear the bell you fitted (point 3) and won't see you until your just about passed them.
9. you'll never want to see another kissing gate again.
10. there's no bike shop anywhere on the route.

crimsondynamo - Member

Everything ive ridden on the suw is boggy

disappointing to hear that. Every time I go to Inners the SUW tempts me.

I have ridden the sections of the suw near innerleithan towaerd selkirk and found it fine

Thanks for the turn around Proteus. Constructive info is always well received. I kind of thought this was research, asking my forum buddies online where a lot of people congregate to chat i thought i would get plenty of info with regards to where they had gone wrong, or right for that matter as opposed to scanning a few random sites and getting the points of view of one individual person per website. Really happy with all the great stuff everyone is putting up now 😀

Ive ridden that too After a little rain it goes to rat shit and the stuff on the west coast just stays boggy 🙁

Shame cause it would be a good ride

Speak to coast kid he has done more of it than me

South to North. Rode in July a few years ago and didn't see too many walkers, but did startle a couple "at it" on the path along the Loch in the early hours, comedy moment that had us laughing for a few miles! Set out at midnight and finished after 18 hours riding/carrying and an hour long stop at the Green Welly. I was riding an Orange Patriot and now wonder how I ever managed. Its a great ride/adventure and I'd highly recommend it. Maybe ride it over 2 days next time and bivi.

haggis brief review and pics from our trip at the end of May

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/west-highland-way-with-pics

Did it S to N in 2009 over 2 days on a glorious weekend at the end of May. Had ideal weather, was fit and rode a relatively light full suspension bike (Cannondale Prophet). It was enjoyable but hard and I wouldn't want to it in 1 day in crap weather.

There are plenty of escape routes to villages, pubs and hotels all along the route but go prepared. There is no access to bike repairs so make sure you take spares and tools (and know how to use them).

If I was to do it again I'd forget the lower half and just start at Tyndrum. Proteus is bang on in pt 2 - the carry up the side of Loch Lomond is not worth the hassle.

I've read on other forums about people who have rode up the Devils Staircase, don't believe them. IMHO unless you're a pro (and able to hop large drainage ditches) you won't manage it.

After a good 70+ miles of riding, don't underestimate the cycle from Kinlochleven to Ft Bill. It looks easy on a map but I remember it taking a good 3+ hours.

Do fancy giving it a go in a day from N to S. Reason for that direction is simple, live a couple of hundred yards from the southern startpoint, so would be cycling home from FW. Have walked it all, done the Caledonia Challenge twice and ridden fair chunks of it. What puts me off is the Bhien Glas to Inversnaid section, and not sure it is worth doing it, but don't think ferry times would fit in with a 5.30am start from FW. Will think about it over the winter and "may" attempt next June.

You have a section of carrying for about 10 - 15 miles

Nowhere near 10-15 miles.

The comments about the descent from the top of the staircase into KLL are a bit wide of the mark IMHO, it's a really good descent until you hit the waterpipe for the blackwater dam. Wide, rocky, plenty of line choices and drops.

until you hit the water pipe, aye, it is great, but when you do it's a bit of a downer, i think devils staircase would be a better descent.

Why not start at Crianlarich (there's a train station) and continue on past Fort William up the Great Glen Way to Inverness?

a lot of people don't rate it but i like most of the WHW and have done it as a whole and as single sections over the years, all weather with no map reading needed and well spaced rest stops.
i would say S->N. although you lose a lot of "gnar" by climbing/pushing devils staircase and the path out of kinlochleven you gain mostly longer faster smoother desents. and you end up in the highlands not in milngavie.

unless you really want to say you have done the full thing i would start in crainlarich as the previous 50miles are not worth it for the hard work along a lot of lomond and the boring farmtracks leading to it.

unless you are super fit the 50miles from crainlarich to FW would be tough for most in a day never mind the full 100.

if you have 3 days free (40-50miles a day)i would suggest the cairngorm circuit instead, not as tough and still very good.