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I've been sitting on a beautiful 200km loop that I had originally planned for the gravel bike (due to perhaps 40-50km on very quiet minor roads or cycle paths) but now realise it would suit a sort of HT550/Cairngorm loop setup better. It would naturally lend itself to a 1 day attempt but also plentiful options for overnighting.
However if it were to be considered for an ITT/FKT type event, how would the ferry crossings affect the competitive element, i.e. if everyone just ends up racing for the same ferry which is 30km from the finish, it would artificially skew times. Could you turn the official route into three separate legs either side of the ferry crossings and just crop the ferry crossings and associated wait times at the terminals from people's GPX/activity files?
The ferry crossings could be omitted entirely but they would be part of the charm of the route and the alternative is a long drag along the side of a not very pleasant road...
Total accumulated time would seem fine. With no time counted on the ferry or within 100 metres of the departure point. Maybe a further time about setting off from the ferry in the order you arrived.
Will the ferry have a large bike capacity? Having recently found out that our ferry back from Tiree had no bike spaces on the day we wanted to travel
Will the ferry have a large bike capacity? Having recently found out that our ferry back from Tiree had no bike spaces on the day we wanted to travel
Really?? I thought the Tiree ferry was one of those big Calmac jobs!
I'm not really thinking of a big mass start like HT550 or Cairngorms Loop, just a reliable way for people to track and record times. I think you're right though, just setting up three Strava segments i.e. from Oban to ferry 1, from ferry 1 to ferry 2 and from ferry 2 to back to Oban.
Makes it seem a wee bit artificial but is repeatable at least, albeit requires folks to be on Strava.
Looking forward to testing the route out later this year..
Check out this route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/l6JNljIbFTb — Lorn & Lochaber Loop ITT
albeit requires folks to be on Strava.
The thing to do is set up a wee web page and ask folks to send in their three GPX tracks.
TBH I think the ferry element makes things a bit too random and unpredictable, though there would be some interesting calculations to be done around ferry times. For instance, it might suit to arrive a couple of hours before the ferry and then have a nap, knowing that wouldn't count in Total Elapsed Time 😉😉
I did the two ferries in the opposite direction doing my NCN 78 (as far as I know) FKT. I made it onto the Corran ferry just as it was departing. I was way ahead of schedule for the wee ferry though - so far ahead that I sprinted up the A861 to catch the earlier one. As it happened it was a bit late anyway and I needn't have bothered rushing so much.
TBH I think the ferry element makes things a bit too random and unpredictable, though there would be some interesting calculations to be done around ferry times.
I know what you mean, mucking around with GPX files and/or segments just makes it a bit contrived in a way, you could end up rolling out from Corran with someone who has technically ridden the route an hour or so faster than you.
Meh. Will ride it and share it and see if it generates any interest, the main thing I liked was having a route start and finish in Oban but also travel through Glen Kinglas.
Trouble is, if you arrived and there was a 9 hour wait for the ferry, that would potentially give you a huge refuel and recovery advantage for the rest of the ITT compared with someone who arrived moments before it left.
Yes the huge Calmac Ferry can carry full size lorries. But yes it has a small number of bookable bike places
Trouble is, if you arrived and there was a 9 hour wait for the ferry, that would potentially give you a huge refuel and recovery advantage for the rest of the ITT
Yeah, in the context of this route and these particular ferries I think the longest wait you might have is an hour. I should have mentioned that I envisaged it as a 1 day loop not an overnighter.
The other option is just to not use the ferries, but that means 15km of the A82 from Ft William to Corran which us very much a 'head down and get it over with' affair..
Fair enough. I somehow missed the 200km in all that and was envisioning a longer ultra style thing.
Is there a cycle path from the Corran ferry to Ballachulish? I just remembered getting verbal abuse from motorists the last time I cycled that road.
@aberdeenlune aye it's not the best but after that the route goes off-road again until picking up good cycle path/very quiet minor road at Loch Creran, after the unfortunate shove up and over the side of Sgorr a Choise.
Could just make it a non-timed route? I like routes that have something like this that break it up or go against the FKT mentality. Not everything needs to be raced.
FWIW ferries would put me off the route for that kind of thing, if ITT/racing I'd want the only variables to be my fitness or state of mind and the weather. Plus if you seperate it out into 3 legs the variable amount of rest waiting for ferries is an unusual pro/con that makes comparisons less valid. Also 200km is a bit short for that kind of thing, it's barely into audax distances. Could you make it longer and turn it into a 2-3 day rider's route (rather than racer's)?
Yeah, in the context of this route and these particular ferries I think the longest wait you might have is an hour. I should have mentioned that I envisaged it as a 1 day loop not an overnighter.
But presumably also an overnight pause? It'd be a huge advantage to set off knowing you'd miss the last ferry, race the first leg flat out, then refuel and sleep before the third. Conversely if total elapsed time is taken then the middle section is effectively neutralized as you can't go faster than the ferries and FKT would only really be up for grabs if the timetable shifted, everyone would have the same average speed. So getting the FKT would be a bit of a lottery in leg 1, delaying your start as long as possible and hoping for no punctures so you don't waste time waiting for the boat. Then leg 3 is the only truly competitive leg.
I'd go with the touring angle (think like the Dirt Dash series) and not bother with trying to drum up FKT attempts. 200km is a BIG day out for an average cyclist, or 2 days for most. But in ITT terms it's probably done and dusted before lunch. Even on the HT550 being the wrong side of opening hours for shops / cafes can scupper racers plans despite the much longer timeframe to try and make it up.
200km is a BIG day out for an average cyclist, or 2 days for most. But in ITT terms it's probably done and dusted before lunch.
Yeah, I think what appealed to me is that it would feel like a BIG challenge in a day (I am Mr Average) without the corresponding logistics and faff of making it a bikepacking trip. I also like a bit of a competitive element hence the obsession with FKTs etc. (plus flattering myself, I just thought it looked such a good route that others might fancy it).
I'm hoping to make time to ride some version or other in late summer. There are two possible options sans ferries, one almost does a mini loop back on itself then follows the sort-of-established but boggy route past Lundavra, or suck up approx 5km along pavement and 3km of A82 to pick up the Old Military Road above Corran and past the Inchree Falls. I actually quite like the look of the second option, despite the short section of busy road.
https://www.strava.com/routes/3362121945021161818
Conversely if total elapsed time is taken then the middle section is effectively neutralized as you can't go faster than the ferries and FKT would only really be up for grabs if the timetable shifted
In this particular case, one of the ferries is on demand so there's no fixed timetable for it. It's the second one on the loop so there would effectively be a sprint from the first ferry, hoping that the second was just about to depart, alternatively being stuck for 30 minutes or so.
+1 on put a nice route out there, but why bother making it a race.
And +1 on Calmac and Bikes can be challenging - I have been on Arran ferry with over 100 cylists on a sunny Saturday, but also had a row with Calmac about them trying to turn away a 17 year old on a bike going out on last ferry of the night to Stornoway on MV Loch Seaforth...They added the bike to the ships manifest as cargo and then they could carry it - in the same space the bike would have been if they just let him on the damn boat...Calmac are now better as you can at least book bikes on in advance.
200km is a BIG day out for an average cyclist, or 2 days for most. But in ITT terms it's probably done and dusted before lunch.
Ah yes, this year's HT550 winner averaged 250km per day. With bikepacking kit. In the rain. 😂
It’s all terrain dependant. 200k on road can be knocked off by lunchtime if you start early (6 or 7 hour ride) 200k off road is a huge day out. I’d say at least 10 hours riding or more like 12 or 14 on tougher terrain. Then you have to add in time for stops.
Well that’s for me, an old pootler, maybe not for the likes of Lachlan Morton who would eat that distance.
Quiet bump...
I've wrangled a day free to attempt this now, should anyone wish to attempt a very small mass start of sorts.
https://www.strava.com/routes/3372464690841246636
5am outside Oban Distillery, July 19th, with the intention of being back in time for a chippy at Onorio's (21:30, which might be tight inc. ferry crossings) . General self-supported rules apply, so you don't have to wait for me once I start grumbling about my sore back or knees 😉
In the finest traditions of adventure, I'm not 100% sure I'm ready, but there are any number of bail out routes should the going get too much. I'll probably also employ some sort of foul weather protocol as well...