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I really must get a brevet card...
Last Sunday I mapped out a route for a DIY audax for my friend from Thurso. Basically a loop through Wester Ross from Dingwall involving 2 coast to coasts. I sent it off to him, he was keen, and we agreed do it in a few weeks.
Anyhow the next morning, Monday, the b****d cats woke me pretty early, the sun was shining and I thought "why not?"
Rather than faff around with a suitable bike I grabbed the Pompino 3 speed, because it's always kept ready, chucked a spare bottle and some Snickers bars in the bag and set off.
It was intended to just be a recce - I've done the loop many times, but I have modified the end of it to make it easier for people who might find the climb up the Struie a bit tough after 100 miles. I have gears on the Pompino because I'm getting old, so that climb doesn't bother me now.
Less words, more pics:
Pompino eyeing off the track to Alladale, Was tempted, but maybe next week.
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Loch Glascarnoch, the high point of the coast to coast Dingwall/Ullapool
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I've never been down this track just past Loch Glascarnoch. Anyone know it?
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It's always rewarding to see the other coast come into sight.
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The ferry was in at Ullapool - which probably explains some of the mad close overtakes on the last section. BTW Audis & BMWs with German plates give a nice wide pass. 🙂
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The section after Ullapool, Ardmair, Strathcanaird is the toughest of the ride IMO, and I always seem to need an oxygen stop at this defunct phone box, but the other reason was to try to work out those tracks in the distance. I keep meaning to carry a monocular.
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I always stop for a few moments quiet reflection here to look at Stac Pollaidh. I lost a mate climbing on it when we were young and immortal.
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The views back from there are fabulous.
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My favourite bit, Ledmore Junction. It's not half way, but it feels like it. The start of the easy stuff (so long as there is no headwind - in which case it can be hell)
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Bonar Bridge MkIII
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It was just after Bonar that I realised the fatal flaw in my route. Something every kid learns in primary school in Scotland, namely the winds blow offshore in the morning, and back towards the land at night.
Suddenly what was a flat option was hard work. It wasn't a big wind, but when it gets funnelled between the mountains on either side it gets concentrated locally, in this case especially on the shore, and muggins was riding an upright bike.
I stopped at the bottom of the Struie and considered my options. I really wanted to head off that way, I'll take a climb over headwinds any day, but the Charliethebikemonger elf appeared in a vision and said "Toughen up, Princess!" so it was onwards.
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The route is 130 miles which makes it ok for a 200km audax, and if I can ride it in 13 hours on an upright 3 speed, so can anyone.
BTW big mistake was to forget to take my wallet. Four Snickers bars were barely adequate for trailside feasting. I also got fairly dehydrated with only 1 litre of water in the high temperatures of the day.
And I'll say it again, those Pompinos are brilliant bikes.
Like....Well done.
That. That looks ace. I want a go.
Nice one. Agree with the comment about the Pompino, I've the Pompetamine frame which is all but identical and it's pretty adaptable, mine is currently a single speed, so back to a Pompino, with 37c tyres and handles moderately rough stuff. I've double taped the bars which makes a big difference handling vibration/battering.
That track just after Loch Glascarnoch. Looking at the map both it and the path that crosses the Dirrie More a little further west just peter out at Loch a Mhadaidh. My Munros book suggests that the paths aren't easy.
Edit: this is a question since you are obviously local to that area - what's the track like that leads from the Altguish hotel over past Can na Dubh Choile towards Little Garve?
Excellent?, But before I judge you completely is your hub a SA three speed fixed wheel or freewheel?
TheBrick
...But before I judge you completely is your hub a SA three speed fixed wheel or freewheel?
It's freewheel. The S3X is for my Ti Pompino when I get too decrepit to ride it SS. 🙂
whitestone
...what’s the track like that leads from the Altguish hotel over past Can na Dubh Choile towards Little Garve?
Last time I did it, it was boggy in places, but mainly doable. A fatbike would have no problem IMO, or right now it's probably dry. I'd regard it as a transit section rather than a worthwhile ride in its own right.
I was thinking of having a look at it again to connect the Alladale loop with the old road from Garve towards Dingwall. That's more of a gravel ride, so for that it would probably mean a bit of HaB if it was boggy. It would mean you could ride from Ardross/Alladale/Altguish/Garve/to the heights above Dingwall barely touching the tarmac. A good day out.
It passes within about ¾ of a km from a track that leads past Inchbae, and that's of more interest to me. It was a bit of rough HaB last time I connected them (no track). The advantage is then you can connect via Garbat to the new track* on the north side of Ben Wyvis past Loch Bealach Culaidh and get through to Evanton - more interesting scenery. 🙂
*Not yet shown on OSmaps, and the old track shown on the map beside the loch hasn't existed for a long time - it was all HaB the whole way before the new track.
Ta. The heritage paths site http://www.heritagepaths.co.uk/pathdetails.php?path=145 refers to it as "The Fish Road". I was thinking of incorporating it into a bigger loop as a means of avoiding time on the A832: from Contin follow the HT550 route to cross the A835 just after Little Garve then instead of heading towards Inchbae take that track to Altguish, a km or so on the road then the wind farm track back over to Lochluichart; a couple of km on the A832 then turn up to Loch Fannaich.
I remember you (or someone else in the area) mentioning that track past Loch Bealach Culaidh - I think it was a fat bike trip. I take it that the tracks in the forest are for timber extraction and the one past the loch is an estate track? Just had a look on Google maps and the satellite imagery doesn't show anything - the date is given as 2018 for the map data but the track stops by the loch outflow. The Fish road is traceable so the date must be wrong.
Suitably epic thread! 🙂 Agree with MattOAB...
whitestone, you've given me the prod to go and have another look.
I'll try to do it before the end of next week. After that I have family from USA so will be tourist guiding to all the Outlander locations, no doubt.
I've done the track past Loch Bealach Culaidh a few times. Previously it was dire hike a bike.
First time I actually lost a pedal on my 29er dragging it through the heather. No fun for the 20 or so miles i had to ride home. 🙂
The next time it was on the fatbike, not quite so much HaB, but that part still took over 2 hours. The hard thing was not so much the thick knee deep heather but that large rocks that had rolled down the mountain were concealed by them. I still regard that as one of the hardest HaBs I've done.
The new track makes it so easy I wonder how it used to take so long. 🙂
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BTW Bedmaker does a lot of riding around and on Ben Wyvis and will be a good source of info. You'll find his wheel tracks along the top.
Great stuff, I'd be looking for more than 4 Snickers and a litre of water to see me through 13 hours on the bike though!