[Closed] The 2016 Highland Trail 550

Thanks matt. Really good to see so many ladies taking part, shall enjoy following this. 🙂

Anyone from this Parish taking part?

That's never been a year?!

My mate's in it, looking to do well.

nikk from here is in it this year.

Armchair participant here, a couple of friends are doing it, so following with interest.

Anyone from this Parish taking part?

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I'm in the group start, looking forwards to it a lot. I've enjoyed watching the dots for the last few years but thinking this is going to be a slightly tougher way to experience it!

There are some strong women riding this year for sure. Including Lee Cragie who isn't on the groups start list but is riding.

Got a couple of friends doing it Paul and Fi Horabin not sure if they are doing it together and I now know a few chaps from the SouthLakes100 that are having a crack. Next year I will be there!

There are some strong women riding this year for sure. Including Lee Cragie who isn't on the groups start list but is riding.

I've heard she's just picked up a cracking new bike to ride it. Apparently.

I've heard she's just picked up a cracking new bike to ride it. Apparently.

Oh really Steven? What brand is it. Haha.

How many other Shand's will be there? I know of Ian B's Lancia one (he needs someone to respray those new forks for him!)

Only those 2 that I know of. NewRetroTom (last years winner on a Shand) has wimped out of doing it this year. Doing some little race in the States instead 😉

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View this post on Instagram

😆
I am liking Lee's nice greeeeeen colour.

I heard that. Worra lightweight hey 😉

Itching to start now.

http://niksbikingblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/highland-trail-2016-recce.html

New outward section is rubbish...

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😀

ooh, that new start bit does look good - and has been on 'the list' for a while...

I rode the new start section just after Easter. Can confirm that it is really as bad as it looks. Having to deal with a 13km stretch of singletrack was extremely tiresome. Especially as the original start had such a nice section of boggy hike-a-bike. I would have emailed Alan to complain but to top it all there was no F'ing phone reception!

Seriously though there was quite a bit of snow in the gullys then I'm guessing it's gone now! Still not convinced I'm going to be in fort Augustus in time to get a pizza though...

Before you all start, I would just like to appeal to all you HTers to stop at a decent hour so we dot followers can get a decent night's sleep.

You might think you're tired, but you've obviously no idea how exhausting it is for us poor folks. There we are, stuck inside avoiding our warm beds just so we can see if your dot has moved another millimetre, and some selfish riders keep going until the small hours. We then have to watch your stationary dot for at least another half hour before we can risk the decision of going to bed.

More exciting than the MotoGP it is. 🙂

But seriously, good luck to you all.

bloody hell - already!

I am sooooo jealous

Can't wait. Its going to be tough, lack of sleep, where are we now stuff. Got lots of beer and coffee so following from the sofa should not be to painful.

All the very best to those taking part.

If you want to get your dot watching mojo finely tuned then you could practice by following [url= http://trackleaders.com/highland16i.php?name=Howard_Perkins ]Howard Perkins[/url] who doing an ITT and is about to get to Fisherfield

There's one rider out doing it ATM - http://trackleaders.com/highland16i.php?name=Howard_Perkins he's just at the top of the push up from Inverbroom heading towards Dundonnel. Edit: just beaten to it 😀

I'm in the armchair camp. It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, the route changes have.

The new bit feels a lot slower, possibly because there's a lot of good rolling in the old start - the main challenges were the Devil's Staircase and the hike a bike down the Abhainn Rath which was only a couple of hours anyway. Or maybe I'm just a lot less fit than I used to be...

More overtaking than F1 but no changing tyres

Did that mean there is corporate sponsorship and dodgy pit lane antics?

dodgy pit lane antics

You are allowed to carry a change of bike 🙄

What are conditions like up north west? It's extremely dry here in Fife - couple of days rain in the past 5 weeks or so.

I googled Higland to try and come up with a comedy alternative trail, but it is surprising just how many tourist sites have Highland spelt wrong!

Oh and good luck to all this year's riders. Was it Lee that met us at Contin stores last year?

I finished an ITT last Thursday, having planned to join the group start originally. Now that I can stay awake for a few hours at a time I wrote some stories about it. The new start is good rolling!

https://topofests.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/a-vision-quest-on-the-highland-trail-part-1/

Hi Huw! That is funny, I was following behind you by a couple of hours, I got the same "Danny Macaskill" from those DoE kids!

Got a friend doing it Lars Henning

Conditions in the North West are getting drier and drier!

Hi, I did it last year and I'm back this year. Rode the first bit to F. Augustus last week and took me nearly 1 hour more. I might not be on time for pizza at F. Augustus but see what happens with the racing chip on.
Good luck to everyone. It's been very dry last days.
Huw, nice to meet you there in Tyndrum. Good luck for your carte-pro in France.

If you can't wait until tomorrow for some spot watching, Chris Hope is attempting a record attempt on the Cairngorm Loop today. Started at 0300.

http://live.opentracking.co.uk/cairngormloop16/?n=1

Hi Whitestone, not sure that link for opentracking is working correctly

Assuming Chris is just about to drop of the shoulder of Bynack Mor then it's working for me.

It's a direct link from the guy that runs the site. The system works on mobile phone signals (it's not a SPOT tracker using satellites) so if he's in an area where there's no reception then there won't be an update for a while then everything gets filled in.The last update (zoom in and click on one of the blue dots) was at 0733. Probably won't get any signal now until he's somewhere near Braemar.

It's updated now, he's at the Linn of Dee

[quote=whitestone ]It's a direct link from the guy that runs the site. The system works on mobile phone signals (it's not a SPOT tracker using satellites) so if he's in an area where there's no reception then there won't be an update for a while then everything gets filled in.The last update (zoom in and click on one of the blue dots) was at 0733. Probably won't get any signal now until he's somewhere near Braemar.
Which is why some folk on here recommend SPOT trackers every time this subject comes up 😉

I used one of these trackers last year on the YD300 but it was more for my wife and others to track me than any safety mechanism. Can't remember now if there were any blackspots in its coverage. SPOTs started out as a safety system and have become used for tracking events like this.

Ultimately the SPOT tracker is more reliable in remoter locations but the annual cost is a bit off putting for those who might only use it occasionally for ITTs and the like. There's a place that hires them but I suspect that the HTR might have used up their supplies.

Chris Hope is attempting a record attempt on the Cairngorm Loop today.

How does it work with all these records now? I wouldn't imagine Cheryl Baker is there on the finish line with a stopwatch. Are they just managed as a community with gpx files and the such? And you just dig around forums and news articles to find who holds the record and what the routes are?

There's a place that hires them but I suspect that the HTR might have used up their supplies.

These come from Scott and Matt at Trackleaders in the USA - they have more than enough considdering they are also fielding the ones for the Tour Divide...

@bigmandh - very much an honour system but usually these days a GPX and/or a SPOT trace is required. For the UK the routes and fastest times are noted at selfsupported.net but this doesn't usually name the holder. Some ITTs have their own webpage (the Cairngorm Loop does) and you need to find the info there.

@Greg - I thought the SPOT hire was UK based (maybe there is one as well as the TrackLeaders), fairly sure I looked last year for the YD300 and they had none available.

Chris Hope is attempting a record attempt on the Cairngorm Loop today.

I'd not realised until just now that the Cairngorm Loop goes right past my sister's old house. That explains why I kept seeing people with bike packing gear 🙂

I'm glad that this has come round again as it gives me a weekend off from being smashed round the Peak District by Steve Heading 😀
He's not taking it 'seriously' this year but his idea of seriously and everyone else's tend to be slightly different.

@bigmandh - very much an honour system but usually these days a GPX and/or a SPOT trace is required. For the UK the routes and fastest times are noted at selfsupported.net but this doesn't usually name the holder. Some ITTs have their own webpage (the Cairngorm Loop does) and you need to find the info there.

Brilliant thanks for that. More routes to add to the must do list now (though maybe at a more leisurely pace!)

Is there anything similar for road biking routes?

Probably Audaxes are the nearest thing.

Is there anything similar for road biking routes?

[url= https://www.strava.com/routes/2943218?hl=en-GB ]Strava link[/url]

I do actually feel like I'm missing out this year.

Using that N. American thing as excuse does feel a bit lame, but I don't think a week would be enough time to recover.

Slightly tempted to head up to Tyndrum tonight to see Howard finish and the rest start tomorrow morning. Anyone up for a pint in the Tyndrum Inn tonight?

Is there anything similar for road biking routes? North coast 500

Sorry I meant more like a register of all the rides and routes that people do road ITT style things on.

like a register of all the rides and routes that people do road ITT style things on

[url= http://www.aukweb.net/events/?From=27%2F05%2F2016&To=12&Days=&Category=&Dist_min=600&Dist_max=&Aaa=&Region= ]Audax[/url]

Plenty of stuff to keep you occupied

fasthaggis - Member
'Is there anything similar for road biking routes?'

North coast 500

Some of our local girls knocked that off in 36 hours the other weekend (on road).

now i might be wrong but that was a team time trial - still impressive but not an ITT.

jimmy mac (james maccalums) having a go shortly on an ITT, could be interesting.

That's good going epicyclo.
I am having a go at it this summer ,in 48hrs (weather permitting) 😉

now i might be wrong but that was a team time trial - still impressive but not an ITT

Yes, it was a group ride with support vehicles. I think 3 women rode the whole distance, and the others rode various sections as support.

There aren't formal rules for something like the NC500, so you are comparing apples and oranges. Mark Beaumont was nominally riding solo and unsupported, but he mentions various people joining him on the road as support in his blog.

Things like the TD and HT have stricter rules about self support, but I guess you can still ride with other people, which could make a big difference mentally and physically, compared to a true individual TT.

I mentioned the NC500 ride because regardless of how they did it, it was a very challenging undertaking. I'd want a week to do it, or at best 5 days.

[url= http://theadventuresyndicate.com/home#intro ]They call themselves the Adventure Syndicate[/url] and Lee Craigie who was part of it is doing the HT550.

I'm aware it was different. 🙂

On the group starts to ITTs you end up riding with others for a bit then you find you are on your own for a while until you either catch someone up or someone catches you up. There's definitely a difference psychologically but you do need to be prepared to be on your own for a considerable length of time - one guy in the HT550 didn't see another competitor for four days!

Sharing equipment is against "the rules" as is any motorised help.

chris hopes going great guns. Just exited burn o brown heading for tomintoul.

He was hoping for just under 22 hours, looks like he'll do it well under. Legend!

Coming form more of a road-ey background I'm a bit surprised that I'm a more excited to see how these ultra endurance events (HT550, Tour Divide, TCR, Trans Am) go than I am some of the grand tours this year!

Chris Hope finished just before 2200 in a time of 16hrs59 according to the tracking site. Bloomin' well done!

I saw him on the way to Tomintoul. He wasn't hanging about!

Well they're off and the pace is pretty high at the front, 100 miles in 12 hours is good going by anyone's standards. Fair few have reached Fort Augustus already and several have pushed on (some by a fair distance). Slightly concerned that my mate Karl has been in town for an hour now though, hope he's OK

Probably a massive que if he made the pizza place - if not, he's maybe made the pub and persuaded them for food, or he's drinking a beer.

Refresh rate is 10mins on the SPOTs if they have signal - don't worry yet.

Also - I am the other end of the twitter feed if you're not following it: @ht_550

Karl knows the score. He will rest up then leave 4-5am for a big day tomorrow

Greg - it's dark now 😉

Looks like Lee Craigie is making a good go of it.

The men are flaking

Slightly weird how sitting in my warm living room with a curry, a beer and a film I'm actually jealous of the folks out there on the trail....

In two weeks time it will be my turn!

Hope you've been doing lot's of training. Long way to go to mince about. I've already laid down some coin at the bookies so no pressure 😀

Looks like Lee Craigie is doing a Beryl Burton.

Awesome. 🙂

I hope the wee shop in Contin was pre-warned. By the time the first 15-20 folk are through the shelves will be bare and there's no restock until Lochinver.

They're hurtling through some pretty country.

The leaders are about here right now.

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Scotroutes, you probably have photos of most of the route. How about posting them round about the time the leaders reach those spots?

My mate IanB was quite far down the field las night but has had a short night and is going well this morning, pleased to see.

Today will be the first day of real racing as normal - we shall see who has actually had some recovery in their "sleep" last night.

Example - I "slept" for 6 hrs on the first night in 2013 - I actually slept for about 2 of those. Day two was my worst day. After that, there was no such thing as insomnia.

Lee is going strong, I'd love to see her destroy most of the field 🙂

GregMay - Member
...Lee is going strong, I'd love to see her destroy most of the field

Me too. She's local, and I've been a fan for many years after watching her on the SXC.

I'm hoping her efforts in the recent NC500 don't have a bad effect.

anyone got a GPX of the route they are doing this year ?

The one on http://www.highlandtrail.net/map.html appears to be an old/original route.

I see Lee 'rested' for about 4 hours lats night. I'm pleased about that, I had a a horrible feeling she was just going to keep going!

Ian B also got some rest and is doing really well.

I say this every year but really inspiring stuff out there. I'm sure most will have seen it but I really enjoyed Ian's film of it from 2014 :

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2014[/url]

Looks like the leaders are fuelling up at Oykel Bridge.