You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Look interesting ... any good ??
Yip
This is the 4th year in a row that I'm going to spend all year thinking about it, then not do it. It does look mint, and pretty much everyone that's done it loved it, I just don't like getting my feet wet 😆
SPD wellies?
I too am umming and aahing about it. £40...but I can ride that route any day I like for nowt...but probably good craic....
Completed it last year. It's a great event and worth doing. Rewards the all round rider.
i rode the route last month, if your looking for a big day in the hills then its excellent but if your on the hunt for some tasty singletrack then i would look elsewhere. The route passes a lot of far better trails. i wouldn't pay the cash to do it tho as i personally enjoy being out in remote places in a small group not with 150 other riders.
Thanks all and for elaborating the event 😀
Well looking into it further it does look like a good day out so I'll be signing up ! see you there 🙂
If it takes the same route that my brother and I did on our full rigids back in about 1990 it will be a bogfest followed by a rockfest, absolutely knackering in other words.
Did it last year, loved it. The weather was great too. The first and last special stages left me grinning like a Cheshire Cat, awesome!!!! Would definitely recommend it
I did it last year. For the most part I enjoyed it, but some of the trail choice at the end in the Witches Trails was a little much after 40 miles. Take a spare pair of socks and have a dropper post.
Or run the timed sections and take a CX bike... would be better on the majority of the paths and easier on the hike-a-bike bits.
I did it, the first year IIRC. I enjoyed the company, the craic, the little sections that were taped off so you could belt down them without worry of walkers coming up; it was flippin wet though, the week before had been raining cats and dogs and the land tracks were simply two parallel lines of water..
River crossing was ah interesting -- I had to help a couple of folk across, it was touch and go as to whether it was *really* that safe but the folk doing it were up for the challenge! Spare socks FTW. Enjoyed the latter bit of the 10 Under course especially as we were so slow that there was no-one else about by then and could hammer along, think I got a top 10 place for that..
route is just a big day out in the hills - some climbs, some descents (many of them cracking) but it's the get-together I enjoyed, meeting up with folk I hand;t seen for a year or more.
some of the trail choice at the end in the Witches Trails was a little much after 40 miles
Agree with this wholeheartedly. 😀
Did it in 2013- it was a scorcher that day! Agree with everything above.. new socks for after the water crossing and possibly boggy hike a bike. watch the water bars on the special stage decent into kinlochleven..there big! If you get the weather its ace!
Excellent Stuff .... Thanks again all
No point in spare socks for river crossing if the landy tracks are submerged as has happened before. I wore sealskins and barring a touch of trenchfoot was pretty comfortable 🙂
I liked the Witches trail stuff at the end.
Wet (sodden) shoes aren't a problem unless you have managed to get grit in to them at which point things become painful rather quickly.
Wet Socks - Noted 😮
I didn't think it was that great as an event, the scoring system is a bit quirky and most of the riding interest is over by about half way.
I've done the event a couple of times. Love the course - proper out in the wilds stuff. However, the second time I took part (2012) I found the attitude of some participants to walkers on the West Highland Way frankly embarrassing. Charging full pelt at them and expecting them to jump out of the way because you simply HAVE to pull off an overtaking manoeuvre? Come on, it doesn't do any of us any favours! Hence I've not done the event since, although I wouldn't rule it out in the future - especially if the most popular walking sections were neutralised for the event, Enduro style.
I've entered, I suppose more in the hope that it'll persuade me to get out more to get fitter in time for it......
I only have a hardtail, with 100mm fork, some videos I've seen show it to be really rough, already started saving for a FS, I don't know if that's an essential?
I'll just be happy to get round without getting stopped/diverted back, we'll see how it goes!
You'll be fine on a hardtail. I did it on a 456 with 130mm last year and found it well suited to the route.