I got Memory Map for the south of Scotland recently, and within one tin of beer had planned a wee three dayer starting in Dunblane and taking a slightly convoluted route north and west, to finish on the pier at Bonawe…

Day 1:

I started at Dunblane with two other cyclists, all of us headed for Killin, all by different routes. Riding along the road I was greeted with rain and a red kite showing off beside the road

From Doune I headed uphill to the Braes of Doune wind farm, scary things up close!

The riding wasn't too spectacular, apart from some meter deep drifts across the path occasionally! Eventually a brief bog trot took me to the path that would then lead to Findhu Glen

Findhu Glen

Leaving Findhu Glen I met the Glen Artney road and followed it west where it would eventually take me to Glen Vorlich, and the bealach to the east of the Ben that I was headed through.

I reached the bealach after a fairly epic hike-a-bike. The trail might have been passable some of the way, but the snow melt had left it pretty soggy underfoot, so I resigned to a long push and managed to enjoy it thanks to the weather and another red kite plus the watchful red deer above me

The hike-a-bike continued over the bealach and down the other side. This was starting to test my sense of humour because I'd researched this bit and was sure there was a quad trail somewhere! Then I found it and all hikey-bike was forgotten, a barely controlled descent down deeply rutted quad tracks with lots of twisty blind corners and steep sections.

The quad track turned into landy track, but it remained rutted and steep, and on a laden bike the corners still needed treated with respect!

A stint on the road brought me to Lochearnhead where I stopped fo chips and a pint. From here I was supposed to head up Glen Kendrum and descend Glen Dhu to Lix Toll, however it was getting dark and the hike-a-bike had taken it out of me, so i donned haedlights and rode up the Glen Ogle Sustrans track and descended to Killin to make the campsite for 10:30.

Day 2:

The usual lazy start saw me winching up the Ben Lawers road to then descend to Bridge of Balgie after passing some nervous traffic on the way down. The road was spectacular and my fingers were twitching for the STIs of my road bike…

From Bridge of Balgie I took the Lairig Ghallabhaich to the woods of Rannoch. Near the top a black grouse shot out of the bushes and whirred away through the glen.

I made it out of the woods without getting a kicking from any belligerant Capercaillie, and continued west on the landy tracks above Bridge of Gaur.

Another rutted, bumpy and highly entertaining descent down to Bridge of Gaur saw me winding along the road to Rannoch station before crossing the line and heading along the shores of Loch Laidon to the moor itself.

Not much riding to be had for a large part of the moor, but the views kept me entertained, plus one of the most rustic bothies I've had the fortune to stumble across (tigh na cruach = house of the heap i think 😀 )

I'm in there somewhere…

The finale of the sunset co-incided with me finding the start of the track which led to the Black Corries Lodge and then to the Kingshouse pub for beer, banter and tent.

Day 3:

Kingshouse morning…

I was sore this morning, i'd been riding on a sore wrist since day one and it wasn't getting better. The weather however was having none of it and i was duty bound to head south on the west highland way to Victoria Bridge, then west to Loch Etive via glen Kinglas.

Duty bound because as a scotsman it is my solemn sworn duty to go out and burn on the first sunny weekend of the year. Mission accomplished!

Glen Kinglas was stunning

The riding through the glen was great, and the slabs were a lot of fun, or would have been if i could have gripped the bars enough to actually have a play.

stupidly however i'd lost track of time and hadn't really eaten very much, so by the time i reached Narrachan bothy i was starting to suffer, BONK! nice view though…

I'd be lying if i said i enjoyed the shores of Loch Etive. They're very rolling so while i enjoyed the steep, loose landy track descents, the steep climbs immediately after were met with immediate dismounts and baby steps to the top. Not fun.

After a very grumpy final few kilometres I finally wobbled through Bonawe village to the pier, where i sat and took in the view while gradually forgetting the last few kilometres.

That'll do nicely…