Ciaran path - who's ridden it and what did you think?

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Ciaran path - who's ridden it and what did you think?

49 posts & 27 voices | Started 11 months ago by stevious | Latest reply from cynic-al

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stuartie_c - Member

Good trail though hard work in places.

An alternative to the tough bits is to follow the aqueduct beyond the dam "past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of our people" to NN210613 and take the (steep!) trail which joins on with the fast, flowy lower section of the Ciaran Path.

A loop which starts and finishes at Altnafeadh and takes in the dam, aqueduct, CP lower section, Kinlochleven, Devil's Staircase climb(99% rideable on the return...) and Devil's Staircase descent back to Altnafeadh is a quality day out.

Posted 11 months ago #
LD - Member

Done this 4 times now and I do really enjoy it. Don't quite ride everything but I am perfectly happy with that, I reckon a proper dry day after a dry spell would make a big difference. A lot of the rock, particularly on the climbs, is really slick and can cause much frustration. A bit more manliness/skills/momentum/luck is required to get through the steep boulder garden. As for the trees they weren't there until the storm linked above but hey that's nature, just get off and climb over them!
The whole topic got me to thinking about what we like about a trail/run. I come from a history of riding Scotland on a fully rigid (I did have a flexstem laterally) inc WHW, Ben Lomond, Glen Kinglas etc. I guess this makes me more tolerant of a bit of walking/pushing/carrying as I can now do a lot less of this than I used to. Is it that a lot of riders these days have got used to the luxury of trail centres and are constantly seeking out flow and lack of interuptions?
To quote a good friend of mine - "A day out is not an adventure unless you meet a challenge and overcome it".

Posted 11 months ago #
devs - Member

Well boo hoo hoo. Nasty wild trail has loose boulders and uphill bits <sob>. May I suggest Thetford Forest? Or Wrexham, that's good.

Posted 11 months ago #
stevious - Member

Stuartie - just looked at your option on a map and it looks to be worth a gander.

To the erudite and mature fellow posting above I can only offer a slow hand clap and a pat on the head.

Posted 11 months ago #
devs - Member

Don't you dare touch my head, that's assault that is. Besides, you probably hurt yourself on it and then go and post on the internerd about how horrible it was. HTH HAND

Posted 11 months ago #
Nobeerinthefridge - Member

A loop which starts and finishes at Altnafeadh and takes in the dam, aqueduct, CP lower section, Kinlochleven, Devil's Staircase climb(99% rideable on the return...) and Devil's Staircase descent back to Altnafeadh is a quality day out.

Doing that route on Saturday Stuart, My mate has an Ariel on demo and wants to go somewhere 'rocky' Ideal!.

To be honest, the first time I rode the Ciaran path, I was very disappointed, but to be fair, I'd only been riding a for 2 or 3 years, and was expecting something completely different!.

I'll be ready for it this time!.

Posted 11 months ago #
stuartie_c - Member

Have a good 'un Greg. Let us know how you get on.

Posted 11 months ago #
TroutWrestler - Member

We rode this a couple of weeks ago. Some bits are tricky, but I reckon the descent is 98-99% rideable, though it may seem like it is a lot less. The difficulty is maintaining the focus and concentration to avoid crashing.

IME if it is too wet, or too midgey, or (yes, really) too hot it is noticably harder. We've ridden the tril when the burns that you have to cross were waist deep wades with significant risk of getting washed of down the hillside.

There were a lot of fallen trees on the lower section approaching KLL. The nature of the terrain made them difficult to outflank. At the end of the day I was on a Ti456 and maybe wished I'd been on a 5-6" full susser.

Posted 11 months ago #
GiantJaunt - Member

I did it last year and found it hard going. It was very very wet the day I did it. I think if I went back now and did it on a dry day I would enjoy it far more and ride more of it. I'd say it's a trail for people with a higher level of skill and fitness. It's very eroded and was like a river when I did it. It might be a good idea to do it on it's own without doing the Devil's Staircase first if you're not feeling very energetic. I did the both in one day and thought I was going to die.

Posted 11 months ago #
GaVgAs - Member

I have ridden it twice now and enjoyed it more the second time,its not a brilliant trail but the techy bits are nice to ride and rewarding to clean if possible..

Posted 11 months ago #
Nobeerinthefridge - Member

I have ridden it twice now and enjoyed it more the second time,its not a brilliant trail but the techy bits are nice to ride and rewarding to clean if possible.

Exactly how I feel about it!. First time, I was expecting something completely different, a problem I think most people who don't rate it have. Last week, I knew what to expect, and also rode it on a full suss this time,which definitley helps!.

The trees down at the end are a bugger to get round, as they are huge multi-trunked things, no way over or through them. Adds a good 20 minutes onto the ride.

The loop over from Glencoe is a cracking day out, and has 3 cracking descents, The Ciaran Path itself, The Devils' Staircase and in my opinion the best of the 3 - The descent on the WHW from the top of the Staircase all the way down to the Blackwater Dam Conduit.

It's all good!.

Posted 10 months ago #
marty - Member

First time, I was expecting something completely different.
Out of interest - what were you expecting?

It's all good!
damn straight!

Posted 10 months ago #
Nobeerinthefridge - Member

I dunno, was about 6 years ago, when I hadn't done too much rocky stuff, I probably didn't realise how hard work the descent would be, especially on a hardtail. Which I accept was entirely down to me!.

Posted 10 months ago #
cynic-al - Member

I've not read the thread, but it seems to me the stquestion would never have been asked before trail centres.

Posted 10 months ago #

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