A bit of a ramble about riding the Rob Roy Way. So no one feels let down when they’ve read all of this, I’ll tell you now that I had to bypass some of it. This doesn’t bother me…. much.

I’d been looking at doing this as a day ride in building up to attempting the West Highland Way again next month and had a crack at it last weekend which didn’t go well. I had to bail on it that time but went back yesterday and was a bit more successful.

Last week I took a gamble on the forecast – I’m ever the optimist. It had to be done cheaply and I wanted to keep weight down with my pack so went light on waterproofs and heavy on a lot of food, prepared the night before.

My route was starting at Milngavie and riding up the WHW to pick up the RRW at Drymen to finish in Pitlochry.

The ride was going okay until Aberfoyle where the drizzle became rain which just got progressively heavier and heavier for a couple of hours. The path across the Menteith Hills was saturated and mostly unrideable bog. Immediately that this became a fire road there was a diversion for forestry work – active, so no sneaking through. This sent me on to an uphill swamp. At the top the way was blocked by wind fall so there was another diversion through the trees. Emerging from this soaked through and seeing the cloud down to about 300 feet I thought the route best saved for a better day and decided to divert at Callander and head to Stirling for the train back to Edinburgh. At Stirling a bus replacement service was in operation as a bridge was being dismantled at Larbert. I was assured the bike would go in the luggage bay under the coach when it arrived. This turned out to be a First double decker. No bikes on that. Assured the next one was a coach so had a cuppa and waited…. for another no bikes double decker. So I decided to ride down to Falkirk for the train, getting lost a couple of times as batteries and back up chargers had failed on my phone gps. Looking back I saw the cloud had lifted above the summits of the highest mountains. It ended up being a 75 mile ride and although it finished in a not so great way, I perversely enjoyed it.

Yesterday I tried again. Two hours train to Milngavie and hundreds of folk walking the WHW. I regretted forgetting to purchase a bell. At Aberfoyle I took NCN7 over Loch Drunkie to Loch Venachar to miss out the bog and diversion. A more scenic route adding on about 5 miles. At Callander I felt very tired (two nights of bad sleep preceded) and had a lower back with some sore warmth building. Ibuprofen and lucozade sorted me out.
Easy peasy riding to Killin where I realised time was slipping and I was behind schedule. I’d allowed 1.5 hours for each of 8 sections. This wasn’t working out but regardless, I still headed over the high moor land, losing yet more time. This section was appealing because it goes high enough to feel among the high peaks. It’s a hefty but quick climb with some boggy pathless ground on the way down. At Acharn there wasn’t time to follow the Way up hill so it came down to the usual, mad, all out sprint down the fastest route to the last train home – luckily, fast enough that I still time for a pint and some quick nosh at Pitlochry. I’m chuffed with my first Highland century and 8000 feet of ascent. Tried to imagine what it’s like to get and do it again like the guys riding the HT550. Maybe next year eh?

The route is all fairly easy riding and seems like lot of pieces put together and although it’s claimed to be from historical precedent, it seems a bit of a bonkers route from Killin to Aberfeldy.

Nice one Kunstler – sounds like an epic ride.

I’m following a guy I know on the highland 550 tracker and it’s just off the scale. Maybe get a few of the rides like the one you’ve done under the belt is the way to build up to it.

Jeez – you really didn’t have your troubles to seek eh? Big day out though – well done you!!!

I missed out the high section behind Killin when I did the route (West to East – at least you didn’t make that mistake!).

http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2013/04/making-connections.html

I had read your blog before Colin, I think when you first posted it and I re-read it on the train out as I wanted to find out about the ‘pathless, boggy section’ above Killin. It turned out not to be as bad as I was expecting but would have a little frustrating going in the direction you did – based on a downhill semi-bog is more rideable than an uphill one.