I’m planning on riding up to Fort William using the CX bike. I’d like to go off road as much as possible but from what I can gather the early bit skirting Loch Lomond is quite techy. So is riding round the Loch on the A82 then joining the WHW at Glen Falloch a better option? I know the A road is pretty shitey car/traffic wise but it may be better for a CX rider?

Yes.

Most further north is pretty unrideable for a CX bike…

The Loch Lomond section is pretty mech either carrying or CX-able as far as I can remember. So if you don’t mind carrying, it’s probably easier with a CX bike than some all-mountain kind of thing.

Going on from there, I’d take a massive bag of inner tubes and book yourself an arm-pump massage for when you get to Kinlochleven. You can ride that stuff on a CX bike, but it’ll probably be death-grip on the brakes the whole way down the Devils Staircase.

I’d say Glasgow to Rowerdennan would be good on a CX bike (missing conic hill). From Inversnaid to the head of the loch is grim hike-a-bike whatever you ride so a nice light CX bike would be no worse (you could consider ferry from inversnaid, then ride up loch side and re-join). From beinn glas farm to Tyndrum can be a bit rough in places, but do-able. Tyndrum to Glencoe would be good bar a couple of rough sections. Glencoe to the end would end would be mostly grim on a CX bike, with sprinklings of awful but improving for the last 7 miles to FW.

It’s doable, but will be more comfortable on a hardtail with, more importantly, large volume tyres..

Three lochs way alternative? Off road or on road. The rough stuff fellowship seem to have managed the WHW since before we were all born. but obviously the carry part on loch lomond is a bit of a faff.

http://www.threelochsway.co.uk/

Are you doing this as a self satisfaction thing or do you only have the option of a CX bike.
Genuine interest.

Are you doing this as a self satisfaction thing or do you only have the option of a CX bike.
Genuine interest.

See this thread

>So is riding round the Loch on the A82 then joining the WHW at Glen Falloch a better option?<

Nah – you’d just be pussying out. Go for it, it’s just a wee walkers route.

Tomd speaketh most sense. I’d say out of the 95 miles, it would be broken up into 3 types of ‘riding’ on a cx bike.

Riding
Rattling the fillings from yer teeth and trashing yer rims
Pushing.

In pretty much equal measure.

Aidan – Member
The Loch Lomond section is pretty mech either carrying or CX-able as far as I can remember. So if you don’t mind carrying, it’s probably easier with a CX bike than some all-mountain kind of thing.

Going on from there, I’d take a massive bag of inner tubes and book yourself an arm-pump massage for when you get to Kinlochleven. You can ride that stuff on a CX bike, but it’ll probably be death-grip on the brakes the whole way down the Devils Staircase.

He wouldn’t be going down the devils, only do that going in the other direction.

We put together a great route as far as Crianlarich which was almost 100% CX-able.

You’ll need to check your maps to confirm some of this but it went roughly as follows: Glasgow to Drymen via WHW, turn north-east and head to Aberfoyle, I seem to remember some nice fireroads here but it may just be old tarmac, check the map. Aberfoyle to Callander on forest tracks to the south of Loch Venachar. Callander to Loch Lubnaig on Sustrans track, divert onto road then cross road to start forest track climb up and into Glen Ample before descending and rejoining Sustrans at Lochearnhead, follow Sustrans to top of Glen Ogle over old viaduct, then either descend to Killin on Sustrans or follow old railway line all the way round to Crianlarich. From Crianlarich you could get all the way to Glencoe village almost entirely off-road, following WHW/old road as far as the top of Glen Coe before crossing over and following the walkers track running parallel to the road which takes you as far as the junction for the Clachaig Inn.

A short hop on the road to Kinlochleven and you could rejoin the WHW via the Mamore Lodge track, this would actually be rideable on a lightweight CX touring set up, unlike the WHW climb! You can then follow the WHW to Lundavra before turning off and enjoying the truly mental tarmac road that plummets into Ft William.

A great way to extend it would be to somehow get to Corrour Station, the track from there all the way down to Fersit is great, and you can piece together an almost continuous farm track/forest track line all the way back to Ft William, descending the puggy line eventually into the aluminium smelting plant!

If you really wanted you could even tag on the Corrieyairaick pass to Ft Augustus before riding south on the great glen way, that would be an excellent wee extension!

Slight thread hijack: how bad are the midges on the WHW in July, if on a bike?

midges are awful, of course.

bring a net and a spare net.

13thfloormonk. That is perfect. Ta!