Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • West Highland Way – Gimme advice and encouragement.
  • thegeneralist
    Free Member

    I’ve wanted to cycle bits of the WHW since long before it became legal, and over the last few years the idea of trying to do it in a day has started to appeal.
    I actually don’t think I’m fit enough to do it, but then I rarely think I’ll manage stuff like that until I do so.
    And if I don’t try it then I certainly won’t manage it.
    So I’m looking for some inspiration/advice experience from people to assist. I’ve looked at the various threads/articles on the site already, but some of them aren’t that relevant since they seem to involve superhumans with support crews and lots of spare time. A couple of questions:

    1) Is it realistic to attempt it in September without a support crew? If the weather forecast is bobbins then obviously I won’t even set off, but assuming decent weather then food, spare clothes and lights will be needed. Food would have to be generally bought along the way, but that’ll take a significant amount of time once you add up all the stops and waiting time. I guess I’ll just have to take clothes for every eventuality and carry my lights all the way from Milngavie. But I’m thinking that is going to weigh a fair chunk, especially once I’ve added a few carbs and emergency drinks etc. Anyone got any other cunning ideas like getting a parcel delivered to the Kingy for pickup?

    2) Do you take a bivvy bag and hence increase the chances of using it…

    3) I have heard that the awful section along north Loch Lomond was due to be upgraded by April 2014, can anyone confirm if this has indeed happened?

    4) Since we’ve had kids, I tend to do almost all my biking alone. My feeling is that trying to get anyone else along just increases the chances of failure because there are twice as many lights, bikes, bodies to go wrong. Would you do it alone or take a mate along…

    tomd
    Free Member

    1) Is it realistic to attempt it in September without a support crew?

    Yes, it won’t be as busy and there will be fewer midges. However, there will be ~10hrs of darkness. It takes fair but more concentration, also the weight of multiple batteries. If you time it right, you don’t need to carry that much. Set off from Glasgow at night you should hit Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Kinghouse, KLL when the shops / pubs are open to keep you re-supplied in the middle bit. There are well stocked shops at Crianlarich, Tyndrum and KLL. There are pubs doing food at regular intervals.

    2) Do you take a bivvy bag and hence increase the chances of using it…

    There are places could shelter if needed without a bivvy. You’re unlikely to die (quickly) of exposure in September. If it becomes desperate, you should be able to find accomodation somewhere.

    3) I have heard that the awful section along north Loch Lomond was due to be upgraded by April 2014, can anyone confirm if this has indeed happened?

    It’s still awful, a bit of it has been improved between Rowerdennan and Inversnaid.

    4) Since we’ve had kids, I tend to do almost all my biking alone. My feeling is that trying to get anyone else along just increases the chances of failure because there are twice as many lights, bikes, bodies to go wrong. Would you do it alone or take a mate along…

    Go yourself, unless you can find someone else committed to the idea and able for it.

    chrispuppet
    Full Member

    We are riding to the Inversnaid bunk house on September 13th then looping back to Milngavie on the Sunday, or maybe the other way round. I haven’t done it before but avoiding midge season makes September a good month for it I would hope. Good luck

    ski78
    Full Member

    I’m riding the WHW at the end of this month (setting off on the 29th)here’s our rough plan.

    Two of us riding. Main packs being carried by packlite for us, so just day bags when we are on the bikes. Packing some lights just in case, but not aiming to be riding in darkness if we don’t have too. Using the pack carrier means we will have a change of clothes at each end, plus some other luxuries waiting for us. It wasn’t too expensive (£30 for two bags I think).

    Day one; 55 Miles
    start at 8am
    aim to get the ferry from Inversnaid over to the A82 and skip the hike a bike section. We may get the ferry from Rowardennan depending on the time it takes to get there.
    Re-join the WHW at Beinglass farm and push on to Tyndrum.
    We had allot of discussions about pushing on and trying to complete the whole route, in the end too many people have said it’s just miserable and we are looking to enjoy the ride. Plus a little trip on a boat never upset anyone. We’re not sure on our timing, but that will dictate which ferry we aim for (Rowardennan or Inversnaid).
    Staying in the By The Way campsite Tyndrum in hut or hobbit house.

    Day two; 45 Miles
    Tyndrum to Fort Bill, sticking to the whole route.
    Staying in the Glen Nevis campsite, tents and kit dropped off ahead for us.
    Train back home. Hopefully WHW done.
    I’ll post back here and let you know how it goes.

    drslow
    Free Member

    Me and a mate did it last April over 3 days. Got good weather, no midges and thankfully no mechanicals (we got off and lifted our bikes over the water bars, from previous experience they are inner tube eaters). The hike a bike from Inversnaid is basically horrible, avoid if you can. We stayed in the Drovers Inn, Kingshouse on Rannoch Moor and Cruachan hotel. We drank beer at night and started later than the walkers, overtaking them before long. The bag carrying service is great, i used AMS and the guys said if we had any mechanicals or problems they would pick us up and put the bikes in the truck. Top blokes. We met another group who had asked them to get them a rear mech hanger and the AMS guys had it waiting for them in Tyndrum. Well worth the £45 we paid. Its a great few days, we could have maybe done it faster, but we wanted to enjoy it. And we did.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    cheers for the input.

    I’ve ended up with a pretty lazy summer so not feeling so confident about this any more 🙂

    The sticking the bike on the Inversnaid to Ardlui ferry and then walking the nasty bit north of inVersnaid is looking favourite at the moment (meeting support at Drovers or thereabouts). Would you agree that walking that section would be quicker, and more importantly less tiring than taking the bike along it?
    cheers

    Kunstler
    Full Member

    I did this at the end of July and only posted about it a few days ago:

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/west-highland-way-in-a-day-done-mega-post

    Many of your questions are addressed in my post. As regards fitness – I guess that everyone is different but if it helps, I wanted to know that I could manage a really long day with lots of climbing and on the bike that I would ride the WHW. So, a couple of months before I covered a similar distance (and with 8,000 feet of ascent) riding from Glasgow to Pitlochry using bits of the Rob Roy Way. That was 11 hours in the saddle. The WHW is tougher and requires quite a bit longer than that (for most of us). So maybe test yourself first? It got me fired up for the big one.

    The dark hours would put me off doing it any later than I did but then I don’t like riding in the dark very much.

    I’ve done the Inversnaid to Inveroran section and I’ve taken the ferry. each time I’d wished I’d taken the other option. I remember it being particularly fatiguing having to lift the bike up and down rocks. A good, strong core would help with that.

    After last year’s attempt where I had support, I started to plan to run that section with my bike transported for me and it would be a good way to do it if it’s possible.

    Getting bivvy gear baggage transferred to Kingshouse is a good idea and what I ended up doing when I realised my rucksack was too heavy. I was lucky with weather and knew that I wouldn’t need it when I got there so left it.

    I ate the equivalent of five meals… I think. Hot food at Real Food cafe at Tyndrum was wonderful. I took some food with me at the start and bought more along the way. Filled water bottle from the burn.

    I’d like to think I’d do it again next year but there are a few other bike challenges I might go for first. I would do it again. It’s brilliant.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Yes. But then you’ve not cycled the West Highland Way. Just choose another route altogether if you simply want to ride from Glasgow to Fort William – I’m sure there are better options.

    br
    Free Member

    If you are going to be stopping at cafés/shops/pubs, take a lightweight lock – if for nothing else than piece-of-mind.

    moonboy
    Free Member

    GavinB did this solo at the weekend (chapeau), once he’s recovered and seen this I’m sure he’ll have some thoughts. He was making no sense when he finished!

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    I started it in May this year but didnt finish it as I broke my wrist on Conic Hill. I still cycled on to Inversnaid but to be honest do not remember much of that section because of the pain 😥

    One of my mates walked it in 4 days, the other cycled it in 3, but missed out the Inversnaid to Beinglass section as I had slowed us down too much.

    We wanted to do it over 3 days and take our time and enjoy it. This meant being able to stop at the plentiful pubs for a pint, and enjoy the scenery in the day time and the evening. I know some people have done it in a day, but personally I dont see the point, why miss out on the fantastic scenery?

    For the sake of £25 I would get a baggage company to take your bag.

    Here’s the thread I posted.

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2-3-day-route-advice-please-mtb-or-roadcx-eg-west-highland-way-etc/page/2

    GavinB
    Full Member

    I’ll possibly write something more about this, but for now working off a phone, I will keep this brief.

    First up, if you’re going to cycle the WHW, cycle the WHW. Don’t get ferries, lifts, miss out sections. There are better trails to ride nearby, so unless you can’t be bothered to grab a map and explore, ride it all.

    I was surprised at how much of the trail is rideable, and more than that, good riding too. I walked it 25 years ago (wow, before t’internet and everything), and it seems the passage of time and many boots have led to significant trail building projects. There is a good amount of singletrack, a lot of forestry track and old military roads and yet there is still that section north of Inversnaid. In balance though, the good bits outweigh the pure hard, brutal hike-a-bike section(s).

    I set off from Milngavie around 5am without my team. I was doing a solo, as one mate had done his back in, and another two had wimped out 🙂 (Sorry Moonie). I got to the Inversnaid Hotel for 0900, and then to the flagpole across from the Ardlui Hotel at 1020. This, for me, marks the end of the daft bit, as from here it’s more or less rideable. The low point for me was the section from KLL to the start of the final descent into FB, as I couldn’t remember this section (must be getting old) and underestimated how much climbing there is to do after the big climb out of KLL. I got in to FB sometime around 2030, so around 13hr15m moving, 15hr40m total.

    Would I recommend it?? Possibly, depending on your motivations and fitness levels. It is brutal. By which I mean there are prolonged periods of pushing and carrying. There is also a lot of good riding, but ideally you need to be happy manualling, bunny-hopping or doing step-overs repeatedly, even whilst tired, otherwise you are off and pushing again.

    I’m still tired after this weekend, so apologies if some of this sounds blunt. I really enjoyed it, even though it was brutal, in fact, probably because it is brutal.

    AlasdairMc
    Full Member

    I’ve done it both ways, Northbound in 23hrs (I was unfit and knackered), Southbound over a couple of days just for fun. I started on both times after the last train arrived at the respective end. Southbound I bivvied en route to Kinlochleven in an old shieling which was great, then bothy on the side of Loch Lomond which oddly I had to myself on a Saturday in April.

    The Lomond carry isn’t that bad, just remember it’s only two hours at most and completion of it means you’ll ride almost all of what is ahead of you. Just don’t be precious about your bike as it will get scratched at some point.

    I wouldn’t bother with the bag carrying service – I’ve had to wait in Fort Bill for several hours for my bag to catch up with me which was frankly miserable. Just take a bivi, sleeping bag and warm layer, then sit on the train on the way down feeling smug. Worst case, spend the money you’ve saved on not using a bag porter to buy a t-shirt and whatever in Fort William for the trip back down.

    Riding wise, it’s good fun. The descents into Kingshouse and Kinlochleven are my two favourite sections of the route.

    Neil-F
    Free Member

    I did it southbound over 3 days in May 2011, so a fairly leisurely 30 odd miles per day. We used the Bunkhouses at Bridge of Orchy and Inversnaid. 20 litre Rucksack and small stuff attached to bike, which didn’t amount to much weight. It rained for 3 days, which did dampen spirits a bit, but I’d love to do it again. The best thing about doing it southbound is that your meeting most of the walkers head on, but stick a bell on your bars anyway.
    Do it, you’ll love it. 😀

    rudedog
    Free Member

    I’ve done it twice, the first time we missed out the top section of loch lomond as we had camping gear, the second time we used a porter service and did the whole route. The section after inversnaid was terrible – 3 hours of lugging the bike about. Its really energy sapping if you’re not physically prepared for it – we were exhausted coming into Beinglas where we were staying for the night.

    Daisy_Duke
    Free Member

    it’s an epic route to do in a day but well worth the effort. Started at 3:30am and took me 16hours. By the time you’ve got to Tyndrum you’ve forgotten the horrors of Loch Lomond so don’t miss that bit out. The final run into F ‘William from KLL is mega. Do it…

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Thanks for the excellent replies.

    Just to clarify, I’m not planning on getting the ferry across to Ardlui and doing the next 8km on the road, I’m thinking of putting the bike on the ferry and meeting the support at the north end of LL. You’re quite right that means I won’t have ‘cycled’ the WHW in a day, but that isn’t the aim, I’m aiming to ‘do’ the WHW in a day. Cycling the WHW is impossible, certainly in a day. Carrying a bike along parts of the WHW and biking the majority is of course possible, but where do you draw the line? There was an interesting post from some semi sponsored bloke who used a FS for most of the route and a light hardtail for the North LL section since he was going to carry it most of the way. That seemed sensible, so maybe I should take the missus’ Stumpy HT, it’s really small and light. Actually the kids’ Islabikes are even smaller (not much lighter though) and would strap on to the rucksack easier. In fact the balance bike is even lighter. I’ll take that just to satisfy the people who think that carrying a bike along a short section of a 96 mile route is somehow more worthy than walking the same section without the bike ?

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Sorry, should have said “significantly more worthy” rather than just “more worthy”.

    ski78
    Full Member

    Just thought I’d post back in here;
    I was supposed to ride the WHW last weekend, all planned and booked up.
    Then I broke my hand at the Scottish Open Enduro on the weekend before.
    All plans were a bit scuppered.

    We still went up, but by train, climbed Ben Nevis by the tourist path and had a good meal in the evening.
    Plans have been re-made to go again probably next spring (I’ve run out of time off this year) and definitely not when I have a competition close before.

    AlasdairMc
    Full Member

    The Loch Lomond part really isn’t that bad. When I was doing it Southwards I had full bikepacking gear, so sleeping bag, mat, bivi, tarp, stove and loads of food. As long as you’re of the right mindset (“it needs to be done”) then you just power through it.

    maddyutah
    Full Member

    Scotroutes

    In the spirit of pure whwaisim do you advocate
    The Jimmie Mcgregor
    The Tam Weir
    The Muriel Grey
    Or
    The Nournie McAuley
    Version of the West highland Way?
    Just askin like

    moonboy
    Free Member

    it’s true. I wimped out. Next year…

    u02sgb
    Free Member

    The Loch Lomond part really isn’t that bad.

    To provide some balance to this – when I was going North to South the Loch Lomond side bit with a bike and full Bivvy gear is the first time I’ve had to sit myself down and get a dose of MTFU. Admittedly my idea of full bivvy gear and Alasdair’s are likely different (as I believe he’s done the HTR550).

    Still very pleased to have completed it, my mates keep talking about it and I’m not sure if I’d choose to do it again or not. I’d certainly be trying to go lighter (and be able to get stuff off the bike and onto me).

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Very impressive effort GavinB, I did a double take when I saw that ride pop up on Strava – showing half of Scotland in the little map pic!

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    The Jimmie McGregor of course. It’s essential to have helicopter backup 🙂

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    I DID IT 😛
    Everything came together beautifully for Saturday and I started at 9:15 in Milngavie. Wanted a late start as I was desperate for any sleep I could get after a hectic week.
    The bit out of Mugdock was lovely swoopy track with a real holiday atmos with all the ramblers starting out.
    The Endrick bit was lovely and fast for getting a few miles in with minimum effort.
    Conic hill is a bit shit these days. Used to be a good ride but now there’s way too many steps on it.
    Southern Loch Lomond was one of the best bits Excellent tech singletrack past loads of places I’ve been visiting on and off for 30 years. (mainly off since I moved south 12 years ago)
    Put the bike on the ferry at Inversnaid and walked to Beinglass Farm. Took nearly 2 hours so would have been quicker to ‘cycle’ it, but probably more effort.
    The sun shone pretty much all day and the trails were bone dry up until Kinloch.
    Falloch valley was great.
    Down to Tynrdum was really fun too. I was beginning to think that the trail has been slightly ruined for walkers by making it too easy. As a consequence it’s great for biking.
    The railside track down into BoO was everything I thought it would be. I must have driven past it hundreds of times and every time that track looked very tempting. And now I’ve done it.
    Good tech uphill from BoO.
    The slog across Rannoch Moor was ok, though I kept forgetting I was knackered and spinning too fast until it would hit me and I’d slow down.
    Was well funny cycling past two concerned ramblers who had camped across the track. Apparently it was the only flat ground around. I think they were worried we would run them over. Pitch black by this point.
    White Corries to Altnafeadh is pretty much free miles and no bother.
    I did have some concerns about doing the Staircase on my own but realised I was in OK shape and would never get another chance like this. The slog up was pretty bad, and to be honest most of the decent to Kinloch was pretty bad too. Too techy for me in the dark on that bike after 80 odd miles. Would like to know what it’s like in the light at some point.
    Another food stop in Kinloch and then did the last section. I was a bit phased by 25 km alone after midnight, but again decided that there was no reason to quit.
    The last section wasn’t fun either. Long slog up out of Kinloch followed by crappy up and down sections that were hard to get any speed or rythm on. Loads of ladders, loose rocks etc etc.
    Had a comedy moment when I stopped to push up a hill. Put my foot on the side of the path only to discover I was above a stream and my foot didn’t meet firm ground. Toppled over completely upside down and got a slightly sore wrist. Lucky boy.
    Got to the Fort around 3am then we nipped off to grab a couple of hours sleep.

    The thing that really surprised me was how utterly excellently fun it [nearly] all was. None of the usual boredom, pain and suffering that you usually get with long challenges. No counting off the miles, just enjoying the excellent riding and revelling in doing something I’ve dreamed about for years.

    (Apart from Altnafeadh to The Fort, that did suck a fair bit, but who cares)

    And the weather… bloody hell. Wall to wall sunshine. Partly thanks to the support, but partly due to the weather my ruksak was almost empty. No need for big gloves, jacket, waterproofs etc etc

    So chuffed to have done it. Can’t really believe it. Anyone got any accurate info on height gain?

    Kunstler
    Full Member

    Hey, well done. It is indeed a great ride – at least when done in really fine weather such as you had. That’s a heck of lot of riding in the dark and a shame not to have the daylight to do the Devil’s Staircase descent though when I did it on my WHW I had to check myself as I was a bit too fatigued to ride as fast as I would liked.

    I had the feeling that the Lairig path to Fort William was possibly my second least favourite section and have memories of it being difficult on several different occasions but went along most of it (also) on Saturday as part of the Tour de Ben Nevis and really enjoyed it.

    I’m already thinking of doing the WHW again next year – a bit quicker and a few weeks earlier to complete in daylight.

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