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Can someone help my poor memory?
Planning a loop from Glenmore that takes in the descent off Macdui by Etchachan down to the Hutchison hut then loops back north to Glenmore - obvious route on the map is heading north on the Lairig an Laoigh.
Pretty sure I've ridden this southbound to the ford at the bottom of Loch Avon and it was OK, but I've also attempted a similar route through Strath Nethy. One of them was horrendous - think it was Strath Nethy but I can't quite recall (it was so bad I've blocked it out).
tldr: is the section of the Lairig an Laoigh between the Loch Avon refuge and the Ryvoan path mostly rideable?
Cheers!
Walked it last summer but never ridden it. Think there’s a lot of hike a bike until you get to shoulder of bynack more. Quite boggy for a good stretch. Seem to recall bikepackers being warned off it due to soul destroying nature of it.
Partly rideable. Works best southbound. The descent off Bynack Mor towards Glenmore requires a bit of caution if you don't want to bash rims and rip tyres on the water bars
As for Strath Nethy - Sanny reckons that's Gaelic for "Glen of Despair".
Thanks both. It'll need to be south-north for what I've got in mind. Couldn't remember which was the awful one.
Been up and down Bynack More on the cx before, it's a festival of water bar bunny hopping!
edit double dunt
I'd say the descent from bynack more to Glenmore is less brutal for the water bars than going southbound from bynack into Avon.
You can ride nigh on all the way up bynack more if you are so inclined from glenmore.
You cannot even get close from the south.
You'd need to be a proper dead sailor for Bynack More waterbars to bite tbh, none of them are big tbh.
the ones that are big are huge your bike fits in the bottom of them 😀
the ones that are big are huge your bike fits in the bottom of them
Yep. It's thats OK, that's OK, that's OK, HOLY ****!
Everytime I think of that section of "trail", I think, "Ah, it's not that bad, 75% rideable, 25% push", then I get there and realise the trauma of the previous trip has altered my memory and it is actually 25% rideable and 75% push.
It isn't actually trauma, just annoying. It is SO close to being no problem. If the rocks were 5mm lower and 5cm better spaced it would be easy.
I was certain the Glen Derry waterbars had been specifically designed to put off cyclists...
I'll take partly rideable!
Had an eye on the Macdui-Hutchie hut descent for ages, hopefully it's a price worth paying.