Up for a wee adventure on your rod-braked bike?
Come early Spring we are going to do a ride from Britain's most remote railway station, Aultnabreac. There is no road to it, only dirt tracks, no tarmac will be touched.
Expect [s]driving wetness, howling wind, puddles[/s] gentle moisturising zephyrs with cooling pools conveniently located by the track . Just what these bikes were built for. 🙂
Only 22 miles so not too hard, but if there's enough interest there's other rides in the area.
Details and date to be arranged, but I'll update this closer to the time.
(It's a long way from almost everywhere)
ooof. That is remote!
Google maps shows the railway line but not the station.
The station is somewhat discrete. I cycled past without even realising...
Track is pretty easy going. I did it on a road bike fully loaded while doing the North Coast.
That's a ****ing long way away.
Would there be any value in adding legs, eg kind of like heading south over a period of time, so different people can hook at different times?
butcher
The station is somewhat discrete. I cycled past without even realising…
Track is pretty easy going....
Aye, up there it's the weather that makes it "interesting". Can be glorious, or the other option...
BTW What route did you take to get past Aultnabreac?
How many spaces for bikes on the train?
spacemonkey
That’s a **** long way away.
Would there be any value in adding legs,...
We are intending to put together bigger easy gravel loops up there but we want to test them first.
Don't want to lose someone in a peat bog. 🙂
I'd echo scotroutes train spaces concern.
But you've piqued my interest.
scotroutes
How many spaces for bikes on the train?
It's unlikely that we'd get a big turn up the first time, so initially we're not planning on using the train, but it's a good question, and one we'll address if there's the prospect of attracting people up by train.
Realistically we don't expect anyone coming from far the first time.
I don't suppose you know of any service that transports bikes and riders by any chance? 🙂
I don’t suppose you know of any service that transports bikes and riders by any chance?
Now you come to mention it....
Surely you boys will be bussing it, no?
🤣
Up for this, depending on the date. Relatively convenient location for me!
Bloody hell I'm now searching if its possible to gravel all the way back to the Borders.
Bloody hell I’m now searching if its possible to gravel all the way back to the Borders.
Id noticed it was only 500 miles to Manchester 🤣🤣
Rod brakes only ????!
restlessshawn
Rod brakes only ????!
Any pre mtb roadster will be ok, but we are trying to encourage folk to take out the old rod brake black bikes and use them on the surfaces they were originally designed for.
They are very capable bikes, see https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/most-suitable-bike-for-gravel-ive-found-the-opposite/
(That may be repeated next summer, but looping down to Strath Rusdale from Alladale for more gravel)
But we're not snobs, so any of that modern muck is welcome too. We may ask you to oil your brake disks or rims so you have stopping power equal to ours. It's just a bike ride and some fun. 🙂
There's a FB group Rod Brake Roadster Randonneurs
Ride the bike that changed the world!
The simple, tough, unbreakable heavyweight dreadnought, that is still doing sterling service in the undeveloped world over 130 years after it was invented.
A bike you can cross the planet on and fix anywhere.
This group is about riding the bikes like they were ridden in the past.
We're not fussy about details - you can have a genuine 1890 Raleigh or a brand new Indian Atlas.
A rough rule of thumb - if it was built before 1920, it's in regardless of what brakes it has.
If it has bolt on seatstays, it's in regardless of what brakes it has.
If it has rod-brakes, it's definitely in -regardless. 🙂
And that same rule of thumb can be bent to suit anything that's in the spirit of the group.
It's not about being a collector or a veteran enthusiast - although many of us will be - we're here to ride the bikes hard like they should be, not polish them (although that's not discouraged).
If you've read this far, hopefully you'll realise this is not a ride for folk who take life too seriously.
There's heaps of old bikes out there you can pick up for around £25 or free. Spend a couple of quid on a bag of new ball bearings, replace the ancient tyres and tubes, and you're good to go. If the bike has a full chaincase then the 60+ year old chain is probably still perfect. Cheap fun.
Bloody hell I’m now searching if its possible to gravel all the way back to the Borders.
Then F&C/Union Canals to the outskirts of Edinburgh, then over the Pentlands to Peebles, Gypsy Glen route to Selkirk.
onehundredthidiot
Bloody hell I’m now searching if its possible to gravel all the way back to the Borders.
Good idea. 🙂
I'm working on a route from Drummore to Dunnet Head, ie most southern point and most northern point of mainland Scotland. (For next year)
To be done on a rod brake bike and with as little tarmac as possible.
someone's beaten you to it @epicyclo - check the Faultline route here http://www.albannach.cc/rides/
cosmokramer
someone’s beaten you to it @epicyclo – check the Faultline route
Even better.
I've no idea what the riding is like in the southern parts (scared of being speared by the natives), so my route would have been guesswork for that part.
Looks pretty well ideal.
this did pique my interest till i realised it was 700 miles away from home!
still pretty cool, post pics and route if you do do it as it would be really interesting.
Hope it's a good ride