[Closed] Will be having a go at the Bealach na Ba this weekend.

I intended to do it on an Orange 5, including the radio mast bit, last October, The weather however was ****in dreadful.
Didnt even ride the bike all week.
Good luck. Hills are only as steep as you want them to be. (apparently)

Not since last summer.

Next June

Never without an engine

I'm hatching a daft plan that includes cycling up Bealach na Ba with full camping / cooking / packrafting bikepacking kit. I am wondering how totally unable I will be to get even 1/4 of the way up without walking it / being reduced to tears. Anyone cycled up it with 10 kilos of kit on their bike?

nikk - Member
...Anyone cycled up it with 10 kilos of kit on their bike?

Yes. It's just a big long hill with some tricky bits at the z-bends. You may find it a good idea to stop a few times and take some pics of the stunning view and have a brew up.

Are you a riding god?

Seriously though, how would you rate your fitness and size, and what was it like? Did you clear it?

Not these days...

Fitness crap. Size average. Had no intention of clearing it. Was out to enjoy a ride.

Cool thanks.

I have driven up it. That was fun.

Much much smaller hills have had me walking before with all my kit on the bike. I guess I should put in some weight training round GT with the kit to get me used to the idea.

Stopping for tea and pics sounds like more fun than grinding up it in a oner.

If the scenery is good, why hurry through it...

all hills mental issues if you have a little bit of fitness. given that you are going cycle touring you will be more than capable of getting up it, it's just a question of whether you want to..

The steepest bit is just before the zig-zags. If you can make it to there, it's a doddle 🙂

Might be worth phoning the [url= http://www.applecross.uk.com/inn/ ]Applecross Inn[/url] to check on conditions - I'm sure I heard the Bealach was / is closed due to snow already this year...

(...on the climb, in the sleet...)
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>I'm hatching a daft plan that includes cycling up Bealach na Ba with full camping / cooking / packrafting bikepacking kit.<

Sounds like purgatory - you could always paddle round from Loch Kishorn and lug 10kg of bike on the raft 😉

Besides 10kg isnt a big deal on the road

>I'm sure I heard the Bealach was / is closed due to snow already this year...<

Not in these mild conditions it's not. You might be confusing it with the Strome to Strathcarron road which is blocked by rockfall near the avalanche tunnel. I think the ferry is being temporarily reinstated this time.

Forecast is for a significant temp drop this weekend btw

Only 20% -ish innit? We've got steeper hills round here. Ok it's long, but just sit and grind it out. Maybe not with a 42/21 bottom gear, but take it steady and you'll be reet. Brew halfway sounds spot on!

[i]The steepest bit is just before the zig-zags.[/i]

He ain't wrong. It also looks the flattest, and is thus a bit of a head**** 🙂

I was there a couple of years ago for the Bealach Beag and met a lad doing a sponsored JOGLE ride (following the coast 😯 ) and he had an old bike with a what looked like 11-21 cassette and a 53/39 double, and he had that much kit on it I could only lift one end at a time. He got over the pass from the Applecross side, must have had fun on the way down the other side...

Only 20% -ish innit?

Not even, think it approaches 15% before the zig zags, although it does stay at 15% for slightly longer than is comfortable, and of course you've already climbed 2/3 of the hill at that point.

I was definitely starting to wobble just before the zig-zags, was out of the saddle in the smallest gear for bits just to ease the legs.

Hmm yeh steepest bit at the top before the zig zags... I remember getting out the car and feeling how steep it felt just standing there.

[img] [/img]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30225435@N00/5045347820/in/photostream

Rode it May 2010 in sunshine with light touring kit on a road bike. As said upthread, it's just a long hill. Don't give yourself nightmares about it; you could walk up it in 2-3 hours if you had to.

Photo looking back from the hairpins:
[img] [/img]

Great photo, looks like a model!

I've never ridden it but did drive over it in the Morris.

The verical slats on the radiator grille are thermostatically opened like a venetian blind. They nearly tried a second lap. The needle on the calorometer mounted above the radiator read Boil. The fuel is delivered via an Autovac which sucks fuel from the tank to the carb using the vacuum from the inlet manifold. Low revs and high fuel demand meant it ran lean all the way to the top.

I think the riding experience will be similar.

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Great photo, looks like a model!

It's a great ride, don't forget there's plenty of undulations round the coast road to cope with as well! Me and the wife did it last February and conditions were fine as the road was clear and there was even a view from the top! Will be back again next month to stay in our usual haunt so will probably do it again unless the weather finally turns, in which case I might have to pack the mountain bike.

don't forget there's plenty of undulations round the coast road to cope with as well!

Ssssshh! don't tell him about the coast road after it, finding out for yourself is all part of the fun 8)

Yeah, the coast road is evil if you think you've done with climbing hills for the day. 🙂

Dunno about the OP flockofffish, but I was planning on staying in applecross for the night, then continuing on the coffin road singletrack the next day to Kenmore.

Heather Bash - you could always paddle round from Loch Kishorn and lug 10kg of bike on the raft

Yeh that looks like a 4k exposed sea crossing, and maybe a 9k paddle all in... maybe the hill is less risky and, dare I say it, easier?

I was pulling your leg 😉

I am intrigued by the Pakraft thing. On the face of it, it sounds like a great idea but for me it does look like the rafting is compromised by the bike and vice versa.

Hats off to you for giving it a go though. Loch Torridon over to Diabaig would be a good crossing in the right conditions.

Hey Heather - For fla****er crossings, the bike doesn't really compromise the raft, when packed properly. For grade 2+ and over white water, the bike would start to be a possible problem IMHO.

I think bikepacking is a compromise in any case. I mean, camping compromises cycling, cycling compromises walking, everything makes everything else slower in that you are having to carry it all. But that is what I love about it, all the different aspects of being out there and doing it, self reliant, taking routes no one else has done before, looking at a map and figuring out how you can get from A to B the most interesting way.

Loch Torridon over to Diabaig is part of my plan... Imagine waking up in Applecroft, doing the Coffin Road, then into the sea at Kenmore, out at Diabaig, then miles more singletrack to Redpoint etc etc rinse and repeat 🙂

The plan is to cycle / packraft from Morar to Cape Wrath, sticking to the coast as much as I can within reason. I think there are 8 sea loch crossings in all on the route, and one wee freshwater diversion.