Highland Trail 550

have pinged a friend near to KLL to see if assistance can be offered.. at least some accomm.

I was at Contin riding the puffer course yesterday and rode briefly with Mark McPhillips. I was amazed how far he’d gone so quickly and he was only in 9th! He seemed tired but in good fettle. Gutted for Andy Toop. That’s a tough race that, huge respect to all even thinking about attempting it.

Alan Parkinson (not Partridge) has now scratched.

He had a crash two days ago, took a day out, it’s not right so he’s pulled out.

Is Brian Dawson out? Looks like he is passed Strathpeffer so off route and heading home?

Cheering on Iona……she’s a legend even to have just started given that she mashed her ankle up earlier in the year and was off the bike for weeks. GO IONA!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE respect for her.

Think Bryan is out Sanny.

Message via Ken at 7.30 this morning. Conditions/weather proving tough…

Was going well too.

Phil Simcock is a machine!

Confirmed scratch for Bryan Dawson.

I reckon that’s 15 of 36 “scratched” so far (though some have shortened the route).

I bumped into Ian Barrington yesterday lunchtime just past Garve (I was on my way to Torridon and saw he was about to pass). He was feeling very tired, not having had much sleep in the bothy on account of arriving late and everyone else getting up early. He had planned a wee bivi in the woods but the midge were horrendous.

I think the fastest guys are getting the best of the weather too. It was drier in the more northerly reaches yesterday and better way out west today

Confirmed scratch for Michael Gruenert

I can confirm the presence of midgies.

From Michael:

I am out, definitly. I am sitting in the train back to Tyndrum. Hope to get there in the evening.
The why question? If I am starting in a race like this I expect to male some progess. First day 100 mies in almost 15 hours. Yesterday 60 miles in just abtut 10 hours in real nasty weather. Fitness for my personal level was quite good. But maybe not good enough for this countless boggy sections. I’ve got the notion I was more pushing my bike than riding it. And I don’t expect any improvement for the next days. My deepest respect all those who are going to finish the race under those really bad conditions.

Michael Gruenert

Maybe Markus made the right decision to stop half a mile short of Melgarve bothy then! I didn’t know if he knew it was there or not, could see the cluster of dots of other people staying in it.

It’s pissing down here on the east coast at the moment.

If it’s like that over west, the misery quotient will be high…

Very interesting to see how slow Phil was going through the Fisherfield traverse. Does not bode well for others… Got a text from Alan G, it’s been raining all day on the top loop as well.

There’s a big climb from Strath na Sealga to the high point of the Fisherfield traverse, can’t imagine anyone climbing it under any conditions, and the lower section looked like it could be VERY wet if the river was high.

Plus the Strath itself of course, at least one high river crossing and maybe lots of extra saturated bog in between? Lucky guys! (and girl..) 8)

Been there last year 🙂 It’s a big push.

I knew Phil Simcock before he was famous 😀

He is smashing it at the moment (as those who know him knew he would), but everyone out there doing it is utterly bonkers and as hard as nails.

Seriously. Awesomeness all over the live tracking website.

(Go Phil. Woo!)

I’m very glad I missed out on a place in this madness now 😯
It’s finally dried up here and is a fairly fine evening. Forecast is much better tomorrow for the hardcore still in it.

I missed it because there were 67 iirc entered. From that, 36 started, now down to 21 by the looks of it.
Just getting round this course at all withint the alloted time is a major achievement.

Next year..

IB (Iain Barrington?) appears to have found the Suileag Bothy! 😀

Iona Evans has leapt along the course? Tracker problems? Or have I not been paying attention?

Midge-free I hope.

Iona Evans has leapt along the course? Tracker problems? Or have I not been paying attention?

Her Tracker has been playing up – or she has it set in a poor position.

Mark McPhillips has called it in Ullapool. Weather and riding for 36 hours straight have taken their toll.

Off to bed, I’ll update with any more dropouts in the morning.

Go Hutchy! Hope his hands and wrists don’t play up and go numb like after the Puffer. Absolutely flying.

martinxyz – Member
Go Hutchy! Hope his hands and wrists don’t play up and go numb like after the Puffer. Absolutely flying.

I reckon everything will be numb by now.

Colin is probably wishing he’d done it now. 🙂

Keith looks like he’s doing well, but doesn’t seem to have started yet this morning.

I wonder if they have the thick morning mist over there as well.

Colin isn’t wishing he’d done it, though he’s wishing he had the mental fortitude to be able to do it!

Looks like we have three folk with navigation errors this morning. Markus is off down the wrong descent and it’ll be heart breaking when he realises. Craig has missed a turn onto some singletrack into Achmelvich and Gunther seems to have turned onto the northbound route at Oykel Bridge (though it looks like he made a mistake in the same place on the way north too). I feel like shouting through the screen at them 🙂

Ahh the joys of watching sleep deprived people try to read a GPS screen 🙂

So, this morning Neil Evans has scratched. He had a bad day on the bike yesterday and is still feeling s**tty so he is out and touring back south under his own speed.

Another scratch from Martin Rutherford:

That’s me dropped out – well, I dropped out yesterday but have only just got home now.

I made it to Fort Augustus on Sunday afternoon and headed along the Great Glen, but my knee blew up (not literally). Having had this before I reckoned I’d better head back for Tyndrum rather than push further north. Followed the return route from Fort Augustus – spinning slowly was bearable but I couldn’t get any power through my knee – will see what warranty I have in place for it.

Markus has turned around and is correcting his navigational error.

He could have dropped something, it’s happened to me before. Leaving a wallet on a rock in the middle of nowhere…it’ll be there, but it is a pain in the ass.

He had taken a wrong turning and headed off down the wrong track. He’s back on route now.

Scratch update:

Steve Large is out, knees are gone and he is going to ride back on the road. All well otherwise.

Is it just me or does the tracker website show Phil Simcock going quite a way off route as he makes his way down the west coast?

Not sure if its a glitch in the tracker system or something else wierd

Gutted to say that Ian Barrington from Wildcat is scratching from the HT550 with an inflamed Achilles tendon.

Is it just me or does the tracker website show Phil Simcock going quite a way off route as he makes his way down the west coast?

Not sure if its a glitch in the tracker system or something else wierd

It’s possibly you. He’s on route to Dornie where I’m looking at him

hey greg, do a rewind, 10pm through 1am. Phil Simcock looks way off route to me too. If that isnt a tracker error that will be gutting.

I really hope its an error with the tracking and not a navigational error. It would be awful!

don’t know how these trackers / plotters work but that’s just a straight line error? couldn’t cover that ground at that speed in the dark…

There are no actual plots in between Poolewe and Torridon YH, just an after the event interpolation..

madness – the though of doing 5 or 6 BB200’s back to back makes me feel odd 😳

madness – the though of doing 5 or 6 BB200’s back to back makes me feel odd 😳

after making it 149 miles into the Welsh c2c before scratching due to weather (but no bugs / beasties), I have soooooooo much respect for these dudes!

would love to say next year but I think a big audax style event beckons first!

Looking at the track again it seems to be very much a straight line, going directly across ridgelines etc, rather than round them. There then seems to be a pause before continuing along the correct route. This may add weight to it being a tracking glitch

At “lochinver larder” with alasdair at the moment. Weather now fabulous sun and gentle breeze. Feel good slept like a baby at wee old lady b+b near kylesku , she even washed and dried my clothes!