Highland Trail 550

The SPOT sometimes has a habit of dropping signal. If (When) they do it will just update and ping the next time it does, then the mapping tool just draws a straight line. Image below will give an idea, going South to North, my SPOT dropped out near the top then gave big gaps:

Thus you get straight lines. Phil will have to send a GPX anyway to make sure the route completion is a real one. I don’t doubt it is.

Nikk and I met up again today – at the pie shop in Lochinver now just refuelling for the afternoon.

The top loop was brutal yesterday – hoping to get to Ullapool today for my weekly wash.

Scratch Update:

Martin Rutherford has scratched with Knee issues.

Nothing but massive respect for all you peeps still out there, the weather’s been brutal the last few days. Hopefully it’ll ease up a bit for you all!! 8)

Yeah, the course the tracker has sent to the map is bonkers. I’m pretty sure that if I was expecting a nice road section down Loch Maree I’d have turned back before making an ascent of Liathach across it’s summit ridge. Mind you, having seen the effort that’s been put in so far….

love this. bonkers.

love this. bonkers.

Wait till next month. Then the big one starts the Tour Divide. I was supposed to be there this year, but am not due to too many things.

The TD is very different to HT550, less technical, but much -much -much longer days in the saddle.

Phil is about to hit one of the steepest pushes in the race -then into some of the best riding in the race as well. It looked like this last year:

Who knew that watching dots move slowly across Scotland could be so compulsive?

Just had an email from Rich… apparently the weather is lovely, but this could just be in comparison to yesterday. No mention of sore knees so I think he mmust have sold them on eBay.

I know he is checking in on this thread occasionally, as are others. I guess that they could all do with words of encouragement at this stage. So for the stubborn sods at the back.

Rich – doing well for a grumpy old man. Minipips wants to follow in your pedal strokes.
IONA – what an incredible effort. Keep it up girl.
Markus – what has possesed you to do it with one gear????

dotwatcher – Member
Who knew that watching dots move slowly across Scotland could be so compulsive?…

It’s compulsive all right. Stayed up late watching the crawling dots, then up early to watch them. And in between I dreamt I was doing it – woke up exhausted.

So I hate to think how the real racers are feeling.

Keep it up lads & lass. 🙂

Seriously impressed by everyone in the HTR.. looks really tough going. The chances of a really wet few days would by my biggest concern there so hats off to everyone who started out.

Is anyone doing this at a resonable/human pace, like 70 mile days and 8 hours sleep per night rather than total?

Can you do the Highland Trail anytime? and does it have a time limit?

I have been wiling Iona up the hill to CP4 all morning and nearly cried at Markus’ wrong turning. That must have been heartbreaking. It is good to see that he has recovered.

As for Rich, I got up at 5:15 on Sunday to make him a cup of coffee before realising delivery from our kitchen in Hayfield could be a little problematic. I know it was Simon Barnes’ comment up thread that made him go on when he stopped in Strathpeffer. He had sounded really spent on the phone a couple of minutes earlier.

Is anyone doing this at a resonable/human pace, like 70 mile days and 8 hours sleep per night rather than total?

Al. I think richpipps is doing it at a more sensible pace……hats off to him still.
these blokes deserve to big respect.

Can you do the Highland Trail anytime? and does it have a time limit?

It’s an open course – you can do it whenever. There is no time limit. However, remember you have to carry what you eat and there are BIG sections wth 100+ miles with no food stops. So moving faster is easier in a perverse way.

More info here: http://www.highlandtrail.net/%5B/url%5D

Should also add the ‘other’ UK rides that are out there: http://selfsupporteduk.net/%5B/url%5D

Please note, these are not official races, just suggested routes. You’re on your own out there. Please, realise this before you do anything rash.

I think richpipps is doing it at a more sensible pace

I think he is timing it so that the kids will be back at school when he finishes…… so very sensible pace.

Scratch Update:

Michael Cleveland has left and is in Switzerland somehow!

Scratch Update:

Michael Cleveland has left and is in Switzerland somehow!

That’s a fair navigation error!

Went to the start and there were a lot of midges about this year. Gary Thomsett had forgotten all his riding kit including helmet. So my socks are travelling quicker than ever before! He got sorted with the rest of his kit as well, including a helmet.

Sunday morning was unpleasant where I was. Saw the Singletrack mag van North of Moffat as it came past me. Gave me plenty of room but I really needed a ‘sticky bottle’ 😉

Just catching up as I toured back to England.

Some pics here of the start:

HTR550[/url]

GregMay – Member
…Please note, these are not official races, just suggested routes. You’re on your own out there. Please, realise this before you do anything rash.

Don’t worry. I live up here and I’ve seen what can happen to the overconfident and unwary. 🙂

Gary Thomsett had forgotten all his riding kit including helmet.

Bit of an oversight. 😀

Following this with lots of interest, after the Selkirk marathon a few weeks ago (ok I was ill as well but it felt like a survival task) can imagine how hard it is. Pretty awesome people! Can’t work out how anyone can forget their kit AND helmet though 🙂 Even I couldn’t do that!

Gary had put all his riding kit in one box and then forgot to pick the box up before leaving home.

Ah well good for him getting it sorted, must’ve been pretty annoying with so much to organise for it!

More important – who had a spare helmet with them and why?

At the last count there were 3 helmets, 1 bent derailleur, a couple of pumps, 2 bob the builder hats and 19 (that is no typo) pairs of shoes. On this occasion it was not me with the spares, so it is good to see that someone else has a skip masquerading as a car.

For Gary to do that and forget stuff… Not like him at all…

FWIW, there is an 8 day “cut off” period to get an official time. I’ve been looking at Ionas track and she is on schedule to make it.

scotroutes – Member
FWIW, there is an 8 day “cut off” period to get an official time. I’ve been looking at Ionas track and she is on schedule to make it.

That’s good.

Do you reckon the leaders will waste time sleeping tonight? They’re getting close.

Markus must almost be able to smell the pies! Hope the Lochinver Larder is serving… 8)

At the other culinary extreme, Phil should make it into Fort Bill in time for a Big Mac 🙂

Gary T’s missing box: might have been my fault…. 🙁

He came round to see me just before leaving, and I kept him gassing about all the stuff he was taking. I even got some shots of the bulk of the kit. I think I distracted him.

Sorry Gaz.

The ITT attempt was 8 days last year when the distance was ‘only’ 400 miles. Not sure if Alan has forgotten to add a bit of time for the extra distance or just making it tougher.

Gary T just shouted out at the cafe if anybody had a spare helmet and some guy next to him just handed him one. Whose second bottomed chamois is he riding in though? He wasn’t trying to blame anyone for his oversight. Not met him before but seemed a nice guy – if occasionally forgetful;-)

His reckoning was that everyone that completed last year did it in 6 days, so 8 was just fine now 🙂

Willing Markus on to Suileag at least, mostly straightforward quad track although wouldn’t fancy the singlespeed up a couple of those steep scrabbly bits…

Iona to Achmelvich
Markus to Suileag
Richpips – dunno. Elphin is close but then there’s an easy road section to Oykel Bridge (but he’ll likely miss opening hours)
Alasdair and Nik to Ullapool
Johann and Craig must have started out again by now?
Think Gunther will stop at Shenavall (with Dave)?
Keith to Carnmore (to meet up with Alan?)
Gary to Kinlochewe
Tom and Steve have a bit of no-mans land coming up though there’s a bothy available.
Andrew to Tomich
Phil to, well, who knows?

I’d assumed Richpips was already pitched up, there are some nice spots by the lochside there if I remember.

Dave’s past Shenavall and just forded the river! Wonder if he’s aiming for the locked bothy across the way (Lochivraon, is there a shelter round the back of it?). Maybe he saw Keiths lights and has given chase (is it dark at 10pm? I’m on Vancouver time, dark by 9ish).

Think Lichd house had an unlocked shelter for Tom and Steve, doubt you could fit two lying down in it though 😀 Camban would be a good 2 hours off at least.

This is great fun, already trying to figure out how to find the time next year or following… (and the training, and the equipment, and the complete M-ingTFU which would be required, 50km days probably don’t cut it here!)

Rich is definitely on the move (slowly)
Lochivraon is the wrong way 🙂
Not dark yet either Ian, remember how far north they are 🙂

Good luck if you attempt it next year.

Phil – still moving, I can’t imagine he will stop now unless he falls asleep on the bike.

Gunter has turned around and is going backwards. I wonder if he has had enough or has had a mechanical. Alan mentioned that he was cooked when he rode into Ullapool with him.