Lairig an Laoigh

Thought I’d post some comments on this ride as I found it hard to glean any real info from the various searches I’ve done on the Internet.
I rode it South to North on Saturday as part of the loop that includes Feshie and Morlich, and I would say it would be much better done in the other direction:In the 10km between the Choire Etchachan turn-off and the top of the Bynack More shoulder (almost exclusively uphill), I don’t think I rid more than 10% of it; I could see that some of it was rideable, but not when you’re trying to conserve your energy for the whole ride! North to South would be 70% ridable for me.
The Fords of A’an are pretty touch and go when the 2ft deep meltwater is flying past at 15 knots!
The descent down to Ryvoan, the raison d’etre for doing it anti-clockwise has been spoilt by being rebuilt with man eating culverts and water bars; I flatted twice in as many minutes and had to walk 3 miles untill some kind passing soul gave me a tube!
The west bank of the Feshie using the ford at the trackend is a much more efficient way of making progress than the east bank.

I did it in the same direction but on the Glen Avon, Glen Builg loop via Braemar and found the same. From the start of the Laoigh (where it starts going up) to the Faindouran lodge is a real hike – if we were on our bikes 20% of the time I’d be surprised (It flattens out once in Glen Avon but it’s still rough going).

In hindsight that loop would seem to work much better anti-c, but it’s a few years since I did it so maybe there was a reason for going clockwise.

The South North route is tough, and it is always TOUGHER than I remember, but IMO it is significantly more than 50% ridable, maybe not 80% though. Having said that, we have only ever cut around the lower slopes of Beinn Mheadahoin when descending from MacDhui, from about the Hutchison Hut, aiming to join the Lairig path as high up as possible. That’s not particularly easy going either… Fords of Avon must have been tasty this w/e with the melt going full.

And the East bank of the Feshie is classic trail. Did you do the loop in a one-er? If so, well done.

EDIT: From what I remember, the key to riding the Lairig path in a northerly direction, even on the equally frustrating ‘flatter’ stuff, is that you need to somehow keep up some kind of speed/momentum whilst avoiding tooth-shattering crank-strike. Not easy. IIRC the rocks are mainly securely fixed in the ground, and very awkwardly spaced. 29er?

49er more like it! It was more the concentration level required not to bury the front wheel behind the boulders that worried me..
Day trip from Embra; ended up taking 10 1/2 hours as I lost 1 1/2 hours with the puncture fiasco. Could see the trail on the otherside of the Feshie looked braw, but needed to save time/energy.
Caught up with a guy on a supermarket full-susser at the Geldie watershed..now that’s a fine way to keep fit!

You are absolutely correct about the concentration thing. We went to do Jock’s Road and I got spooked at the top and made a total balls up of the whole thing. OTB twice…

Rode up to Bynack Mor this morning. The new path is a lot more rideable up than before but is a lit less fun as a descent than before. The summit descent off Bynack Mor is techy ace.

Rode from MacDhui a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it. You need to accept there will be carrying at some points though. Nothing terrible unlike Strath Nethy (shudder)

The new path is a travesty, did you see the polar bear at the kiosk, selling ice cream to tourists, tough call to survive summer.