Morning….

Was just talking to Gary, who’s off to wish the GT24 partakers some bonhomie this morning.

However, he also told me that he’s got an alternative mission planned today as well, which sounded interesting. In usual whirlwind style, he’s getting his bike ready etc, so I said I would post some info on it here for those who are interested in this kind of endurance thing. I think he’s remembered to take his helmet…. 🙂

So anyway: today, he is off and riding the 212 mile Southern Upland Way, from Portpatrick to Cockburnspath along with Angus Hamilton, fellow WHWer etc, and the very tough Roddy Weir- unsupported and non-stop. Target: 36hrs. Should be interesting.

I know from various chats that he’s been eyeing it up for couple of years and this is a good time to do it. I think there will be a SPOT tracker link available a bit later today that I’l stick up here.

There might not be any great interest in this, as the SUW is usually dismissed as troublesome due to the logistics for starting and finishing, but it has never been completed non-stop. As some will know, the excellent adventure-racer rider, Alex Pilkington tried earlier this summer, but spun off to road routes to reach the finish, in about 32hrs.

Anyway- the weather has clouded in a bit and there’s now some rain, which should make it more interesting.

There will be lots of pushing through bogs, especially considering how wet June was!.

Bravo though!.

Yeah, will definitely be a bit boggy, NBITF…bravo indeed. He’s on his Highball for extra hardcoreness.

Spot tracker is here, says he’ll enable it at 12:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0dJtpXiIisBsJhn9oE2O9qdB3KMTy6kDg

I have done random bits and they were hard enough in places so respect for doing the lot in such a short time!

Will be good to hear their bits to avoid, I’ve only ever did the stuff up around wanlockhead, always fancied a wee 2 dayer into the tweed valley n back from sanquhar.

I’ll get him to write up a race report when he’s finished, should be instructive.

I pity him as there is torrential rain and thunderstorms here in galloway this morning 🙁 , and i mean really torrential. I did it with a mate back in the mid 90’s and it took us 3 days in the height of an august heatwave so i hope he has breathing apparatus to pass through the many bogs given the current weather forecast for this weekend.

Best of luck to them though, I’ll be following (from the comfort of my chair) 😉

Bit windy to go with the rain. Done most of it from Sanquhar to Inners, as above, lost of push/carry 🙁
Worst bit imo is from the radar station above Wanlockhead, better going down Enterkin Burn if a wee cheat is allowed 😉 Enterkin can be ridden all the way to Dalveen Pass, the SupW from the radar station is more hike’a bike 😐
Windfarm above Daer Res has changed the route a wee bit into Beattock/Moffat
Moniave tomSanquhar could be interesting(only done once)

An idea for nobeer 💡 Park in Sanquhar, ride SupW to Dumfries, get train back to Sanquhar, 50 or 60ml depending on route chosen

Sounds guid big JH, just saying to mates last week that I’ve not ridden Enterkin pass in a few years, need to get down soon. Ye fancy a spin?.

Be end Sept/October before I get a free weekend 🙄 Gave up working shifts a year ago 😆 Off to Switchbacks for a long weekend at end of August the working 2nd weekend when I come back. MrsT is also hinting at an Autumn holiday so another trip to Freeridemadeira might be on the cards 😉
We usually get the 9am train up to Sanquhar on a Sat morning

Rain, thunder and lightening since. 3pm here in Dumfries, many roads partially flooded in and around town which I’ve not seen for a long time. Lots of blocked drains by the looks of it, the rain was heavy however. Should drown the midges but the big black flies will flace them

Check the ditches for dead sheep before taking water!!!!!

I’ll wait for ye big fella, been too long.

What happened?, did the weather & ground conditions get the better of them?

Our west>east ride ended at Sanquhar after 24h:47m and 4hrs in Polskeoch bothy. The ride was really memorable and becomes most taxing at night. Flooding rain, rivers and drenched ground. Though we pushed on thro this with little delay, the main issue is the poor nature of the trail surfaces esp in late summer. Just too slow, and totally busted our terminus logistics. The remote segments of the trail must be really difficult to maintain or improve. It’s a dying trail asset. Still interested to now do Sanquhar to Cockburnspath next though!

Here Somafunk, an August heatwave ye say? That must have been the last one I reckon….mid 90’s right enough!June/July has turned into the rainy season this last few years 🙄

Aye, it’s a brutal surface, well done though Gary, many wouldn’t attempt it.

Sorry to hear that gary but given the current state of the ground underfoot you did bloody good to get that far in 24hrs without throwing a strop/hissy fit, especially after the rain on sat morning. The terrain (away from forest roads) is not conducive to navigation by bike as it’s barely navigable by foot after heavy rain – endless boggy sections to wade through and tussocks to climb, There has been talk of improvements with regard to passage by bikes but it would take a serious financial investment to make a noticeable difference and in our current climate i imagine it’s put on hold yet again. If i ever win the lottery i always said i’d invest a significant wad of cash to make it passable all the way as it would be a genuine boost of tourism into the area

caddy134 : yeah….august heatwave’s are but a distant memory of my mid 20’s, we never took any shelters/tents with us but camped out in sleeping bags under the stars…..and picked the tics off each other over breakfast like the primitive apes we are – halcyon days indeed 😀

Worst flooding: The Water of Trool had burst its banks and we were cycling in the decent riverside gravel path with a grade 3 spate river alongside – water level above our wheel hubs! Worst ground: All ground was saturated, gravel roads draggy, bracken full and encroaching, grass high, heather and baby firs growing in the forestry firebreak trails, fallen trees – resorted to crawling and dragging bikes. Metal kissing gates and stiles: Lots! But it helped in our team of 3, to help handle the haul-over. Otherwise, we actually enjoyed the trail variety and navigational concentration reqd – counted approx 400 marker posts (gotta keep mind active!)

Somafunk. Thanks for the insights. It’s a troublesome trail in terms of asset. The WHWay is everything and the SUWay is struggling to show face. It appears to have very few users, is a flawed route design concept, is difficult to maintain, struggles against global warming, and is difficult to complete by walkers. I have even more drastic opinions…

But curiosity causes me to look at it again.. East half next

It’s lack of use and lack of bedrock that’s it’s undoing. I live by another tourist path, the river Ayr way, granted its only 50 miles in length, but at this time of year it’s completely unrideable due to the bracken.

They’re both at the same point, either invest, or forget about them.