West Highland Way – 1 day

I am eyeing up doing the west highland way in one day. Done a bit of reading on here and found a few posts who did it by setting off at 4am and finishing around 10pm…. I would be doing it on my 29er hardtail and solo. Never walked or really seen the route before, is it easy to follow ? any suggestions etc. Summer solstace looks a decent day to try on 😀

Avoid the 18th/19th June to try on as it’ll be full of runners

Not done the lower part but from Crianlarich to Ft William is easy to follow, well signposted plus there aren’t that many alternatives so if you’ve gone wrong then you’ve really gone wrong!!

Aye easy enough to follow although ironically I think most of the difficult navigation is near the start i.e. through Mugdock and in and around Drymen.

Be careful with layering and stops/starts etc. My attempt floundered when I stopped for a long lunch at the Kingshouse after several hours in the rain but didn’t have any dry layers to change into, after an hour of shivering indoors in a wet merino top I stepped back outside into the wind and rain and though “F–k this” and gave up. I think simply having a change of shorts/base layer in my rucsac would have made the world of difference at that point.

Or not stopping at the Kingshouse for several hours….

I’ve ridden the bit from Drymen up the loch and it is pretty easy to follow. Depending on how pure you want to do it there is a road up the first bit which avoids the stairs that you keep having to push up. Not a massive problem but it depends how comfortable you will be getting the whole thing done in time. We also took a forest road option higher up rather than the true walking path which was a bit quicker. Looked like a genuine alternative on the map. We turned and went to Comer but I hear the bit north of there is tricky. Plenty of blogs around. I’d want to think about footwear. The merits of spd shoes for riding vs approach shoes for the walking bits.

It was also busy even on a wet day. Might even be worth fitting a bell as I got bored of saying excuse me. Most people were very nice though and we only got one angry red sock in 50 miles.

Or not stopping at the Kingshouse for several hours…

Is this not a pre-requisite to saying you’ve done it though? If you’re not stopping for a massive bowl of chips and a pint of coke at the Kingshouse then you might as well just not bother with the Inversnaid hike-a-bike either 8)

I knew someone who did this on a 10-speed road bike in the early 80s just after they opened it – proper hardcore

The Kingshouse bar is a temperature version of the Tardis: colder on the inside than the outside. 🙄

cheers… Keen to stick 100% to the “real” route if possible. I have a light 29er so can carry it on my back fairly easily if needed. Footware I was going to use some old Nike air trainers that I always ride in (appricaite these are not ideal but probably a good mid way shoe). Going to carry a 30ltr rucksack with a change of clothing.

I think my biggest concern is mechanical problems, but will take any many spares as possible.

Partially echo Scotroutes comment about avoiding the weekend closest to the solstice- ‘my’ runners will be there in force on the Saturday but will be out of the Way by Sunday. We start from Milngavie at 0100 on the 18th. Keep to the classic trail over Conic, through Balmaha & Rowardennan; recent improvements here have made large sections of this into a quick blue with occasional water bars. There are a few stairs and some tricky rock clambers here and also after Inversnaid but contrary to some comments, you will still ride a fair bit of even the most difficult sectors. If you can be bothered, it’s sensible to take light knee pads. You’ll be very tired by the time you get to the Devil’s staircase and the descent to KLL has been known to claim victims; it’d be a shame to pull up here with a bashed knee..
Spares? Tubes, gear cable, chain quick-links and a mech hanger. It’s rarely so mucky that brake pads are going to feel threatened. Most of the going after Carmyle Cottage in Glen Falloch is good to fast.
I’d also echo the comments about the only nav issues being right at the start. Take your time here and you’ll soon get used to spotting the wooden marker posts. When you get to the head of Loch Lomond, stop beside the post with a little round metal cap on its head, just above the trail on the hillside. Look back down the loch for a moment, savour the view and say hi to Dario.

My feet would die riding a route like that in Nike trainers