When I was a youngster I had an old Land Rover with this same problem... nowadays I'd be far too worried about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere to risk anything like that on four wheels!
Just starting to get back into this mindset now that I have a working mountain bike on the go again, although judging from the pictures a lack of fat knobbly tyres doesn't seem to have stopped you...
...Just starting to get back into this mindset now that I have a working mountain bike on the go again, although judging from the pictures a lack of fat knobbly tyres doesn't seem to have stopped you...
Looks like a good ride and that is some seriously steep stuff on that track.
And that's right mate, most bikes will go anywhere if you ride to the conditions.
Hope you said hi to the dogs for me, well all of them except the black and tan one that bit me
Very wet up here today with very strong winds, the commute to work this morning was a long hard slog.
Spent too long doing useless stuff today, ie anything that doesn't involve the bike so decided to sneak a quick ride.
I've just bought a wee book "The Cyclist's Guide to Hillclimbs on Scottish Highland Roads" with the best climbs in the area. As it turns out I know quite a few of them and I intend to ride as many of them as possible over the next few months.
Anyhow it turns out there's a worthy one on my doorstep. Heights of Docharty (P40). Nice and short at 3kms and 228m of climb.
It starts off easily enough but quickly ramps up. When I was fitter I have ridden the first part ok on my singlespeed, so equipped with 3 speeds, it should have been a breeze. It wasn't. However that was more because of trying to put a bit of pace on to reach the passing places because cars coming down the hill didn't appear to possess brakes and the road is one lane wide with high banks.
Then there's a short flat bit which allows a bit of speed for momentum up the next bit. I got all of 3 or 4 metres past my usual point of failure when I had to get off and walk. I simply could not turn the pedals and after a stop I could not get enough momentum for a restart. It's so steep that the bike was sliding backwards with a locked front wheel if I didn't keep the pressure on. So that was about a 250 metre push until It got sensible again.
Conclusion - Fail. Must try harder next time. I think I'll do it when it's quieter when I can use a slow steady pace. Having to sprint uphill to the passing places probably burnt me out.
There was a bonus though. Once I got to the top I reached a track...
Should have brought a mountain bike.
That water is deeper and faster than it looks. I was going to simple wade across but thought better of it when I remembered I wasn't wearing my sandals.
I headed along the track because there were a couple of features I wanted to check. On Google Earth the left hand one of these looks completely circular. Considering it is very close to the remains of Neolithic hut circles I wanted to check if it was a chambered cairn. I couldn't see any definite signs that it was, and it is not marked on OS maps or RCAHMS, but I still wonder.
Apologies for the non bikey content.... hill walking instead.
Best laid plans and all that. We had a originally set off with the intent of walking up Cioch na h-Oighe and walking along to Goat Fell, but one of the group was distinctly not keen on the look of it. As seems to be our fashion a detour was devised. Climbing up Mullach Buidhe instead to complete the walk did give a fantastic bonus of amazing views of the Cioch ridge. After the yomp up Mullach it was easy enough to find the path that we originally had planned to take and with the weather as it was it made for one of the best days we have had on Arran. 20170918_214037-01 by Bigbroondug, on Flickr
Aye this is the 4th walking visit this year. After years of Goat Fell it was time to try some other hills and they are all belters! Cir Mhor is probably next.
Aye this is the 4th walking visit this year. After years of Goat Fell it was time to try some other hills and they are all belters! Cir Mhor is probably next.
I'd show you my photos but the battery went flat. Got 2 pics before the battery died (I'll add them later when I can download)
Went to do climb No 2 (P3 at Achtuie past Drumnadrochit. So off on the trusty 3 speed via Beauly and Cannich. No way was I going to ride down the side of Loch Ness, monsters do exist and they drive cars. I've had too many close calls there.
It was a perfect day, sunshine, absolutely no rain, and just a little headwind. It was also probably the last day of the year I'll get off with riding in shirtsleeves.
I got 20 miles down the road and my knee started to twinge, by 30 it was painful so I scratched the idea of Achtuie which makes Fail No 2. (I'm good at this notclimbing stuff ).
Instead I went up the hill at Milton, and it's bad enough.
It's had some massaging since I last rode it with a bit of widening here and there. I have form on his hill - I call it Bastard Derailleur Hill from an incident over 50 years ago when my Simplex nylon derailleur simply broke in two. I was dancing on the pedals at the time so the impact of the top tube on my family jewels was considerable. The tears just streamed down my face as I rolled on the ground in foetal position clutching the damaged bits. When I finished feeling sorry for myself, I removed the remains and threw one part into the adjoining field and the other into the burn (derailleur, that is ) and became a singlespeeder.
So 50+ years of that, no knee problems. A few miles with gears, sore knees. Surely a coincidence. The bike is not highly geared so it's not a case of overdoing it.
Raised the saddle which alleviated it, but every now and then I'd yelp at a surprise twinge.
End of the day it was 60 miles with a reasonable amount of climbing.
EDIT: some pics
Glen Cannich
A spot of shepherding.
Oh, and for once, at no point did my bike go offroad.
