Cycling the Lairig Ghru??

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat surprised
at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Were you doing the LG run? We stopped in Aviemore on our way back from
Glen Affric to check out some ski bargains and found ourselves in the
middle of some race, but didn't see any info about it except the one
banner mentioning LG.

And to make it cycling related: I did buy a pair on Ronhill running shorts
which I will use for 'bent cycling :-)

Roos

in message <[email hidden]>, Tim Downie

(') said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat
surprised at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Given that there must be the best part of 12 completely unrideable
miles in the middle of it, it really didn't look like it was any fun
at all.

Anyone here done it and regretted it? Alternatively, does anyone here
rate it as a fantastic experience that they'd like to repeat?

I haven't done the Lairig Ghru, but I have taken bikes a number of
highly improbable places several of which involved miles of
bike-on-shoulder. Does it make sense? Probably not.

You start using a bike in hill country either because you are a
compulsive cyclist or because you can get further into the hill country
and tackle hills which are too long a walk in to do in a day otherwise.
But after a while the challenge becomes 'can I get a bike *there*?'. I
have a long term project dip my front wheel in every loch in Galloway.
Some of the ones I've already 'ticked off' involved more carrying than
riding, and getting a bike through to Loch Enoch or the Long Loch of
the Dungeon is a real challenge.

Let's face it, there's no sensible reason for going up the Lairig Ghru
in the first place. There's no sensible reason for climbing a Munro.
You do it for the challenge and for the experience of wilderness.
Taking a bike is just a different sort of challenge.

And you'd be amazed what you *can* cycle, if you have a bike with you.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I'll have a proper rant later, when I get the time.

"Roos Eisma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat

surprised

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Were you doing the LG run?

Yep.

Quoted message said:

We stopped in Aviemore on our way back from
Glen Affric to check out some ski bargains and found ourselves in the
middle of some race, but didn't see any info about it except the one
banner mentioning LG.

Like a lot of hill races, it's kind of low key. So low key in fact, I
couldn't find the finish line! All I knew was that it finished outside the
police station but fortunately my wife spotted me and hailed me from the
finish line. We were really lucky with the weather and I personally really
enjoyed it.

Quoted message said:

And to make it cycling related: I did buy a pair on Ronhill running shorts
which I will use for 'bent cycling :-)

Well I'm definitely going to look at cycling clothing for the extra pockets
if nothing else. Most running gear is very meanly provided in this respect.

Tim

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Let's face it, there's no sensible reason for going up the Lairig Ghru
in the first place. There's no sensible reason for climbing a Munro.
You do it for the challenge and for the experience of wilderness.
Taking a bike is just a different sort of challenge.

I'd agree absolutely Simon. I think what perhaps disturbed me slightly was
that quite a few of the riders didn't really look like your dyed-in-the-wool
adventurer types but rather more like folk who had seen an official cycle
route marked on a map and then set off ill prepared for the rigours of that
particular pass. My concern is that if councils put up "Cycle route" signs,
then many folk will assume a cycleable route and possibly attempt something
that they're not prepared for.

Of course we all should take responsibility for out own actions and I dare
say most of them had researched the route beforehand but given the change in
the weather later in the day, I'm willing to bet several had a very
miserable time yeterday.

Quoted message said:

And you'd be amazed what you *can* cycle, if you have a bike with you.

Lets face it, almost anything's got to be better than carrying the r*ddy
thing. ;-)

Tim

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat surprised
at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

I once read an amusing report in the CTC Gazette (as it was, IIRC) from
a pair of cyclists who had done this.

On a tandem.

Which had 1 speed.

In about 1930.

(I forget the exact date of the magazine, but it was definitely a long
way pre-war. Probably still have it lying around somewhere).

Needless to say, it gave the impression of a good walk ruined, but I am
tempted to have a go on a properly designed MTB tandem some time. it
would certainly help on the tedious track out at the end.

James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat

surprised

Quoted message said:

at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Any views?

A friend and I used bikes to get to the Chalamain Gap from Glen Feshie via
Rothiemurchus Forest a few years ago. I enjoyed the Rothiemurchus cycle with
its water splashes - recommended. The Lairig, I think, makes a better walk.
We had to push the bikes up and coming down had to be careful not to slide
on the tree roots.

Still, having the bikes meant that we would have been better able to escape
the Big Gray Man if he had shown up.

Tom.

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat
surprised at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Given that there must be the best part of 12 completely unrideable
miles in the middle of it, it really didn't look like it was any fun
at all.

Anyone here done it and regretted it? Alternatively, does anyone
here rate it as a fantastic experience that they'd like to repeat?

Well I did it in the late summer of 1946 aged 11.
My father came home from the war in early 45 and couldnt settle.
He got me the smallest pair of womens army boots he could find
and we went by bus from Blackpool to the Lakes every weekend
and spent the days hillwalking or catching/collecting food and we slept
in a bivi tent.
Next year we got bikes, exarmy clunkers with big tyres and rod brakes,
mine being the smallest made. We rode in Lakeland and also Bowland
and the Dales, so by autumn he said I was ready for the big one.

I remember a wierd train journey finally ending at Aviemore. We spent
3 days there pinching spuds and veges, catching rabbits and fish and
with the food cooked and wrapped in newsprint we were well stocked
for the next stage of the journey, over to Braemar.
Riding in the forest was easy, I knew there was a big hill but we'd done
carry up and carry down plenty of times, so I thought. We'd started the
walking part at first light to keep cool but it wasnt long before my legs
gave way and we had to do a series of links. I struggled uphill and dad
came with me carrying food and gear, then he went down for his bike
and then back again for my bike. We lunched on the pass and then we
struggled to ride and push, onwards and downwards. That night we slept
indoors, it must have been in a bothy, with some other wierd characters.
Then came Braemar and the ride on side roads east to the coast, to
somewhere, when we caught trains to Edinburgh then Glasgow and home.

I dont recall too much of the journey, I was kanackered, but I liked it
so much that when my dad finally settled to the quiet civilian family life
I took to riding his bike through the wild country with older guys who
called themselves rough riders.
Pity they never lived to see the advent of the mountainbike.
I cant do it now but carrying one of those over the high passes is a
doddle compared to the bad old days.
But by then we had light meths stoves, freeze dried food, modern
clothing and too many regulations about catching and eating ones food.
Mike

taywood said:

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat
surprised at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Given that there must be the best part of 12 completely unrideable
miles in the middle of it, it really didn't look like it was any fun
at all.

Anyone here done it and regretted it? Alternatively, does anyone
here rate it as a fantastic experience that they'd like to repeat?

Well I did it in the late summer of 1946 aged 11.
My father came home from the war in early 45 and couldnt settle.
He got me the smallest pair of womens army boots he could find
and we went by bus from Blackpool to the Lakes every weekend
and spent the days hillwalking or catching/collecting food and we
slept in a bivi tent.
Next year we got bikes, exarmy clunkers with big tyres and rod brakes,
mine being the smallest made. We rode in Lakeland and also Bowland
and the Dales, so by autumn he said I was ready for the big one.

I remember a wierd train journey finally ending at Aviemore. We spent
3 days there pinching spuds and veges, catching rabbits and fish and
with the food cooked and wrapped in newsprint we were well stocked
for the next stage of the journey, over to Braemar.
Riding in the forest was easy, I knew there was a big hill but we'd
done carry up and carry down plenty of times, so I thought. We'd
started the walking part at first light to keep cool but it wasnt
long before my legs gave way and we had to do a series of links. I
struggled uphill and dad came with me carrying food and gear, then he
went down for his bike
and then back again for my bike. We lunched on the pass and then we
struggled to ride and push, onwards and downwards. That night we slept
indoors, it must have been in a bothy, with some other wierd
characters. Then came Braemar and the ride on side roads east to the
coast, to somewhere, when we caught trains to Edinburgh then Glasgow
and home.

I dont recall too much of the journey, I was kanackered, but I liked
it so much that when my dad finally settled to the quiet civilian
family life I took to riding his bike through the wild country with
older guys who called themselves rough riders.
Pity they never lived to see the advent of the mountainbike.
I cant do it now but carrying one of those over the high passes is a
doddle compared to the bad old days.
But by then we had light meths stoves, freeze dried food, modern
clothing and too many regulations about catching and eating ones food.
Mike

Great story. Thanks for sharing that.

Cheers.

Tim

--
Remove the obvious to reply by email.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Tim Downie

(') said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat
surprised at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Given that there must be the best part of 12 completely unrideable
miles in the middle of it, it really didn't look like it was any fun
at all.

Anyone here done it and regretted it? Alternatively, does anyone here
rate it as a fantastic experience that they'd like to repeat?

I haven't done the Lairig Ghru, but I have taken bikes a number of
highly improbable places several of which involved miles of
bike-on-shoulder. Does it make sense? Probably not.

You start using a bike in hill country either because you are a
compulsive cyclist or because you can get further into the hill country
and tackle hills which are too long a walk in to do in a day otherwise.
But after a while the challenge becomes 'can I get a bike *there*?'. I
have a long term project dip my front wheel in every loch in Galloway.
Some of the ones I've already 'ticked off' involved more carrying than
riding, and getting a bike through to Loch Enoch or the Long Loch of
the Dungeon is a real challenge.

Hmm, the call of the absurd. It is good to have a quest, no matter
how strange. Some friends and I once carried an inflatable boat
up to Loch Enoch so that we could camp on the island in it.
Great fun, apart from the midges, but hard to rationally justify.
(I've been waiting for years to boast of this exploit!)

Quoted message said:

Let's face it, there's no sensible reason for going up the Lairig Ghru
in the first place. There's no sensible reason for climbing a Munro.
You do it for the challenge and for the experience of wilderness.
Taking a bike is just a different sort of challenge.

And you'd be amazed what you *can* cycle, if you have a bike with you.

in message <[email hidden]>, DaveR

(') said:

Simon Brooke wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You start using a bike in hill country either because you are a
compulsive cyclist or because you can get further into the hill
country and tackle hills which are too long a walk in to do in a day
otherwise. But after a while the challenge becomes 'can I get a bike
*there*?'. I have a long term project dip my front wheel in every
loch in Galloway. Some of the ones I've already 'ticked off' involved
more carrying than riding, and getting a bike through to Loch Enoch
or the Long Loch of the Dungeon is a real challenge.

Hmm, the call of the absurd. It is good to have a quest, no matter
how strange. Some friends and I once carried an inflatable boat
up to Loch Enoch so that we could camp on the island in it.
Great fun, apart from the midges, but hard to rationally justify.
(I've been waiting for years to boast of this exploit!)

Respect! one of the things I've always wanted (again, the call of the
absurd) to do is get a boat onto the loch on the island in Loch Enoch.
Did you do that? If not, it may still be one of the Unconquered
Challenges, to rate with the Ascent of K2...

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; when in the [censored], the wise man plants courgettes

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Lets face it, almost anything's got to be better than carrying the r*ddy
thing. ;-)

Sounds like a good case for one of them MTB Unicycles, should be
easier to lug around.

Rory said:

Sounds like a good case for one of them MTB Unicycles, should be
easier to lug around.

<flame>
(Don't worry, I'll keep the heat down)
The 'B' in MTB stands for 'bike'. 'Bike' is an abbreviation of
'bicycle', meaning 'two wheels'. Use of the 'B' word is not considered
acceptable by most English speaking unicyclists (myself included) when
referring to a unicycle.
</flame>

Anyway, you mean a Muni. And you're right, it's a good case. One wheel
is always *much* more fun than two off-road anyway, IME.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

On Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:42:06 +0100, Danny Colyer
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

Rory said:

Sounds like a good case for one of them MTB Unicycles, should be
easier to lug around.

<flame>
(Don't worry, I'll keep the heat down)
The 'B' in MTB stands for 'bike'. 'Bike' is an abbreviation of
'bicycle', meaning 'two wheels'. Use of the 'B' word is not considered
acceptable by most English speaking unicyclists (myself included) when
referring to a unicycle.
</flame>

Hmmm - I think there is a degree of acceptable conflation between
"pedal cycle" and "bike", caused by the fact that the overwhelming
majority of pedal cycles are bikes.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, you mean a Muni. And you're right, it's a good case. One wheel
is always *much* more fun than two off-road anyway, IME.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Danny Colyer <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Rory said:

Sounds like a good case for one of them MTB Unicycles, should be
easier to lug around.

<flame>
(Don't worry, I'll keep the heat down)
The 'B' in MTB stands for 'bike'. 'Bike' is an abbreviation of
'bicycle', meaning 'two wheels'. Use of the 'B' word is not considered
acceptable by most English speaking unicyclists (myself included) when
referring to a unicycle.
</flame>

Sorry to have offended you! In my family we usually use the word
"velo"(*) for bike (or VTT for MTB), would this have caused more or
less problems of comprehension?

Quoted message said:

Anyway, you mean a Muni. And you're right, it's a good case. One wheel
is always *much* more fun than two off-road anyway, IME.

I gotta give that a go. How hard can it be?

(*) As my 2 year old daughter said this morning from the comfort of
her trailer after I went tarmac surfing: "Velo bumm! Dada owwaah!"

Rory said:

Sorry to have offended you! In my family we usually use the word
"velo"(*) for bike (or VTT for MTB), would this have caused more or
less problems of comprehension?

VTT would have lost me, velo wouldn't.

One currently very popular unicycle saddle is the Kris Holm Velo (I've
got one on my commuting unicycle). A few months ago someone commented
on rec.sport.unicycling that since "velo" is French for "bike", KH
riders are effectively putting a bike saddle on their yikes. I nearly
posted to point out that "velo" in no way implies 2 wheels, so it
doesn't matter. But I couldn't be arsed in the end.

Quoted message said:

I gotta give that a go. How hard can it be?

Go for it. Pashley make a good starting-level Muni:
<URL:http://www.unicycle.uk.com/shop/shopdisplayproduct.asp?catalogid=101>

I don't know what tyre it comes with these days, but the tyre that mine
was delivered with was [censored]. Fitting a good tyre makes a huge difference.

Big tip - get competent at riding on tarmac or in a gym (not on carpet,
the pile drags the wheel where you don't want it to go) before you
progress to grass.

Quoted message said:

(*) As my 2 year old daughter said this morning from the comfort of
her trailer after I went tarmac surfing: "Velo bumm! Dada owwaah!"

<G>

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, DaveR

(') said:

Simon Brooke wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You start using a bike in hill country either because you are a
compulsive cyclist or because you can get further into the hill
country and tackle hills which are too long a walk in to do in a day
otherwise. But after a while the challenge becomes 'can I get a bike
*there*?'. I have a long term project dip my front wheel in every
loch in Galloway. Some of the ones I've already 'ticked off' involved
more carrying than riding, and getting a bike through to Loch Enoch
or the Long Loch of the Dungeon is a real challenge.

Hmm, the call of the absurd. It is good to have a quest, no matter
how strange. Some friends and I once carried an inflatable boat
up to Loch Enoch so that we could camp on the island in it.
Great fun, apart from the midges, but hard to rationally justify.
(I've been waiting for years to boast of this exploit!)

Respect! one of the things I've always wanted (again, the call of the
absurd) to do is get a boat onto the loch on the island in Loch Enoch.
Did you do that? If not, it may still be one of the Unconquered
Challenges, to rate with the Ascent of K2...

Duhh, we didn't think of that... over to you!

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

taywood said:

Tim Downie said:

Having just got back from crossing the LG on foot, I was somewhat
surprised at the number of folk lugging bicycles over the pass.

Given that there must be the best part of 12 completely unrideable
miles in the middle of it, it really didn't look like it was any fun
at all.

Anyone here done it and regretted it? Alternatively, does anyone
here rate it as a fantastic experience that they'd like to repeat?

I did it last April.

Did a circuit from Inverdruie taking in the Lairig Ghru, Glen Geldie
and Glen Feshie. I'd walked through all the glens several times before
and have taken my bike into the hills in Scotland plenty times so was
under no illusions as to how it would go.

Started at 8, if I wasn't past the Pools by noon I was heading back.
Made it past the pools about 11:30 so kept on going. The Lairig
Ghru/Glen Dee was about 60/40 riding to walking as expected, a couple
of riders I know might have done more, Geldie was dry(surprisingly!)so
all bikeable. Back to the car in the gloaming about 9pm without
resorting to the lights I'd packed.

http://johnmacewan7785.fotopic.net/p416239.html