My memories always seem a bit jumbled up immediately after a big ride, but here's a few highlights from our weekend -
5am start from South Queensferry - sunny weather and nae traffic all the way to Crieff, clouding over a bit as we approached Aberfeldy. Normal cafe hadn't opened but the combined bakery/cafe next door did fantastic steak pies and cream donuts.
Very cold after Aberfeldy but things brightened up once we got to Loch Tay. The wind kept our speed down - we needed to work hard just to maintain 22kmh!
On the way into Glencoe Stephen got forced off the road by an on-coming motorbike overtaking. I don't think the bike even saw us - even though we were practically riding in the gutter he only missed by a few inches.
Arriving at Ballachulish at about quarter to 5 was a great relief after endless hours battling wind and traffic. We had a snack there, bought provisions for supper and reckoned on having just enough time to book in at the bunkhouse then catch the ferry. Team Time-Trialled to the bunkhouse, but we hadn't allowed for the world's slowest check-in. Eventually we managed to dump our stuff in the room and sprint to the ferry, which we made with a minute to spare.
The ride down the coast from the ferry made all the day's toiling through traffic worthwhile. It's simply the most beautiful scenery with good tarmac and an almost total absence of cars.
On the climb up Glenuig a bolt sheared on Cyclop's Bagman. Glad of a chance to rest I stopped to help and we messed about with tie-wraps to try and stop his saddle bag from rubbing on his legs.
Turned at Lochailort sometime after 10pm and finally had a bit of a tailwind. With the scenery still magnificent in the fading light and surrounded by silence I rode all the way to Fort William in a virtual trance. The quiet contemplation and oneness with nature was quickly ended at the 24hour garage. At midnight on Saturday night you expect the drunks. What I hadn't banked on was the poor guy who was stripped naked and left behind by his "mates" who sped off in a taxi. He seemed fairly resigned to his fate as he started jogging back towards Corpach.
I arrived first at the Inchree bunkhouse. Cyclops had the key. A wee bit of poking about revealed that the window catches weren't very secure, so I got into our room via the window. Cyclops and Stephen arrived 5 minutes later and we had a late night cup of tea. Nobody had the energy or desire to cook the pasta that we'd left there earlier, so it was in bed at 2am with the alarm set for 5.
The wind dropped overnight - you could tell from the swarms of midgies waiting outside the bunkhouse! Lovely run down to the Oban garage, then more muppets in cars all the way to Crianlarich. By that point Cyclops & Stephen had decided on a quieter route home, so they went left at Lochearnhead and finished via Comrie & Gleneagles. I was going well on the flat but had lost what little climbing ability I had, so decided on the flattest possible route home - Callander - Bridge of Allan - Fallin - Grangemouth. Worth it for the ice-cream in Callander!
In summary - it's a great route and the bunkhouse makes it a relatively comfortable 600. But the next time I do it I'll maybe go for a non-holiday weekend in May in the hope that there'll be a little less traffic.
