Who takes two pumos with them? An epic in Torridon (Long)
Scottish Mountain Bike Gu
Posts: 6
Hi, I posted this ride report on singletrackworld the other day. Thought bikeradar folks might like it as well. It's a few pics and a load of waffle about a ride I did last month in Torridon, Wester Ross which turned into a bit of an epic.
I had driven up the previous day and done a wee loop around Loch Affric, before driving on to Torridon in the pitch black. I went through the village and parked up in the car park at the foot of Corrie Mic Nobuil. Got the stove going in the back of the van, got fed and settled down for the night. I was planning on an early start to make the most of the daylight.
Porridge and coffee the next morning was followed by a quick drive back down through the village with absolutely stunning first-light views over Loch Torridon. The sky was overcast, but it was reasonably bright and wasn’t raining, so I was really champing at the bit to get going.
I tootled along the single lane tarmac, just warming up and taking in the scenery. This place always blows me away – it’s absolutely magnificent!
The first off road section was into the Coulin Pass. Past a big house and then a cracking bit of rocky singletrack along the banks of Loch Coulin, before the first big climb – up and over the Coulin Pass.
The climb was pretty civilised – just a long drag on a well surfaced Landrover track. I cruised up it in the granny ring, happy to take in the surroundings and save my legs for later in the day.
From the top of the pass, the map showed a sizeable descent down to the railway station at Achnashellach. It ended up being a bit underwhelming. It was fast enough to spin out my 36-11 top gear, but it was just a super smooth forest road. The view wasn’t bad though.
The map shows a possible singletrack descent which would involve climbing up by a different route from Loch Coulin….next time.
From Achnashellach a wee spin along the tarmac to Coulags meant that half the distance was covered, and it was time for the main event: Climbing up and over the Bealach na Lice and descending back down to Torridon - singletrack all the way.
The initial section got full marks. Really superb foot wide gravely singletrack with loose rocks and slabs and tricky stuff everywhere. All rideable but the kind of stuff that really keeps you on your toes. And drainage ditches. Cleared the first couple no bother, but I mistimed one particularly square edged wee bastard and felt the tyre hit the rim. I thought I’d got away with it for all of about half a second.
No big deal, I had a spare tube, tyre levers and pump in my pack. A minute or so later I had the bead off the rim, the punctured tube out and a bit of air into the new tube to give it some shape…..or not. I pulled the valve out of the pump head, stuck it back in and tried again…nothing. How often does your pump get damaged in such a way that it won’t seal around the valve?
Pretty much exactly half way through the route, on my own, 15 miles from the van in either direction, with a flat and no way of fixing it. I mean who carries a spare pump?
I may have used some ‘unsportsmanlike’ language at this point. Pushing it was then. Fifteen miles, five hours of daylight left. Three miles an hour – no problem. And a head torch and red LED in my pack just in case.
About a mile later my shoulders were already sore from twisting round to push the bike and I wasn’t too chuffed at what 15 miles was going to do to the sidewalls of my two rides old tyre. There had to be an easier way. I took my backpack off, put the top tube of the bike on top of the load and closed the lid over it. One side compression strap went round the seat tube and another was wound round the down tube. I tightened everything up, squatted down beside the bike and wiggled into the shoulder straps. Waist strap on, pulled everything nice and tight and stood up. I nearly fell over, but once I got upright everything was nice and balanced.
I commenced trudging up the track along the Fionn-abhain. This was working really well. This was amazing singletrack.
Two grizzly old geezers were chopping wood at the bothy. What else could I do but wav and shout a cheery hello as if waking along with a bike strapped to your rucksack was perfectly normal. I saw them looking at each other and shaking their heads out of the corner of my eye as I passed.
The trail from the bothy up to the Bealach na Lice would have been great. Perfect singletrack, flaked with pink stone and skimming through the edge of Loch Coire Fionnaraich. Still, the views made up for the lack of riding.
The top of the Bealach na Lice. No evidence of any lice.
All that remained was the five mile singletrack descent back down to Annat and the road back to the car park. This would probably have been one of the best descents I have ever ridden, if I had ridden it. I was totally gutted that I was walking this perfect trail. It had all the ingredients: rocks, slabs, lochs, stream crossings. It would have been superb. Arse!
Rounding the edge of Beinn na h-Eaglaise I could see the village below. Then it didn’t get any closer for the next half hour. And my 30lbs odd of bike was really beginning to make its presence felt on my shoulders, to the extent where no manner of fannying about with the rucksack straps was going to help. My plan was to stash the bike near the road, get back to the van and drive round to pick it up.
As I got nearer the road, the sun shone through the clouds and lit up Beinn Alligin above Loch Torridon. It was a real sight and lifted my spirits. The photo doesn’t do it justice.
I managed to stash the bike in some bushes behind a wall about 50 yards before hitting the road. After 8 miles it felt good to have that big heavy weight off my back! It took quite a few steps to adjust to not having all the weight. I was counting off the kilometre squares on the map and got back to the van at 4.30, just as the light was beginning to fade and 20 minutes later I had picked up the bike.
16 miles riding, 14 miles hiking (8 with a big heavy bike strapped to my back). Torridon, you beat me this time, but I will be back. And I will have two pumps!
The full photo set is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottishmountainbikeguides/sets/72157609051622801/
Cheers,
Phil
I had driven up the previous day and done a wee loop around Loch Affric, before driving on to Torridon in the pitch black. I went through the village and parked up in the car park at the foot of Corrie Mic Nobuil. Got the stove going in the back of the van, got fed and settled down for the night. I was planning on an early start to make the most of the daylight.
Porridge and coffee the next morning was followed by a quick drive back down through the village with absolutely stunning first-light views over Loch Torridon. The sky was overcast, but it was reasonably bright and wasn’t raining, so I was really champing at the bit to get going.
I tootled along the single lane tarmac, just warming up and taking in the scenery. This place always blows me away – it’s absolutely magnificent!
The first off road section was into the Coulin Pass. Past a big house and then a cracking bit of rocky singletrack along the banks of Loch Coulin, before the first big climb – up and over the Coulin Pass.
The climb was pretty civilised – just a long drag on a well surfaced Landrover track. I cruised up it in the granny ring, happy to take in the surroundings and save my legs for later in the day.
From the top of the pass, the map showed a sizeable descent down to the railway station at Achnashellach. It ended up being a bit underwhelming. It was fast enough to spin out my 36-11 top gear, but it was just a super smooth forest road. The view wasn’t bad though.
The map shows a possible singletrack descent which would involve climbing up by a different route from Loch Coulin….next time.
From Achnashellach a wee spin along the tarmac to Coulags meant that half the distance was covered, and it was time for the main event: Climbing up and over the Bealach na Lice and descending back down to Torridon - singletrack all the way.
The initial section got full marks. Really superb foot wide gravely singletrack with loose rocks and slabs and tricky stuff everywhere. All rideable but the kind of stuff that really keeps you on your toes. And drainage ditches. Cleared the first couple no bother, but I mistimed one particularly square edged wee bastard and felt the tyre hit the rim. I thought I’d got away with it for all of about half a second.
No big deal, I had a spare tube, tyre levers and pump in my pack. A minute or so later I had the bead off the rim, the punctured tube out and a bit of air into the new tube to give it some shape…..or not. I pulled the valve out of the pump head, stuck it back in and tried again…nothing. How often does your pump get damaged in such a way that it won’t seal around the valve?
Pretty much exactly half way through the route, on my own, 15 miles from the van in either direction, with a flat and no way of fixing it. I mean who carries a spare pump?
I may have used some ‘unsportsmanlike’ language at this point. Pushing it was then. Fifteen miles, five hours of daylight left. Three miles an hour – no problem. And a head torch and red LED in my pack just in case.
About a mile later my shoulders were already sore from twisting round to push the bike and I wasn’t too chuffed at what 15 miles was going to do to the sidewalls of my two rides old tyre. There had to be an easier way. I took my backpack off, put the top tube of the bike on top of the load and closed the lid over it. One side compression strap went round the seat tube and another was wound round the down tube. I tightened everything up, squatted down beside the bike and wiggled into the shoulder straps. Waist strap on, pulled everything nice and tight and stood up. I nearly fell over, but once I got upright everything was nice and balanced.
I commenced trudging up the track along the Fionn-abhain. This was working really well. This was amazing singletrack.
Two grizzly old geezers were chopping wood at the bothy. What else could I do but wav and shout a cheery hello as if waking along with a bike strapped to your rucksack was perfectly normal. I saw them looking at each other and shaking their heads out of the corner of my eye as I passed.
The trail from the bothy up to the Bealach na Lice would have been great. Perfect singletrack, flaked with pink stone and skimming through the edge of Loch Coire Fionnaraich. Still, the views made up for the lack of riding.
The top of the Bealach na Lice. No evidence of any lice.
All that remained was the five mile singletrack descent back down to Annat and the road back to the car park. This would probably have been one of the best descents I have ever ridden, if I had ridden it. I was totally gutted that I was walking this perfect trail. It had all the ingredients: rocks, slabs, lochs, stream crossings. It would have been superb. Arse!
Rounding the edge of Beinn na h-Eaglaise I could see the village below. Then it didn’t get any closer for the next half hour. And my 30lbs odd of bike was really beginning to make its presence felt on my shoulders, to the extent where no manner of fannying about with the rucksack straps was going to help. My plan was to stash the bike near the road, get back to the van and drive round to pick it up.
As I got nearer the road, the sun shone through the clouds and lit up Beinn Alligin above Loch Torridon. It was a real sight and lifted my spirits. The photo doesn’t do it justice.
I managed to stash the bike in some bushes behind a wall about 50 yards before hitting the road. After 8 miles it felt good to have that big heavy weight off my back! It took quite a few steps to adjust to not having all the weight. I was counting off the kilometre squares on the map and got back to the van at 4.30, just as the light was beginning to fade and 20 minutes later I had picked up the bike.
16 miles riding, 14 miles hiking (8 with a big heavy bike strapped to my back). Torridon, you beat me this time, but I will be back. And I will have two pumps!
The full photo set is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottishmountainbikeguides/sets/72157609051622801/
Cheers,
Phil
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Comments
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Excellent story!
Will be taking a spare pump.
^^^ Click for pictures of my bike ^^0 -
Done quite a bit around there myself (on foot). It's epic country, a world away from trail centres and man-made rides.0
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Pump + CO2 device for me
Fantastic writeup though! Uncompromising extremist0 -
MeScottish Mountain Bike Gu wrote:Who takes two pumos with them?
I bought a micro pump to carry on rides when I didn't want to take my pack, which contains a mini pump. The easiest place to keep it is with my multi-tool and puncture repair kit, in the small compartment on the pack, where they can be taken an put in my pocket.
So yes I have been innadvertently carrying a spare pump:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AIR-PUMP-Micro-Airpump-59gr-7bar-all-valves-97-mm_W0QQitemZ400019362186QQihZ027QQcategoryZ22691QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262Northwind wrote: It's like I covered it in superglue and rode it through ebay.0 -
I'm looking at putting together a route up that way next year (starting from Achnashellach (for the station, I don't drive), Road to Coulags, turn off up alongside Fionn-abhainn before heading off up Bealach a'Choire Ghairon and then basically following that (pretty much all the way) down to Annat. Lunch. Back up but turning left Loch an Eion -> Bealach na Lice -> Bealach Ban -> Coire Lair -> Achnashellach.) and am struggling to find much info about those tracks so this was v. useful and pretty exciting with phrases like '5 mile singletrack descent' Thanks :-)
And i'll take pump + co2! Bad luck, I hope you made it back up there :-)0
