West Highland Way by mountain bike

deneo

I've just written a blog about my epic mountain biking adventure along The West Highland Way. A must read for anyone about to embark on the journey. Complete with some great photos you can read all about it here - http://www.mynest.co.uk/blog/west-highl ... one-brake/

Hope you enjoy it.

sniper68

Good write up mate 8)
We did in North to south 6 years ago and have to agree the Northern section of Loch Lomond is an absolute nightmare :roll:
I plan on a return and to do it the right way 8)

RiderontheStorm

Fantastic journey. It is one I intend to do next year. Did you have luggage dropped off at each of your stops ?

Cant quite work out how to aviod the scrambling over rocks. Did you head over to the A82 from Inversnaid and cycle up to Inverarnan ?

Good story

sniper68

We,like deneo decided to "do" the whole lot and spent a good few hours scrambling over the rocks.If I do it again I'd take the ferry from Inversnaid,ride a bit of the A82 and pick up the WHW at Inverarnan.

deneo

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback, its good to know that the blog is going down well.
I echo ibbo68, the best way to avoid Inversnaid section is to get the ferry across Loch Lomond before or at Inversnaid and then cycle along the A82 to The Drovers (inverarnan) and then rejoin WHW there.
Often wonder what the north to south would be like - was it any good?
RiderontheStorm - yes, definitely get Travellte to take your luggage. That way you only need a day pack and can enjoy the ride without the need for a heavy pack on your back. They drop off at different stops that you request every day. Cost around £18 per bag. Well worth it.

sniper68

North to South was OK.We did it that way as we did the Great Way North to South had a day off then did the WHW.The only downside was that we were riding away from the Highlands so all the views were behind us,plus it was raining all week so we just got our heads down and slogged away not taking in any of the surroundings.I definitely want to do it the other way to compare.
We too used a luggage carrier(AMS) it cost us £35 per case.As there were only 3 of us we just got one massive case and packed everything in that 8)
Our rides broke down as:
Great Glen Way.
Inverness-Fort Augustas
Fort Augustas-Fort William.
Day off.
WHW:-
Fort William-Kings House
Kings House-Crianlarich
Crianlarich-Balmaha
Balmaha-Glasgow via Milngavie

lg18

Great write-up, it looks like a superb ride - I really fancy doing it.
Apart from the dreadful Inversnaid section, what % was unrideable?
You say take a full-susser - I only have a hard-tail, would you advise not bothering, hiring a FS, or maybe I'll be ok really...? (bar the slightly great discomfort?!).

cheers,
Lucy

deneo

Thanks Lucy.
It is a great ride and definitely worth doing.
I nearly took my hardtail but chose my full suss as I wanted to limit the numb bum feeling. Its doable on a hardtail but just more fun and comfortable with something with a bit more bounce.
It will also make the downhills way more fun!
Apart from Inversnaid and a push up Conic Hill and out of KLL we rode the rest.

cheers

sniper68

I did in on a FS my two mates did it on HTs.Personally I'd take the HT next time but that's just a personal preference.
As deneo said it's well worth doing....just a pity you can't guarantee the weather :roll:

altern_8

great write up,i didnt really have a clue about it and what it was like to i read youre blog........myself and bro are looking at doing this next year,might look at doing it over 4 days so we can take our time and enjoy the scenery.

hammy7272

That looks amazing. I have been riding for about 12 months and this is something I aspire towards. The only problem is me and mate only really ride trail centres at the moment. What tips would help put us on the right path to such an epic at some point?

Northwind

Good reading, cheers! Me and a mate are looking at doing it in May of next year so good to have this stuff

sniper68

Northwind wrote:

Good reading, cheers! Me and a mate are looking at doing it in May of next year so good to have this stuff

Take plenty of repellant.Midge season is April to September,we did it in May and were bitten to sh!t
It was especially bad around Loch Lommond :?

Northwind

Yup, I've camped at Inverarnan a couple of times (at the site just up from the Drover's), never seen midges like it, so I'll be DEET'd and Skinsosoft'd up to the eyes.

welshkev

deneo wrote:

I've just written a blog about my epic mountain biking adventure along The West Highland Way. A must read for anyone about to embark on the journey. Complete with some great photos you can read all about it here - http://www.mynest.co.uk/blog/west-highl ... one-brake/

Hope you enjoy it.

i'm in work now and haven't got time to read it all, but it looks awsome, that'll be my reading for later

welshkev

just remembered this post, i'd like to try and do it in the summer, do you have to read a map to do it or is it pretty well waymarked?

sniper68

Its pretty well waymarked with little brown posts(IIRC) etc and the start and finish are marked with Granite obelisks with the WHW symbol on them..Harvey maps also do a complete(waterproof) map.

welshkev

ibbo68 wrote:

Its pretty well waymarked with little brown posts etc.Harvey maps also do a complete(waterproof) map.

nice one, cheers for that

deneo

Its pretty well way marked and you shouldn't really need a map. Its always good to have one as a back up though, that way you can be sure you're heading in the right direction. Get one here -
http://www.west-highland-way.co.uk/onlineshop.asp
WEST HIGHLAND WAY (FOOTRINT MAP / GUIDE)

sniper68

There's also a very good guide book with route section descriptions and maps(I have it somewhere)

welshkev

cheers for the help guys, i just hope the gf will let me do it and i can find someone stupid enough to come with me

Giggsmaster

Two of us are looking to do the WHW in 3 days at the beginning of May, South to North. Did the C2C last year and enjoyed the Lakes District section, so hoping the scenery up there will be just as good.

Drove the car up the Glasgow to Fort Bill route a few times, so can't wait to actually get in amongst the big mountains.... Looking forward to it

welshkev

Giggsmaster wrote:

Two of us are looking to do the WHW in 3 days at the beginning of May, South to North. Did the C2C last year and enjoyed the Lakes District section, so hoping the scenery up there will be just as good.

Drove the car up the Glasgow to Fort Bill route a few times, so can't wait to actually get in amongst the big mountains.... Looking forward to it

nice one, i would be cheeky and say i'd tag along with you but i'll be in sunny tenerife riding there 8)

let me know how it goes though, i'm hoping to do it july/august

joesteve

I also did this a couple of years ago with my wife who is not too keen on big technical downhills and carrying bikes. Having walked it years earlier I could remember how bad Loch Lomond was and also reckoned Conic Hill would be a push. We went south to north avoiding Loch Lomond completely by detouring through QE forest park from Drymen to B&B at Inversnaid. We then took ferry service across Loch Lomond in the morning and up A82 to Inverarnan and back on to WHW to Bridge of Orchy Hotel. Last day was a big one in miserable weather. The Devils Staircase was a push for us and the downhill into Kinlochleven very busy with walkers which made it entertaining. We avoided the push out of Kinlochleven by taking the forestry track rather than the WHW path and arrived in Fort Bill in time to meet the luggage transfer company (cant remember which one) who had agreed to transport us and our bikes back to Milngavie for an extra £10 per head. Well worth doing just try and avoid holiday weekends in the summer whee it gets very busy.