West Highland Way Charity RIde 2011
Paul-G
Posts: 3
I had a look to check if I am allowed to post this message however it was not clear therefore:
1) I apologise if it is against the rules
2) Moderators please remove the link or amend the post accordingly
Myself and my friend Graeme who I have known since primary school have set ourselves the challenge of completing the 96 mile West Highland Way by mountain bike before we both turn 40 this year. We will also be joined by Graeme's younger brother Neil.
The terrain on this route ranges from lowland moors, dense woodland and rolling hills to mountainous regions. We will undertake the route over 3 days in June using bunkhouses for overnight accommodation and everything that we need that is not provided by the bunkhouses will be carried by ourselves in rucksacks.
One of Graeme's two year old twin daughters, Abigail, was born with Spina Bifida and as Graeme and his family have received exceptional support from the Scottish Spina Bifida Association we have chosen to use this challenge to raise funds for this charity.
We have set up a secure Just Giving website to handle sponsorship and this can be found at the following address if anybody would like to sponsor us:
http://www.justgiving.com/Graeme-Mitchell1
We apreciate that times are financially challenging but any donations no matter how small are gratefully appreciated.
Paul
1) I apologise if it is against the rules
2) Moderators please remove the link or amend the post accordingly
Myself and my friend Graeme who I have known since primary school have set ourselves the challenge of completing the 96 mile West Highland Way by mountain bike before we both turn 40 this year. We will also be joined by Graeme's younger brother Neil.
The terrain on this route ranges from lowland moors, dense woodland and rolling hills to mountainous regions. We will undertake the route over 3 days in June using bunkhouses for overnight accommodation and everything that we need that is not provided by the bunkhouses will be carried by ourselves in rucksacks.
One of Graeme's two year old twin daughters, Abigail, was born with Spina Bifida and as Graeme and his family have received exceptional support from the Scottish Spina Bifida Association we have chosen to use this challenge to raise funds for this charity.
We have set up a secure Just Giving website to handle sponsorship and this can be found at the following address if anybody would like to sponsor us:
http://www.justgiving.com/Graeme-Mitchell1
We apreciate that times are financially challenging but any donations no matter how small are gratefully appreciated.
Paul
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Comments
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Welcome to BR,
Doing something similar my self this year, but its the Coast2Coast. Are you planning on doing this in one day?
The West Highland way is great, but carfull of the midges. When i done we were almost eaten alive.
All the best for the trip.BeOne Frame, RockShox Recon, Mavic 719 XT Hubs, Elixr R brakes, floating rotor, SLX Drivetrain.
Webdesign project http://www.nfpc.org.uk0 -
Don't do the top section of Loch Lomond, seriously. It really is not bikable. Get ferry from Inversnaid to Inveruglas, or over from Rowerdennan."Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"0
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Wallace1492 wrote:Don't do the top section of Loch Lomond, seriously. It really is not bikable. Get ferry from Inversnaid to Inveruglas, or over from Rowerdennan.
Not all of it is rideable, I completely agree, but you can get a bike through that section, it's just not as pleasant as other parts of the ride!
Depends whether Paul wants to do the WHW "proper", since you really have to do that section In my opinion.
Paul, one word of advice, unless you can travel REALLY light, ditch the packs.
I'm assuming you are riding unsupported, so you will need to carry tools and spares as well as clothing etc.
There are services which will carry your pack for about £35. They pick it up from your bunkhouse in the morning and drop it off and your next stop.
This will allow you to carry a daysack with emergency spares and tools, water and waterproofs etc (which, trust me, for some of the WHW is heavy enough!) and then carry lots of nice fresh clothes and spares in a bigger pack which is carried for you.
You will enjoy the trip much more without the burden of a bigger pack, and to be honest, the section at the top of Loch Lomond which we have just been discussing would be a NIGHTMARE with both a bike and large pack to negotiate the trail with.
It does all depend on how much you intend to carry, but there is no shame in having a bit of support for heavier equipment, your challenge is challenging enough, no need to make it less enjoyable IMO. Parts of the WHW can be quite hard on the bike and I've been very grateful that a full toolkit awaited me at the end of the day (did 25 miles across Rannoch moor with 6 front spokes missing after stacking it into a fence post!)0 -
Thanks for the feedback, which will not go ignored.
Our plan is to ride the route over a 3 day period in June in the hope that the midgies are not too bad at that time of year.
Our plan is to pack really light to keep weight to a minimum. We plan to tackle some local routes with similar terrain wearing rucksacks beforehand to see how practical it is.
We were aware of the top section of Loch Lomond. As we are doing the route for charity then we plan to stay true to the WHW route with the ferry as a backup plan in case of time, injury or mechanical isses.
Paul0
