Bealach Mor

simonahfrost

Anyone else daft enough to be doing this on Saturday? Forecast is dire on BBC with winds 40+mph SSW to start, then getting stronger and wetter as the day progresses!

What it will be like at the top of the Bealach na Ba is anyones guess, the descent is always treacherous in a crosswind.

Not a day for heroics I think, I foresee little groups of cyclists huddling together and sharing the work as the only way to survive. At least the midges will be keeping their heads down, or they will be in Wick?

cush123

I'm in for this one. Have forked out for hotel and entry so will give it a go but will perhaps skip the Bealach if the weather is as bad as the forecast. Can actually see them knocking it on the head if it's really bad.

Don't fancy being the guy manning the water station at the top of the Bealach.

simonahfrost

http://www.mwis.org.uk/wh.php?fdate=120901

Looks like a good day out? Bealach will be an interesting test!

balfie

This is getting quite poor from hands on. The forecast (now almost universal) is for 60mph winds at the bealach, gusting to 80mph, rain and cloud to 200m, which are quite obviously impossible conditions for cycling.Right now, it's 9 degrees with 32 mph winds at the bealach. There is no way that you can chance this with 12 hours to go. As for a shortened alternative, MWIS are forecasting "ferocious" gusts at sea level. There is absolutely no way that this event can still be held safely, and it still hasn't been called off. It needs to be, and none of the "contact us" links to hands on seem to be working. I'll not be going in the morning, but for those travelling further (I'm in Inverness) it smacks of a company disregarding the well being of its customers to hold on to as much money as it can from those people who have already paid. As I said, poor.

dgstewart

I think you are/were being a bit harsh as Hands On were in a difficult position. If they cancelled completely you'd get even more people moaning. The forecast was poor, but conditions on Friday were not as bad as the forecast had predicted, so it wasn't clear cut. The forecast for sea level was rough but not bad enough to cancel the event, and no-one was forcing anyone to ride it.

In terms of them hanging on money that's not an issue as their Terms and Conditions state that refunds will not be given in event of cancellation due to bad weather (due to most costs being already incurred), so whether they ran the full/short/no event made no difference in that respect.

As it happens my friend and I went along anyway and they ran the shortened event, and although this was a disappointment as it misses out the main point of the event, and my advantage being a good climber :-), it actually turned out to be very good fun. The shorter and flatter nature of the route made it more of a "sprint" (relatively speaking of course) as you didn't have to factor in the huge climb and Applecross headland - you could just go for it.

The run down to Lochacarron was pretty tough into the headwind, but the run back from Tornapress to Shieldaig and through Torridon was mainly a (very) strong tailwind and was superb fun. For the stretch from Torridon I must have averaged 25+mph, and often flying over 30mph.

balfie

I hear what you are saying. On Friday, the BBC website showed winds that would have precluded standing up, never mind cycling on the bealach. I have a great deal of sympathy for hands on but it was them who introduced the uncertainty in their e-mail to participants on Friday. I'm well aware oftheir t&c's (which I signed up to) but they should never have introduced the idea of cancellation/ transfer of entry to Ullapool. There is no reason to do that if you have confidence in your product and how you sell it. To be fair, hands on acknowledged that lack of clarity and apologised for it but it does give rise to the idea that they would have run the shortened route come hell or high water to maximise their income for Ullapool. I didn't go, as the main point of it for me was a closed bealach and a big field of cyclists. I am glad you enjoyed your day though.

contador88

ehhhh, high horses are much more sensitive to wind so climb off!!
63 miles with that wind was proper hard work and yes, sometimes a bit scary.....glad i swapped my front deep section wheel for a skinny one
but i thought that the organisers did their best and the event ended as successful as it could have been, without any major dramas
if you want predictable weather then easyjet and ryanair fly daily to malaga