Wish me luck (I'll need it)

marylogic

I wasn't going to post this in case I have a massive fail, but here goes -

Off to Wester Ross next week, hoping to have a go at the Bealach na Ba.

http://app.strava.com/segments/730602

Feeling excited and petrified in equal measures

I'm taking my hybrid as I need it for family cycles, it does have lower gears than my road bike and toe clips, so if (when) I do stop I should be able to get going again.

djm501

marylogic wrote:

I wasn't going to post this in case I have a massive fail, but here goes -

Off to Wester Ross next week, hoping to have a go at the Bealach na Ba.

http://app.strava.com/segments/730602

Feeling excited and petrified in equal measures

I'm taking my hybrid as I need it for family cycles, it does have lower gears than my road bike and toe clips, so if (when) I do stop I should be able to get going again.

Average gradient 6.7%? That's nearly flat...

More seriously, good luck!
Wish me luck, I'm trying my first 600k audax this weekend and I'm quite seriously worried about the temps. My family are all up from Bonnie Scotland so I'm, as you can imagine, not built for heatwaves... :shock:
At least I don't have to climb anything like that.

marylogic

Good luck with the 600k! Will that be your SR complete?

djm501

Ho yus!

elderone

Good luck to both of you....

marylogic

Thanks, I will report back whatever the outcome......

Cleat Eastwood

Good luck - you can beat the mofo into the ground anyday

Mikey41

Best of luck both of you !

Initialised

Wow that looks like a nice climb and equally exhilarating descent, unless it's part of a round trip...

You have my envy, 12th highest road!

Highests road in the UK, the cycling equivalent to bagging all the Munroes.

Good luck.

marylogic

Initialised wrote:

Wow that looks like a nice climb and equally exhilarating descent, unless it's part of a round trip...

You have my envy, 12th highest road!

Highests road in the UK, the cycling equivalent to bagging all the Munroes.

Good luck.

:idea:

Highest roads? Now there's an idea.......

I was trying to do the Scottish section of 100 greatest cycle climbs, but my trips over the Lecht and the Cairnwell don't count as I did them from the wrong side. By the looks of things, it doesn't seem to matter with the highest roads. That's got me thinking......

Kieran_Burns

I so love having excuses to post my photo of that:



Good Luck!

Initialised

Oh my!

That looks amazing, definitely need to check it off the list some day.

marylogic

:shock:

That picture is amazing! Hoping for slightly better conditions. And a favourable tailwind.

Kieran_Burns

You want the wind I had that day I took the photo. I was leaning on the roof of the car getting battered by the wind rushing up the pass. It was the only way I could actually hold the camera steady enough. Another 20' higher and I was in the clouds and couldn't see a thing, you'll love it there.

diamonddog

Good luck and remember hills are just flat roads that go up. Ha ha

kettrinboy

Saw on the "One Show" the other night that the presenter Anita Rani went up the Bealach in about an hour and she said she is only a beginner , dont know how many times she had to stop, several i expect but if she can do it surely you can, looked like she was twiddling a 34 x 28 gear all the way, i think the bloke riding with her was the author of the best 100 climbs in the UK.

djm501

How'd it got then? :-)

Mine? In a nutshell - SR done - me, knackered

marylogic

Well, I made it! Thanks for everyone's kind words of support

Had to put a foot down a couple of times to let cars pass in passing places, but I managed without stopping for a rest. Ha Ha! take that, so called Bealach na ba!

It was an absolutely epic climb, I'd strongly recommend it. It is longer than other UK climbs but the gradient really isn't that bad. It's only really 20% on the bad side of the hairpins, otherwise more like 14% at the worst bits.

http://veloviewer.com/segments/730602/athlete/1732955

Pics to follow.

marylogic

Here we go, finally got picture off my ancient phone:


DSC00020 by marylogic, on Flickr

Weather slightly more forgiving than when Kieran visited

It was pretty misty on the way up and I had that unnerving experience of looking over the side of the road and just seeing an eerie misty nothingness, with no idea of how far the drop was. Thank goodness for armco barriers!
Fortunately it cleared up for the descent

Kieran_Burns

I think the word you are looking for is 'exciting'

(need a 'like' button)

djm501

Excellent, good to hear and good to see that the previous picture was genuine and not a lanscape from Vulcan or something.

Very well done :applause:

Kieran_Burns

djm501 wrote:

Excellent, good to hear and good to see that the previous picture was genuine and not a lanscape from Vulcan or something.

Very well done :applause:

Oi! :shock:

djm501

..

marylogic

I thought the first pic looked a bit like Mordor from LOTR

djm501

It probably felt like it too when you were riding up there

marylogic

and this is a photo of me at the top

djm501

Your expression there tells me that you didn't eat enough caik

thefd

What route did you take? Do you have a Strava of your ride?

I did it earlier this year. Started in Kinlochewe and went down to Lochcarron. Good climb out of Lochcarron, then up to Beleach, and over to Applecross, then right up the coast. I was surprised at how many climbs there were up the coast, quite a few tough little blighters! Ten across to Sheildig and back through Torridon and back to Kinlochewe. 90 miles in total, with 7000 feet of climbing.

Well done on doing it. It is a good one to tick off.

marylogic

That's a bit more impressive than my ride!

I was on a family holiday and the only way I could sell it was getting dropped off at Tornapress, doing the climb, then heading straight back again. I then took the kids to Lochcarron to let Mrlogic do the climb too.

http://app.strava.com/activities/68087245