My ride up the Bealach na Ba - 341km to the summit
nweststeyn
Posts: 1,574
The ride on Strava - http://www.strava.com/activities/169884154
Who knew a bowl of chips could do so much for a man? It's approaching ten o'clock and we've just rolled in to the Kintail Lodge... frustratingly located right on our route but some 70km from the finish. Things aren't going well. But first, back to the start...
05:10: We arrive at the traditional COG Velo club starting point - the Inchture Hotel, just outside Dundee - and find Katie, Adam and Megan already waiting for us. Adam is to be filming parts of our journey today, Megan driving a car and Katie is riding out with us for the first 50km for some company and good chat. Eventually, we set off and made good progress to Dunke...oh wait, puncture (and a wasp sting for Katie!). Nicky and I stop to fix his wheel and we're back on the road again and making good time towards Aberfeldy. Unfortunately, at the turnoff which marks the start of the climb getting steeper we had to say farewell to Katie and go on alone. Almost immediately, the incidence of gaseous releases increased dramatically as the ride became instantly less polite.
We drop down to Aberfeldy and have ourselves a breakfast stop. Coffee and toast, eggs and beans. We probably sit around for too long, knowing that there is a long hard slog ahead of us. Schiehallion from the south next, followed by another climb at Tummel Bridge and then heading to the A9 where we'd be joining the cycle path for around 20 miles.
The A9 cycle path is not so much a cycle path as it is a mountain bike trail but we managed it without any punctures but a lot of lost time as we carefully made our way over gravel. At the end of it however, was the Dalwhinnie turnoff where we met our super support team Adam & Megan and fueled up on coca cola, pasta, cous cous, sausages and jelly beans. Food of champions! Eventually we set off again, happy with the fact that the next 80km looks to be fairly straight forward.
It's at this point, where we turn west and head into the Highlands, that Scotland starts to become really stunning. We cruised along past thick forests and loch laggan, but we didn't stop for any mountain biking at WolfTrax. The legs are still feeling good but energy is beginning to dip a bit and the heat is starting to take it's toll. We're getting through a lot of water and bodies are beginning to sag. We pass the '100 mile' marker and press on, aware that we will next see our car at Spean Bridge.
This is where things start to get a little less rosy. We have a coffee and some food at Spean Bridge and, on leaving the cafe, realise it's got even hotter. Some mild amusement is offered by a bus driver experiencing some major engine malfunctions whilst one of his passengers was engrossed in taking photos of the resulting mess of coolant on the road. Must get on though, so we head north towards Invergarry (passing the Commando Memorial) and then begin to climb up Glengarry. We are hot and it's getting later than we had hoped. The idea of finishing the ride before sunset is starting to seem impossible and we begin to adjust to the thought that there is still way over 100km to go when every single pedal stroke is starting to feel like a drain of energy. We force ourselves to select our granny gears 34x27, 34x29, 36x28 to conserve energy as running out of steam is beginning to feel like a real possibility. Jimmy is beginning to have pain in his knee, I'm starting to glaze over and Nicky struggles to keep up with our weight advantage on the downhills. The road to Kintail is long and whilst the average gradient is negative, we are still pedalling all the way and it feels like the end will never come. We've stopped talking to each other and are just riding straight on ahead. I run over a mouse, despite Nicky pointing it out on the road, and the feeling of guilt that overwhelms me is completely out of proportion. However, we pedal on as the sun begins to set.
Passing the Kintail Lodge, Megan and Adam have already booked us in and fetched keys for us. We roll in to the car park and Megan orders us a couple of bowls of chips whilst we discuss that the possibility of failing is very real. We know there is only 70km to go but, having ridden the road to Lochcarron before, we also knew there were a lot of short, sharp climbs to come to sap the strength from our legs. "Let's just stop here".
The chips arrive. We eat the chips. Warm food in our stomachs lifts us in ways words can't describe and we begin to re-set our goals. Lights are fetched and strapped on. I wrap copious amounts of tape around my lights to ensure I don't lose it. We're about to do something I have never done before... night riding!
60km of riding in the dark. And out there, it got really dark! Between the 3 of us, our lights probably weren't of a great standard. It felt pretty dodgy at times but traffic was few and far between. Adam & Megan found us on the road and lit our way with full beams on to Lochcarron. More jelly beans. Over the hill at Lochcarron. Finally! A stag. We've been hoping to see one of them all day, that silhouette will do. Now we're rolling to the start of the Bealach Na Ba... described as the UKs 'greatest cycling climb' and given an 11/10 difficulty rating in the book of the same name.
It goes a bit darker. Jimmys front light had stopped working. We don't have a spare because we naively, or perhaps arrogantly assumed we would have been long finished by now. Writing it now sounds stupid, but we decide the best course of action to take is for him to ride in the middle, whilst I light the way from behind with the strongest light we have. And then we are there. The foot of the climb.
There is not an easy way to describe the lunacy of climbing a hill like this at 00:30 with not a spot of light from the sun or the moon, with one rider having no lights at all. The first few miles of the climb take us slowly up and we make good time, spinning to win. I feel some sharp jolts through my bars, like my front tyre is soft. Wait. It is soft! We stop on the side of the mountain to change the tube in the dark and then ride on again.Things go a bit darker. My light, up to now the one we had been relying on for, essentially, all 3 of us had switched to it's 'low' setting whilst the battery low warning light flashed. Woefully underprepared for a midnight ascent of a remote scottish mountain... but at least we had a support car. In that support car was a cameraman with film production lighting banks... 100 LEDs in a large enclosure. I have a GoPro mount. We could make the two work together.
I am lighting up the mountain.
Onwards we pedal. The road is lit before us, but we still can't see anything around us, or above us. It's getting really steep now and I'm standing, pushing my 85kgs down on to the cranks and letting the granny gear do it's thing. I think about stopping. I really want to stop. But then I notice the red rear light of Nickys bike what seems like 10 metres directly above me. That can only mean one thing... switchbacks! At this point the climb eases and I know that after these it is plain sailing to the car park at the top. Jimmy and Nicky are both ahead but Jimmy waits whilst I catch up. He is starting to cramp and fears how much longer there is to go. In the back of my mind I know we're there. Darkness all around, except for the faint outline of rocks, we roll along the final stretch. Nickys light is blinking up ahead but he is not on his bike. That means it's approaching 2am but we have made it to the summit of the Bealach Na Ba.
I celebrate with two guys who have really impressed me with their persistance and teamwork. We open a bottle of the cheapest cava I could find the day before and take some token swigs before the gassy bubbles make our empty stomachs hurt.
A thought crosses my mind. Why are we standing on the Bealach Na Ba drinking cava at 2am?
The car is waiting. Let's load up the bikes and get the hell out here and into bed.
Who knew a bowl of chips could do so much for a man? It's approaching ten o'clock and we've just rolled in to the Kintail Lodge... frustratingly located right on our route but some 70km from the finish. Things aren't going well. But first, back to the start...
05:10: We arrive at the traditional COG Velo club starting point - the Inchture Hotel, just outside Dundee - and find Katie, Adam and Megan already waiting for us. Adam is to be filming parts of our journey today, Megan driving a car and Katie is riding out with us for the first 50km for some company and good chat. Eventually, we set off and made good progress to Dunke...oh wait, puncture (and a wasp sting for Katie!). Nicky and I stop to fix his wheel and we're back on the road again and making good time towards Aberfeldy. Unfortunately, at the turnoff which marks the start of the climb getting steeper we had to say farewell to Katie and go on alone. Almost immediately, the incidence of gaseous releases increased dramatically as the ride became instantly less polite.
We drop down to Aberfeldy and have ourselves a breakfast stop. Coffee and toast, eggs and beans. We probably sit around for too long, knowing that there is a long hard slog ahead of us. Schiehallion from the south next, followed by another climb at Tummel Bridge and then heading to the A9 where we'd be joining the cycle path for around 20 miles.
The A9 cycle path is not so much a cycle path as it is a mountain bike trail but we managed it without any punctures but a lot of lost time as we carefully made our way over gravel. At the end of it however, was the Dalwhinnie turnoff where we met our super support team Adam & Megan and fueled up on coca cola, pasta, cous cous, sausages and jelly beans. Food of champions! Eventually we set off again, happy with the fact that the next 80km looks to be fairly straight forward.
It's at this point, where we turn west and head into the Highlands, that Scotland starts to become really stunning. We cruised along past thick forests and loch laggan, but we didn't stop for any mountain biking at WolfTrax. The legs are still feeling good but energy is beginning to dip a bit and the heat is starting to take it's toll. We're getting through a lot of water and bodies are beginning to sag. We pass the '100 mile' marker and press on, aware that we will next see our car at Spean Bridge.
This is where things start to get a little less rosy. We have a coffee and some food at Spean Bridge and, on leaving the cafe, realise it's got even hotter. Some mild amusement is offered by a bus driver experiencing some major engine malfunctions whilst one of his passengers was engrossed in taking photos of the resulting mess of coolant on the road. Must get on though, so we head north towards Invergarry (passing the Commando Memorial) and then begin to climb up Glengarry. We are hot and it's getting later than we had hoped. The idea of finishing the ride before sunset is starting to seem impossible and we begin to adjust to the thought that there is still way over 100km to go when every single pedal stroke is starting to feel like a drain of energy. We force ourselves to select our granny gears 34x27, 34x29, 36x28 to conserve energy as running out of steam is beginning to feel like a real possibility. Jimmy is beginning to have pain in his knee, I'm starting to glaze over and Nicky struggles to keep up with our weight advantage on the downhills. The road to Kintail is long and whilst the average gradient is negative, we are still pedalling all the way and it feels like the end will never come. We've stopped talking to each other and are just riding straight on ahead. I run over a mouse, despite Nicky pointing it out on the road, and the feeling of guilt that overwhelms me is completely out of proportion. However, we pedal on as the sun begins to set.
Passing the Kintail Lodge, Megan and Adam have already booked us in and fetched keys for us. We roll in to the car park and Megan orders us a couple of bowls of chips whilst we discuss that the possibility of failing is very real. We know there is only 70km to go but, having ridden the road to Lochcarron before, we also knew there were a lot of short, sharp climbs to come to sap the strength from our legs. "Let's just stop here".
The chips arrive. We eat the chips. Warm food in our stomachs lifts us in ways words can't describe and we begin to re-set our goals. Lights are fetched and strapped on. I wrap copious amounts of tape around my lights to ensure I don't lose it. We're about to do something I have never done before... night riding!
60km of riding in the dark. And out there, it got really dark! Between the 3 of us, our lights probably weren't of a great standard. It felt pretty dodgy at times but traffic was few and far between. Adam & Megan found us on the road and lit our way with full beams on to Lochcarron. More jelly beans. Over the hill at Lochcarron. Finally! A stag. We've been hoping to see one of them all day, that silhouette will do. Now we're rolling to the start of the Bealach Na Ba... described as the UKs 'greatest cycling climb' and given an 11/10 difficulty rating in the book of the same name.
It goes a bit darker. Jimmys front light had stopped working. We don't have a spare because we naively, or perhaps arrogantly assumed we would have been long finished by now. Writing it now sounds stupid, but we decide the best course of action to take is for him to ride in the middle, whilst I light the way from behind with the strongest light we have. And then we are there. The foot of the climb.
There is not an easy way to describe the lunacy of climbing a hill like this at 00:30 with not a spot of light from the sun or the moon, with one rider having no lights at all. The first few miles of the climb take us slowly up and we make good time, spinning to win. I feel some sharp jolts through my bars, like my front tyre is soft. Wait. It is soft! We stop on the side of the mountain to change the tube in the dark and then ride on again.Things go a bit darker. My light, up to now the one we had been relying on for, essentially, all 3 of us had switched to it's 'low' setting whilst the battery low warning light flashed. Woefully underprepared for a midnight ascent of a remote scottish mountain... but at least we had a support car. In that support car was a cameraman with film production lighting banks... 100 LEDs in a large enclosure. I have a GoPro mount. We could make the two work together.
I am lighting up the mountain.
Onwards we pedal. The road is lit before us, but we still can't see anything around us, or above us. It's getting really steep now and I'm standing, pushing my 85kgs down on to the cranks and letting the granny gear do it's thing. I think about stopping. I really want to stop. But then I notice the red rear light of Nickys bike what seems like 10 metres directly above me. That can only mean one thing... switchbacks! At this point the climb eases and I know that after these it is plain sailing to the car park at the top. Jimmy and Nicky are both ahead but Jimmy waits whilst I catch up. He is starting to cramp and fears how much longer there is to go. In the back of my mind I know we're there. Darkness all around, except for the faint outline of rocks, we roll along the final stretch. Nickys light is blinking up ahead but he is not on his bike. That means it's approaching 2am but we have made it to the summit of the Bealach Na Ba.
I celebrate with two guys who have really impressed me with their persistance and teamwork. We open a bottle of the cheapest cava I could find the day before and take some token swigs before the gassy bubbles make our empty stomachs hurt.
A thought crosses my mind. Why are we standing on the Bealach Na Ba drinking cava at 2am?
The car is waiting. Let's load up the bikes and get the hell out here and into bed.
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Comments
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I'd recommend anyone to do it, once. Hopefully some of my clubmates will take on the challenge.0
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Looks brilliant. I know most of those roads very well but not sure I could commit to such a long ride.
Well done and thanks for sharing.0 -
Thanks
More photos:
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Didn't finish the epic narration - i'll start Chapter 2 tomorrow
But seriously, well done - 15.4mph average, that's impressive for the terrain/distance (213.125 miles)/amount of chips consumed and no cute female backside to follow for 290km's.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
When do we get to see the video...?
Top ride btw.0 -
Amazing effort!
Well done chaps
My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...0 -
Colinthecop wrote:When do we get to see the video...?
Top ride btw.
We're working through the footage to trim it down this evening... so give it a few weeks
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Cracking adventure. Well done and thanks for posting
I saw the COG Velo suffix on a few Strava Leader boards when I was on holiday up in Fife and Perthshire a few weeks ago. They obviously have some strong riders. I thought I have done quite well getting up the Kenmore, Glen Quaich climb without stopping but you guys had 3 riders in the top 20!! Managed to do Ben Lawers (what a descent into Glen Lyon) but need to do Schiehallion next year.0 -
Calpol wrote:Cracking adventure. Well done and thanks for posting
I saw the COG Velo suffix on a few Strava Leader boards when I was on holiday up in Fife and Perthshire a few weeks ago. They obviously have some strong riders. I thought I have done quite well getting up the Kenmore, Glen Quaich climb without stopping but you guys had 3 riders in the top 20!! Managed to do Ben Lawers (what a descent into Glen Lyon) but need to do Schiehallion next year.
Thanks!
COG Velo is a small, young club, we have a fair amount of strong riders (and Strava baggers ) but then there are a lot of very strong riders around here in the other clubs too. The jerseys are appearing in more and more TT's and races now though which is great.
Kenmore/Glen Quaich/Ben Lawers are way tougher than Schiehallion to ride - unless you are staying some very close I wouldn't worry too much about Schiehallion and do some of the other climbs up here instead. The Lecht up between Ballater and Tomintoul is a goody!0 -
First off, that ride is awesome!nweststeyn wrote:The Lecht up between Ballater and Tomintoul is a goody!
I have done that - it is cracking! Did a loop Ballater-Tomintoul-Dufftown-Ballater, about 145km, which has some fantastic roads. That 20%-odd incline out of C*ck Bridge is a real killer, then there's the other ramp higher up to finish you off. The weather up there was really bad when we did it, which added to the "serious" feel. Was nice once we got down the other side though.
I've also done Cairn O'Mount (can do it out of Aberdeen relatively easily), and am doing Cairngorm this weekend, so I seem to be working through the 100 Climbs list for Scotland - I'll have to get out to do Bealach na Ba as well, but I won't be doing 300km beforehand!0 -
Bl**dy hell, I thought my near 90 mile Tour of the Surrey Hills yesterday was a challenge!WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
Find me on Strava0 -
That's one hell of an effort! Congratulations to all involved. I'm seeing you going past Perth and thinking I'd love to be able to do that
Bealach na Ba is something I'm going to go for next year, but i'll be driving up to it 0 -
Yeah yeah yeah - but its no Box Hill is it ? ;-)
Will the video be on youtube or something ? Sounds awesome/a nightmare.0 -
Yeah some footage will be up on Youtube I'll post a link when it's ready but expect cheesy epic music and highly stylised 'suffering' shots. 0
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Brilliant, stunning, memorable, mental - all in equal weighting All the gear, but no idea...0
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^^^^ couldn't have put it better than Silly Old Hector! Congratulations and what crazed loony came up with that idea? Just so I can avoid them!0
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Impressive write up & a even more impressive ride and effort.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0
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Great read and well done as you must be proud. Great effort!
Whatever possessed you to go up the A9 cycle path though Every time I am heading North with the bike in the back of the car and going up the A9 I have a chuckle when I see fellow cyclists struggling along that path?
Seriously good going though - I love the Bealach climb as it totally awesome but better seen in the daylight though! I have had my photo taken(and my bike) at the sign at the foot of the climb many times - you have to do it!
The Bealach despite its clam is not the highest road in Scotland as Glenshee is 60m higher and the Lecht is 40m higher but none can compare to the Bealach though.
I thought I was the only one who did crazy stuff like this but just goes to show there are a lot more. Earlier this year I embarked on a 300km ride from Edinburgh into England and back and bumped into several other riders in the wee hours of the morning on the road who were doing a similar ride but were taking a different route. Met them later in the day(8hours later) and got a whoop and a shout from them.
Keep up the good work as its inspirational to othersBrian B.0 -
Hi everyone!
A couple of months on and here is the video evidence, incase anyone has 15 minutes to watch
https://vimeo.com/1049481080 -
nweststeyn wrote:Hi everyone!
A couple of months on and here is the video evidence, incase anyone has 15 minutes to watch
https://vimeo.com/104948108
Couldn't get sound on the vid.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Not really a clever way to ride on a road that's significant enough to have that level of road markings, no?Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it.0
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Which part irked you so, type:epyt? There are a few points where one of us can be seen taking primary road position, usually due to blind bends or oncoming traffic.0
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nweststeyn wrote:Which part irked you so, type:epyt? There are a few points where one of us can be seen taking primary road position, usually due to blind bends or oncoming traffic.
Maybe he lives in the South and has to put up with lots of cars. I saw a couple of them today.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Exactly, here in the highlands I can easily do a 30 mile route on B roads and not see one car.
Perhaps he thought you had your headphones in and couldn't hear the traffic coming.0 -
Well done Nico, that looked an epic ride. Really liked watching the vid and reading your OP. Me and my Brother have talked about some light touring around that area which incorporates climbing Bealach na Ba a few times now. I think you've just sealed it for me.
Question - at 08:53 on the video, what is the road you're on?“Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”0 -
Thanks! The road at 08:53 is the A87 somewhere between Loch Cluanie and Loch Duich.
I still need to climb the Bealach during daytime!0 -
nweststeyn wrote:Thanks! The road at 08:53 is the A87 somewhere between Loch Cluanie and Loch Duich.
I still need to climb the Bealach during daytime!
Thanks for that. I'm going to have to factor that in, lovely looking road. I really regret not doing more cycling when I was based at Kinloss. Now I'm living in the flatlands of boring East Anglia I kick myself on a regular basis...
You've really made me fancy a bowl of chips!“Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”0 -
It's a good road. It can be busy but in the evening we hardly saw a car at all. The only busy point was a flurry of traffic going the other way which was likely to be from the ferry coming in at Skye. To be fair, any road you pick will be lovely up there 0
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Did the Bealach Mhor route myself at the weekend. Its my third time up to the area this year but worth the effort to travel up from the central belt. No traffic to speak off really and most of the traffic that passed me were the same cars who stop to take in the views and then passed me again later.
There are some roads that can be busy however and should be avoided at peak times during the tourist season but outwith busy times all roads are relatively safe.Brian B.0
