This year was supposed to be all about the Highland Trail for me. I’d managed to get a place on the group start in May and had been training hard through a miserable winter to prepare for it. But, like everything else, it was cancelled. For a while I was too worried about the looming horror of the pandemic to think about it. But after a few weeks, I found myself wanting another big objective to latch onto. Something to keep me busy and offer a distraction.
I thought about soloing the HT500 or another ITT route later in the year, but I was reluctant to book time off or commit to travelling even short distances, as I had no idea how the year was going to pan out.
Ideally, I needed something I could do during a weekend from my front door. With most other ITT parties cancelled, why not create a new one and have my own, self-contained party? A stupid idea perhaps, but it helped keep me sane during the first months of lockdown when I was itching for a longer ride and a night in the woods.
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Ben Lomond from the Comer Farm track
Ever since riding the Cairngorms Loop last year, I’d thought about designing a route around the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park that offered a similar level of challenge. So I planned it out, showed the route to some friends, tweaked it, tweaked it some more and then sat back and waited for lockdown to ease. Once the five-mile limit was lifted and tourism reopened in Scotland, all I needed was a window of reasonable weather to align with a weekend. This turned out to be 31 July - a year to the day that I set off to ride the Cairngorms Loop.
Day one
My designated start and finish point was the Forth Inn in Aberfoyle (as an aside, a lovely pub). I left at 9am and took tracks and paths west towards Ben Lomond. I know this area well but resisted the temptation to hammer out the first few miles and tried to settle into an all-day pace. The objective for the day was to complete at least 160km to allow a shorter second day. On my Cairngorms Loop ITT the second day had ended up much longer and I wanted to avoid that this time.
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Start and finish at the Forth Inn, Aberfoyle
The first big climb of the loop comes after Comer Farm, which sits at the north-eastern foot of Ben Lomond. It’s steep and loose in places and I wondered how it would be on a loaded bike - but if anything the extra weight seemed to help with traction. The track bends west into Gleann Gaoithe - a gem of a valley with mountain crags to the north, and the steep north side of Ben Lomond to the south. In a decade or so, it’ll be even more attractive as the newly-planted native woodland matures. If only they could get rid of the ugly pylons that cross the lower end.
When the climb’s over, there’s a viewpoint to savour - over Loch Lomond and across to the jagged outline of the Cobbler and the rest of the Arrochar Alps. If you look to the Tarbet gap, you can see a piece of track that curls around a hill towards you - it’s part of the Three Lochs Way and I guessed I’d be there in about six or seven hours.
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Looking across Loch Lomond to Tarbet
After the long climb there’s a steep descent - you lose about 300m in five minutes, or quicker if you’re bold. I once broke a rib on this descent so I wasn’t particularly bold.
Down at the loch, I hit the West Highland Way and turned south. There are some lovely sections of technical riding down to Balmaha, but a night of rain had left the trail wet and slippy, and I didn’t want any early mishaps, so I took this bit steady as well. I realised later I must have just missed Gary MacDonald, who was riding north that day and completed the entire Way in 9.5hrs, taking an hour off Keith Forsyth’s record. My pace was a bit more sedate.
After Balmaha, the route heads south-east across farmland and a lovely bridge over the River Endrick. There were two fords, one of which was a knee-high wade through bronze-coloured peaty water. I took off my shoes and socks as I didn’t want them soaking wet at this stage. After a short hop on the A811 there’s some easy riding on back roads to take you into Balloch.
Balloch was rammed with the usual, slightly intimidating crowds, but I had to stop for liquids. I spent a nervous five minutes queuing in a tiny, airless store surrounded by people with no masks or shirts, hoping my bike would still be there when I left the shop.
The bike survived and then it was time for the Three Lochs Way. It was the first time I’d ridden it in this direction. The final screaming descent down Stoneymollan becomes the first brutal climb and the temperature was rising fast. But I kept it steady and was at the top soon enough, taking in another superb view that offered a different angle on Loch Lomond.
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Another angle on Loch Lomond from the Three Lochs Way
After the first proper bit of HaB through the woods at the top of Ben Bowie (at least that was in the shade) there’s a whoop-inducing descent into Helensburgh. I didn’t stop but enjoyed the ride to the sea front and then up Colquhoun Street - the poshest road in town.
Then it was back on singletrack and more lovely riding across the hill and into Glen Fruin where I paused for a quick break. It was 3pm and I was about 85km in now, with maybe half of the day done distance-wise. There’s a steep road climb at the top of Glen Fruin, but you’re instantly rewarded with big vistas towards the Arrochar Alps and a super-fast descent on closed tarmac roads inside the MoD range to ride while enjoying them.
The rest of the Three Lochs Way section passed without incident, despite some gloopy mud on the tracks after Glen Douglas - and a plague of flying ants. The ants first appeared in Gleann Culanach and were still annoying me in Arrochar, somehow making their way into eyes, mouth, nose and ears. At least it was a change from the usual midges.
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Looking towards the Cobbler on the Three Lochs Way
I made a brief stop at the Arrochar chippy for more fizzy drinks, but resisted a bag of chips. It was time to veer off the Three Lochs Way and onto the Cowal Way into Ardgartan Forest. It was busy on the switchback path that hillwalkers follow on their way up and down the Cobbler, but less than 100m from the path I was enjoying solitude again. I’m always surprised by how little effort is required to get away from the crowds in Scotland.
The Ardgarten peninsula and Dukes Pass path was a very pleasant surprise. I hadn’t ridden it before and wasn’t sure what to expect. There was an hour or so on good forestry tracks, slowly climbing higher and higher, before a sharp turn onto singletrack at a gorgeous lochan. The singletrack started with a bit of pushing but quickly turned into almost 4km of fantastic descent. Steep and loose in places but never super-technical. Brilliant fun. After that, there’s some more downhill on forestry tracks which took me into a deserted Lochgoilhead.
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Just before the lovely singletrack on the Argdgartan peninsula
At that point I looked up and saw the showers starting to get organised in the hills to the north. Heavy rain was forecast around midnight and my plan was to have found some sort of shelter by this point and be sleeping, but it was only 7pm and way too early to stop. I checked the GPS and saw I’d ridden 135km. At that distance on the Cairngorms Loop it was midnight and I was limping into the bothy in Glen Feshie wondering how the hell I would manage the next day. Right now, I was still feeling strong and why worry about a bit of rain? Waterproof on, Snickers eaten, let’s go!
After Rest and Be Thankful, I turned into Glen Kinglas and suddenly felt cold. I stopped to add layers before starting the bit of the route I viewed as the Missing Link. For ages I’d puzzled how to get from Argyll back into the Loch Lomond basin and it was only after looking at a 1:25,000 OS map that I realised you could take this track all the way down to Inverarnan to complete the link.
At precisely 150km I passed the Abyssinia Bothy. It looked in good condition, but it’s currently closed because of Covid and it felt too early to stop anyhow. The next section was a drag. My legs were tiring, it was drizzly and I was riding in thick cloud. I broke open the jelly babies and fought the urge to look at how much climbing was left before the descent to the A82.
I zoned out for a while, enjoying the feeling of being isolated up a mountain in the mist, and it wasn’t actually that long before I was on a bumpy fast track heading downhill. I saw my third different angle of Loch Lomond as I emerged from the cloud a few minutes later. It was dusk when I reached the road so I dug out my lights and put a bright gilet on over my waterproof. I wasn’t looking forward to riding on the A82 in semi-darkness, but thankfully the bridge over to Beinglas Farm has now reopened so it’s only a short stretch. I rode through the busy campsite and rejoined the West Highland Way - this time headed north.
It was properly dark now and although the rain had stopped, I was getting drenched on the bits of the path that were overhung by vegetation. I was also beginning to feel quite sleepy.
I guess this is the point when a proper racer would eat some food, pop a caffeine pill and settle in for the night. However, that isn’t me, so instead I began thinking about where I could get shelter from the forecast rain and the midges which were starting to attack. I had a bivy and sleeping bag, but hadn’t packed a tarp or tent.
I glanced at the GPS and saw I was 169km in. It was 10.15pm. I thought about sleeping in the underpass where the WHW goes under the A82. Potentially pretty noisy though, even late at night. Then a white cottage loomed up. I’d reached Derrydaroch - an old farmhouse which was severely damaged during flooding this winter, though I don’t think it's been lived in for a while. Close by were two barns so I rode over for a look. The first one was shut off and looked dangerously derelict. The adjoining barn looked in great condition, was open, empty and had a dry, clean concrete floor. Get in! Within 15 minutes I had stripped off my wet clothing and was in my sleeping bag, eating a burrito and drinking chocolate milk. Five minutes later, it was hammering down with rain and there was a distant rumble of thunder. Can you beat a moment like that?
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Who doesn't like an an empty, dry barn on a wet night?
Day two
3am alarm… I snoozed a couple of times and finally hauled myself out of bed at 3.20am. I packed up and left the barn by 4am having slept pretty well. I rode with lights through the Crianlarich woods, but when I emerged from the trees to cross the road I realised it was almost fully daylight.
It was overcast but dry. I started dreaming of an egg roll and coffee, but knew everything in Tyndrum would be shut at 5.30am. Sure enough, there was no sign of life. I rode through the village and continued on the WHW, turning right at Auchlyne Farm, now following what is the start of the Highland Trail. As I reached the top of the glen, horizontal shafts of sunlight crept over the pass to spotlight Beinn a’ Chuirn. I paused to take a picture and enjoy the moment.
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Beinn a’ Chuirn at the head of Glen Lyon
By the time I was done with Glen Lyon and heading over the Pubil pass to Glen Lochy, my feet were soaked from repeated river crossings. The previous week had been wet and all the burns were high. I still had plenty of snacks but was feeling the stomach growl that can only be satisfied with proper food. I decided to make one last stop at Killin.
I rolled into town at about 9.30am and popped into the Co-op to buy a sandwich, apple and some more bars to last me the rest of the ride. The shop was fairly empty, but I detected a distinctly frosty reception from the woman at the checkout. She kept looking at me and shaking her head. And not in an endearing sort of way. She looked angry and hostile. I was in my own happy world and this confused me. I actually put my hand to my face to check I was wearing a mask, which I was.
I shrugged and paid. As I left the shop I caught sight of myself in a reflection and do you know what I looked like? I looked like I’d been soaking wet, slept on the floor of a barn and woken up at 3am to wade through several rivers. I probably smelt like that too. God I love the simple stupidity of this game. I decided to maintain the vagrant image by sitting on the pavement outside the shop to eat my egg sandwich and chuckle to myself manically. My bike was utterly filthy by this stage and I guess I was in a similar state.
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Filfthy bike outside the Killin Co-op. They didn't want me in town
Incoming was the last section I hadn’t ridden before - the long climb from the south Loch Tay road up onto the pipe track the Rob Roy Way runs along. This is a long, steep climb. The sun was fully up now and it was getting hot. But I had cold coke in my bottle, loud tunes in my ears and clear views north to some of my favourite hills north of Loch Tay.
Thirty minutes of steady pedalling got me to the dam at the top and I joined a lovely section of track that finally runs out at a pipe vent which roars away to itself in the middle of the moor. From this you follow an increasingly faint quad track on boggy ground and then it’s pathless until you reach the top of the track on the other side of the hill.
I have no idea if anyone else will ride this route, or if it’ll catch on as an ITT, but if it does, this is the section I specifically put in to keep the gravel bikes away.
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On the pipe track
Then I was on a steep, loose descent, freewheeling and grinning because I knew that after one short climb I’d be enjoying 9km of downhill into Comrie. At the same time, I was trying to extract a reluctant Percy Pig from my toptube bag. This is the point I suffered my only off during the ride as I looked up too late to realise I wasn’t going to avoid sliding into the ditch at the edge of the track. It was undignified but I managed to slow down enough that no damage was done to bike or body.
After Comrie it was into Glen Artney - another beautiful glen I love to ride. With just two big climbs left, I crammed in some more sweets, realising that if I could keep this pace up I would be home well before dinner. This would be a big improvement on last year’s ITT of the Cairngorms Loop when I rode into darkness a second time and didn’t finish until after 10pm. And I’d managed more sleep this year.
I turned onto the main road through Callander just before 3pm and straight into gridlocked traffic. Bugger this I thought, no way am I sitting in a jam for 20 minutes. Luckily the pavements in Callander are quite wide so I weaved my way carefully through the crowds and ignored the odd dirty look.
The last challenge on this route is the techy section along the Rob Roy Way in the Menteith Hills. It’s well-known to local mountain bikers and on a good day I can make a half-decent fist of it, but not today. My legs and brain were just too tired. So it was messy, but I just about stayed upright and kept moving forward.
As I hit the last muddy section through the trees I looked at my watch and calculated I could make it back to the Forth Inn in under 31hrs if I gave it some beans. More stupidity. Racing myself on an ITT of my own making that no-one’s ridden before and might never be ridden again. No prizes, no podium. But as I said, I love this stupidity. Yes I enjoy social bikepacking trips, when you take it easy, bring proper food and a stove to cook it on. But there’s something intoxicating about this sort of riding too. When the kit and mission is stripped down to the basics and the only objective is to move as fast and efficiently as possible around a set route.
At the edge of the woods, I tapped into my final energy stores and drained my water bottle. The race was on! After 10 minutes of downhill trails I popped out at the edge of Aberfoyle for the final sprint down Main Street. I reached the pub after 30hrs 56mins. Success! I was pretty happy with that.
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Finished!
The final stats for the inaugural Lomond Trossachs Loop were 300km distance and just under 6,000m of elevation gain. The route dips in and out of the national park and goes over mountains, through forests, along lochs and down to the sea.There’s singletrack, forestry tracks, rivers to ford, a few roads and one trackless bealach to push across. It would be a lovely route to tour in three or four days. But it was exhilirating to go round it like a stupid speed vagrant in less than two. Self-assigned mission accomplished.