20th May 2013 - The Ballachulish Sandbag

Anna laundering some cash before we headed out...just thought I'd show it for evidence...

At the start of our route, soon to wave goodbye to the road

One of the few rideable sections

A well earned rest

Enjoying Loch Linnhe after the forest track

So today Anna and I were keen to get on the hill, but given the very low cloud level our plans of doing the Sron Na Larig and down Bhienn Fhada was shelved. We opted instead to have a go on the bikes around a loop Anna has had her eye on for ages - from Ballachulish around the Ballachulish Horseshoe to Duror and back up National Cycle Route 78 to the start of the trail again - around 24km all told.

We set off with high hopes, but soon found ourselves facing boggy, grassy slopes and extremely rutty tracks with no where to ride properly. We ended up spending most of our time pushing the bikes wondering why we had brought them with us... Regardless, we had a good laugh and it was nice sharing the outdoors with Anna since her new job restricts her time off so much. She is still fitter than me on the bike!!!

Eventually we came to the end of the boggy hell (stunning scenery though) and hit some nice but too short lived single track before going full throttle down several miles of forest track (a welcome relief!) and hitting ontot Route 78 which was incredibly quick. With only a few stops to admire the scenery and eat cake, we were back to the car in no time, and homeward bound after a milkshake and chocolate cake at the cafe in Glen Coe.

Great to be out on the bike doing some cross country stuff, but I think that route has served its purpose and wont be visited again on two wheels....Hoping to do my TCL soon so its all good training I'm sure!