Scotland 2024 day two ; Ben Alder

At breakfast I watched a small group of deer gamboling in the hillside opposite, while the low grey cloud of yesterday had disappeared to be replaced by glimpses of blue amongst the high white clouds. I had the feeling it was going to be a good day, especially when the sun put in an appearance. Leaving the B&B, it started to rain, and on the road north I saw a couple of rainbows including one double. Early showers had been forecast, however the temperature soon dipped a couple of notches, and the showers turned into more persistent rain. At one point the sun came out and I was treated to the wonderful sight of a complete and bright rainbow spreading out in front of me, while the sun lit up the green fields. I crossed the River Garry a couple of times on the A9, now much fuller and wider than when I had seen it yesterday in Pitlochry.

Just before Dalnaspidal I got a glimpse of the snow covered tops of the hills to the east of Loch Ericht and wondered what I was letting myself in for. Soon after I parked up at the car park of Ralia Cafe just south of Newtonmore, and had a coffee before setting out on my ride to Ben Alder. It was drizzling as I put my bike together, but that was the least of my problems as the wind was blowing a hoolie! Worse still, it was a south westerly, and I had fourteen miles of riding due south ahead of me. Thankfully I had packed my Altura rain jacket, which I bought last year with a Scotland trip in mind (and a £20 voucher from renewing my car insurance!). I pushed off, following NCN 7 alongside the busy A9. This must have been the former A9, as there were cats eyes in places and you could still see evidence of the white lines separating the carriageway. The main rail line to Inverness also ran alongside.

Soon the cycle path ended and the route followed the Old Military Road, still running parallel to the A9. Although the road was quiet, you could still hear the traffic on the A9 as it rushed along the wet road. By this time the rain had died out, and the sun was starting to come out. Although this was very welcome, the blustery wind was still brutally savage, making it a struggle to keep momentum at times. However, the staggering scenery that was unfolding in front of my eyes more than made up for the slog I had to endure, the scudding clouds and blue skies combined with the dramatic hills and wide fields were a treat for the senses. I had passed a learner driver at the side of the road when I had come off the cycle path, and he caught me up further down the road, very patiently waiting behind me for a safe place to overtake. There had been a few and he hadn’t come past, so I took pity and slowed to let him come through so as not to hold him up any longer.

From driving up I knew Dalwhinnie was just(!) eight miles from the cafe, and soon the road joined the A889 into Dalwhinnie, passing the Dalwhinnie distillery. Now I’ve been to more than a few distilleries, and I have to say it is one of the best situated I have seen, all whitewashed buildings against the backdrop of dramatic hills. There was also a road sign outside the distillery advising “SLOW Wildlife crossing”! I’d hoped the bulk of the hills surrounding the distillery would take some of the sting out of the wind, but as I passed through Dalwhinnie it seemed worse than ever, almost knocking me sideways.

In the village I turned south again to head to Loch Ericht, and the Ben Alder estate. The view of the loch as I headed along the road was stunning, and I stopped for a photo, nearly getting blown off my bike by the wind. The snow capped Ben Alder could be seen at the end of the loch from my viewpoint, although the loch actually goes further past the summit of the Ben. The road along the loch undulated (a feature of Scotland, I am finding out) and was hard going into the wind. Still, the views of the loch as I rode on were fantastic, and on the opposite shore the hills rose up with waterfalls visible. I passed the Luxury Highland Lodge building, looking very exotic, and followed the shore south, watching waves on the loch breaking like so much surf at Scarborough, the wind was that strong.

Further along, the road climbed a little and entered what looked like the mouth of a forest, looking quite dark inside. On reaching the entrance, I could see that in fact it was only a short stretch of forest, and rode on as if riding through an old railway tunnel with the light in the distance. Coming out of the “tunnel”, I passed a small waterfall on my side. As I got closer to Ben Alder it reared up larger in view, and the road threw up some steeper ascents and descents. Soon I reached Ben Alder Lodge, another exotic looking building, and stopped for a bite to eat. My original plan was to continue up onto Ben Alder and ride to Loch Pattack, however the fourteen mile headwind slog had been tough, and so with another four or five days riding to come I decided to cut short and retrace to the cafe.

Starting off again after my snack break, the change in the experience was amazing. No longer was I being pounded by the wind, bent over the handlebars. I could ride more relaxed, and at a decent pace! Even going back up the inclines was easier, although at one point my front gear refused to drop into low when selected, and I had a few seconds of struggle before it eventually behaved. I was flying along, drinking in the scenery and enjoying myself immensely. The sun was out and it was illuminating the loch beautifully, and it seemed all too soon that I was back at the Luxury Highland Lodge. Turning off the road to get to the exit, the wind had a final blast at me for a short while, and then I was back heading through Dalwhinnie again.

The Highland Luxury Lodge

I stopped at the distillery for some purchases (thank goodness I had me cheesy Radio Devon backpack with me, although I found that you could wear it with the Radio Devon side to your back, rather than showing off!) and another snack. Shortly after, on the A889 crossing the railway, the wind put in another onslaught, but soon enough I was on the Old Military Road heading north, with the hoolie at my back, and mostly downhill! I sped along, at speeds of 16 to 25 miles per hour, without even trying! There was still the scenery to enjoy, and at one point I came across a farmer unloading some sheep into a field. One of these had decided he didn’t want to join the rest, and was heading up the road. I shouted to the farmer that he had an escapee, and slowed to ensure I didn’t spook the sheep. He just kept running away from me, so I stopped while the farmer came up, at which point the sheep decided to leap over the fence into the adjacent field.

With the drama over I resumed my ride and picked up the cycle path again, which was so much nicer now it wasn’t raining. I came to the sign for Ralia Cafe, 2 miles, and coasted the final miles into the car park. I packed the bike into the car and went back into the cafe for some deserved sustenance. It had been another hard but thoroughly enjoyable ride, showcasing more of the superb scenery that Scotland has to offer.

Scotland 2024 day one ; two lochs

The seeds of my first ride on the Scotland 2024 trip were sown almost 50 years ago, when I received a Railway World (or Railway Magazine, I can't really remember) Annual for Christmas. In it, there was a story of a cab ride from Glasgow to Fort William, and it included a description of the line over Rannoch Moor which sounded really interesting and worth visiting. Cue a stopover at Pitlochry and, courtesy of a 2023 Christmas present, a ride to Rannoch from Pitlochry. I was joined on this ride by my friend Lawrence, who does a great job with Cycle Crieff and who had also helped with the loan of a road bike for the ride, rather than my heavy mountain bike.

We set off from my B&B downhill into Pitlochry (mental note made that a climb would be needed at the end of the ride) and turned right along the main street, the A924. Pitlochry looked a lovely town, and apparently is very popular with the tourists in summer. The A924 also is part of National Cycle Network route 7, and we followed this out of town and under the A9, passing Faskally Caravan Park to turn left over the River Garry on the B8019. The river looked surprisingly dry, given how much rain we have had recently.

The dry River Garry

The B8019 followed an undulating route, with woodland on either side which eventually gave some teasing glimpses of the River Tummel below us. The River Tummel soon became Loch Tummel, and after a few miles we reached Queen's View which gave a superb view over the loch, although as the day was grey and overcast, with some low cloud, the view was not as spectacular as it could have been. It was spectacular enough though!

The view from Queen's View

Continuing on, it was hard to keep concentrating on the road, as the views over the loch, and of the steeply banked woodland on our right, were just stunning. As well as this, the road was very quiet too, with very little traffic indeed. We passed the Inn at Loch Tummel, and then the Errochty Power Station, a lovely stone building with three very tall windows. We rode past the Parkdean Resorts Tummel Valley holiday park, and passed through Tummel Bridge. At the junction with the B846 we came across the original brickstone bridge which is nearly 300 years old and formed part of the old Military Road network in Scotland. From the bridge we had a great view of the roaring River Tummel, and indeed for the next few miles the river could be seen on our left through the trees, white in places as it spilled over boulders. It was certainly one of the most spectacular river displays I have ever seen.

The steeply wooded banks of the Tay Forest Park had by now given way to flatter agricultural lands, no less scenic than the trees. On our left the large expanse of Dunalastair Water appeared, affording more gloriously scenic views. We rode through the pretty village of Kinloch Rannoch, which had a lovely church, and then came to the eastern end of Loch Rannoch.

Lawrence contemplating Loch Rannoch

We followed the road round the north side of the loch, again on deserted roads, and eventually reached Killichonan where we came across a unique piece of hedge topiary in the shape of a dog on top of a tall hedge. Not finished with the surprises, a little further on we came across a small old cemetery which seemed totally out of place in the sparsely populated surroundings. A couple of miles on, we passed Rannoch Power Station, another power station utilising the plentiful supply of water to be found locally. We frequently came across abundant displays of snowdrops in flower, and daffodils just about budding, and fields full of sheep ready to lamb. At one point we came across a couple of women swimming in the loch, and at the western end we saw some anglers who had set up and were sitting waiting for a bite. Occasionally the sun would try to break through the clouds which gave some nice effects through the slate grey sky, and the occasional view would open up to the top of the mountains to reveal pockets of snow still in situ.

At the western end of Loch Rannoch, we decided not to continue on and do the stretch to Rannoch Station as the cafe there didn't open for the season until Saturday. This turned out to be a good decision in hindsight, and didn't spoil the ride in any way. As we turned back eastwards for Pitlochry, we found the wind was now into our faces, and shortly after we came across a group of four highland cattle, three black and one white, and one that looked only a few months old, lying together around a straw feeder. We also passed a lovely looking church. The ride now gave us some different views of the loch, including a view of the higher building of Rannoch Power Station and the pipeline feeding the lower building. We seemed to be riding alongside the loch forever, but eventually we came to Kinloch Rannoch again and continued towards Tempar and the climbing that meant we had reached Schiehallion. 

Schiehallion is a Munro (rising to 3,553 feet), is near the centre of mainland Scotland and in the 18th century was used in an experiment to estimate the mass of the earth. All of this meant nothing to us as we toiled up the steep road at its base. We were climbing at gradients frequently in double figures, at one point passing one of the locations used in the filming of Outlander. The views from this heights were tremendous, although we weren't concentrating on these at all. We passed through some bleak moorland countryside and passed Braes of Foss car park before descending down to Loch Kinardochty and the junction with the B846. A left turn here took us back towards Tummel Bridge and a near two mile descent at around 5-9%. Just before reaching Tummel Bridge we turned right along a narrow road to Foss. This turned into a very undulating road running alongside Loch Tummel, and following the exertions over Schiehallion each climb was really sapping our legs, with the subsequent downhills not really giving any time to recover before the next rise. We passed the sights we'd seen on the opposite shore, and when I saw Queen's View I knew we weren't too far away from Pitlochry.

On the south side of Loch Tummel

Eventually Loch Tummel disappeared, the road became better surfaced and the River Tummel appeared on our left, growing in width as we neared Pitlochry. For the first time since we'd left Pitlochry we heard fast traffic as the road ran alongside, and ultimately led onto, the A9. Fortunately there is a cycle path by the side of the A9, so we took that and left the company of the A9 by the inviting Fonab Castle Hotel (and Spa - what I wouldn't give for a massage right now!). Shortly after we turned left on NCN7 and crossed the River Tummel on the Iron Suspension Bridge, looking down on an angler waist deep in the water. This led us back onto Pitlochry main street and then up the final hill to my B&B. 

It had been a long day, a tiring one, but ultimately one I will look back on with an immense amount of satisfaction. Personal highlights for me were any of the multitude of glimpses of rivers / lochs / falls, the stunning countryside, some wonderful buildings and the incredible solitude when we stopped, broken only by birdsong and water. And a bonus - it stayed dry, despite the rather gloomy conditions.

Thanks to Lawrence for the loan of the road bike. Later in the evening I heard that Cycle Crieff had been successful in a bid for some grant money for a cargo bike initiative to support local business in Crieff. Well deserved.

January (You're All I See)

January is a funny bugger for cycling. You come off Christmas with all the extra padding that brings, having lost some of your fitness that regular exercise gives you, and yet you want to get back on the bike and get some miles in. It's not just the extra weight / lack of fitness that you have to contend with, the weather is generally rubbish, with ice, strong winds and heavy rains abounding, not to mention the generally poor state of the roads at this time of year ; floods, hedgerow detritus, potholes - all can put a real damper on riding when you do actually manage to get out. And if you puncture, on a cold and dismal day, it seems the very worst ever type to fix.

So how do you approach the month? I find that a laid back approach works best, take whatever good weather days come along and listen to your body, just go with the flow. Some of the Strava challenges can also be useful as well, as long as you don't become a slave to their completion - it's great if you can ride 600km in the month, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. Feel it - rather than force it. I've managed my best ever January in terms of mileage, and had fun while doing it. One of my rides covered new roads, and my monthly 100k ride turned into a fun game of working out how many turns I could take to get a good mileage whilst remaining close to home. Anything to avoid the feeling of just plodding out the miles for the sake of it.

It can also be useful to think longer term, and think about what the coming year will bring. I've booked on Sundown 60 (again) in May, and have also entered the two day Yorkshire Wolds Way Challenge in June, a bit like riding the Sundown 60 twice, on consecutive days. I've explored logistics and information around the Traws Eryri route, and have looked at more routes in Scotland. Now it's February, the days are getting noticeably longer and hopefully brighter and warmer. The promise of a good year of cycling is in the air - thank you January!

Incidentally, the post title refers to a track by the excellent Scottish band Call To Mind, who hail from the Scottish Highlands where I want to ride this year. Worth checking out.