Weather= dry and bright
Riders- 8- Eilidh, Grant, Barry, Gerry, Alison, Sam, Dapper Stuart, and Swedish Martin.
Total Ride time- 11.30- 4.30pm including a leisurely lunch in Lochearnhead
After a considerable delay getting away caused by Barry getting lost and then being told by staff we couldn’t leave our cars in the car park all day,[In future, if riding this in the tourist session suggest people park in small car park just park the Laide Inn ], we started on Route 7, before hitting the road up to the main trail.
Main trail into Glen Ample means a long, steep slog up fire road, made more bearable with some fantastic views of Loch Lubnaig, and Ben Ledi. Eventually we got to Glen Ample.
- Loch Lubnaig from fire road
As Iain righlty said, the trail is now a more manicured track, but still loose with lots of water splashes, and jumps to be found for those who like that kinda stuff!
- Water Splash in Glen Ample. Copyright Martin via Facebook.
So, a fast, fun descent all the way through Glen Ample, with no punctures or falls, and passing very few walkers meant we were in Lochearnhead for lunchtime.
6 of us were tempted by the GMBC coloured chocolate cake. A tad dissapointing but atleast it gave us all a mega sugar boost for the return jouney.
- Gerry and the GMBC cake!
We headed out towards Balquiddar on route 7. This means a nice, tarmaced route back to the cars. I think Gerry wished he had his cross bike for this! Took longer than expected due to the up and down bits between Balquiddar and Strathyre, but after this, followed the loch side all the way to the car park.
Finally, we all retired to the Laide Inn for a quick Isotonic Shandy and some cheesy chips, and debated Kenny Wilson’s estimate of only 25KM. Bike computers made it nearer 52KM!!
We should steal the cake design for our 25th birthday cake, if not the taste of it. You should’ve consulted Andy Mac’s book for a more accurate distance!
Thanks for the write-up Sam, those double track descents were good fun.
Couple of things that should be noted for posterity:
1) Gerry attempting a river crossing and miraculously going full circle and ending up where he started. Apparently this effect can be caused by bald tyres.
2) Another river crossing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glasgowmountainbikeclub/6084990611/in/photostream/lightbox/