ROUTE ADVICE - GLENCOE TO FORT AUGUSTUS

[Eldog]

Hi All

I'm starting LEJOG in about a week and just putting final touches to the route. Has anyone recently ridden the route from Glencoe to Fort Augustus? I'm trying to avoid the A82 as much as possible and was wondering what the state of the surfaces on the Great Glen Way and the canal routes. My route at the moment is:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/11823702

I'll be on a road bike with 25 tyres as hopefully shown below - wave if you see me! - I'd be really grateful for any advice.

Thanks - Eldog

[irc]

The Great Glen Cycleway follows forestry tracks on the west side of Loch Lochy. No problem on 700x32s. Probably doable on 700x25s. Here's a pic of the surface from when I used it in 2006.

And a different section in 2009.

[Emonda]

Thanks for posting those photos - I have been trying to find some but have been unable to.

I also have a road bike - just fitted some Crud Racer mud guards so have even less clearance for tyres - I really wanted to go for some 28mm but I think 25 will be all I can fit. However that surface looks fine.

I'm also considering some slightly more robust wheels.

[rualexander]

Numerous photos of Great Glen Way (and anywhere else) on Geograph website
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Great-Glen-Way
Great site for checking out track conditions.

[BottomGear]

The Great Glen Cycleway follows forestry tracks on the west side of Loch Lochy. No problem on 700x32s. Probably doable on 700x25s. Here's a pic of the surface from when I used it in 2006.

lochyforest.jpg

And a different section in 2009.

lochylochy2.jpg

That's useful to know, thanks for uploading these photos as I'm making my own plans in June and did wonder about the surface along that way.

[Rich_Clements]

I did that cycle path in 2013 32c tyres was what I used without issue, others in my party were using 23's and suffered no ill effects, the surface was quite gravelly in places but nothing too bad.

Edit: I have some photo's of the track and the canal path into Fort Augustus I will post later when I'm home.

[irc]

It's a far better option than the A82. Traffic free. Far enough from the A82 to be quiet. A couple of nice camping spots if required. Feels like touring rather than watching traffic all the time. The single track road from Neptunes Staircase to Gairlochy is practically traffic free. Better than that section of towpath which was a bit lumpy last time I tried.

Not the A82 ......

[Eldog]

Hi All

Thanks for all the replies and advice.

Numerous photos of Great Glen Way (and anywhere else) on Geograph website
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Great-Glen-Way
Great site for checking out track conditions.

I was pretty much convinced to go through Clunes Forest on the GGW until I saw these phots form the link above; now I'm not so sure on 700 x 25s - or am I being a wimp!?

[Vorpal]

Thanks for posting those photos - I have been trying to find some but have been unable to.

I also have a road bike - just fitted some Crud Racer mud guards so have even less clearance for tyres - I really wanted to go for some 28mm but I think 25 will be all I can fit. However that surface looks fine.

I'm also considering some slightly more robust wheels.

Some 28s are smaller than others. I can get 28 mm Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons on my road bike. In practice, they're more like 26 or 27 than 28. and I've ridden much worse than the Great Glen (which I have to admit I haven't been on in 20ish years) on them. My GP 4 seasons have handled some quite rough surfaces. The only thing that gave me any difficulty was very muddy conditions, where I had to stop regularly and get gunk out from all the (small) clearances. I didn't mean to ride in the mud. I took a wrong turn and it seemed easier than going back

If riding on rough surfaces, you will need to keep the tyres well above the minimum pressure to avoid pinch punctures. That may not be as comfortable for all day riding, but it will save some hassle.

I would expect your wheels to be fine, as long as they aren't too heavily loaded, but if you are heavy, or carrying much, it's probably worth investing in new wheels. I might do it just for peace of mind.

[rualexander]

The cycle route and the walking route are not always on the same bit of path/track, I think that is the case in those photos. If you look at the OS Map snapshot below the photo on Geograph you will see the cycle route is on the minor road at that point.

[Vorpal]

Hi All

Thanks for all the replies and advice.

Numerous photos of Great Glen Way (and anywhere else) on Geograph website
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Great-Glen-Way
Great site for checking out track conditions.

I was pretty much convinced to go through Clunes Forest on the GGW until I saw these phots form the link above; now I'm not so sure on 700 x 25s - or am I being a wimp!?

I would tackle that on my road bike. What I would not do is plan on making 10 mph. On surfaces like that, a rough stuff tourer or a mountain bike will allow you to go faster than on a road bike. That doesn't mean it's not feasible for the road bike.

The rougher the surface is, though the more likely your wheels will give you trouble.

[hilloverthehill]

Hi Eldog I did a JOGLE in November, and cycled pretty well the whole of the Great Glen Way on a road bike. You'll certainly have no problem on the Fort William to Fort Augustus section. From Fort Augustus go along the east side of Loch Ness; the A82 is pretty horrible. From Altnaharra I took the B871 then the A891 (single lane a road, quiet) to just beyond Forsinard, then the forest tracks through Altnabreac and back roads to John o Groats. You can check out my blog http://hilloverthehill.blogspot.co.uk has distances and height gain, though not detailed map yet. Have a great ride!

[Eldog]

Hi All

Just got back from LEJOG and with respect to the experience from "hilloverthehill", I can quite honestly say the biggest error I made on the whole LEJOG was taking the Great Glen Way route through Clunes Forest. I was on 700x25s (thank god they were Gatorskins) and IMHO it is un-rideable. I frequently had to push for fear of either getting a puncture or lack of grip going up even slight inclines. The 7 mile stretch took close to 90 minutes to complete - I most definitely would not ride it again on a road bike.

For what it's worth, the route I would take from Fort William is to get on the canal via Neptune's Staircase which is perfectly ok on a road bike. Fantastic ride to Gairlochy and then turn right to pick up about 10 miles of A82 to Laggan Locks. From Laggan Locks get back on the Great Glen Way on the east side of Loch Oich (having stopped off at the at the Eagle Barge pub which is brill). The first part from the pub is a bit rough but perfectly manageable and then rolls into the newly converted railway line to take you back onto the canal all the way to Fort Augustus.

Hope this helps

Eldog

[Dweasle]

We are also not long back from LeJoG. The first section of the route out of Fort William is fine. But the road abruptly peters out and turns into a track through Clunes Forest (signed as a national cycle route). We were on Surly LHTs with 1.75in Marathon tyres and rear panniers. It was quite rough and up-and-downy and it took us longer than anticipated. It was such a relief to get out onto a minor road a few miles short of Invergarry.

Would we ride it again? Probably not, and certainly not in or after wet conditions when it would be very slippy. As it was, we resorted to pushing up some sections. It would be fine on an unladen mountain bike!

We were pleasantly surprised by some new stretches of cycle path elsewhere, eg there is now a path from Glencoe village right through to Corran ferry, a few miles short of Fort William. The worst bit for us was coping with the A82 from Tarbet to Glencoe Village. Fantastic scenery, but a lot of fast traffic.

We kept a blog with route info and other info. - http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/17693

We had a wonderful experience : tough and challenging at times, but extremely rewarding.

[Scottishgaucho]

I did the end to end in the early 90's going from north to south. At Fort Augustus I took the canal path just for some peace and quiet more than anything else. Seem to recall I just walked the bike most of the time as I wasn't in any hurry, the weather was sunny and the path wasn't great. As soon as the A82 appeared I joined it again. Being used to cycling the A82 for many years before without incident I had no problem using it all the way down to Glencoe and onward to Old Kilpatrick.

Enjoy