rareposter wrote:FasterFerret wrote:And was put off by:
The many memories of being kept awake at night by people snoring on various camping trips
The unnecessary 5:30 wake-up calls - even my longest day didn't need me to get out of bed that early. On your own faff is kept to a minimum, you are on your own schedule not someone else's
The thought of being constantly damp/never quite dry - I got a few good soakings, but never had a problem with getting my kit dry overnight in a B&B. I don't think that's a problem unique to RAB, anyone who camps has to face the same issue. I don't mind it for a weekend, but when the route is challenging enough in itself it is something that I would rather not deal with.
The 5.30am thing is just something you have to accept and to be fair, everyone knows about it in advance. There were plenty of people on the ride who would leave at 7am and be in base camp by 2.30pm each day. You could argue that they probably didn't need to leave at 7, they could have had a long lie in and left at 10am but then that brings it's own problems with the wider ride logistics like broom wagon, mechanical support, how long each camp is "active" for before breakfast gets stopped and the crew move on to the next basecamp...
Equally there were plenty of people who would leave at 7 and take literally all day to get to the next basecamp and they required the full support of the broom wagon and chaperones. That's why it's all done within "windows" of activity - you've got to look at the overall picture.
Yep, fully understand. That's definitely something that you are signing up for and of course, there are a lot of moving parts to manage - ultimate flexibility can't be offered or expected. Nothing wrong with it per se, just not my cup of tea, so was one of the things that contributed me not choosing to go that way and to do my own thing.
rareposter wrote:
As you say though, some people like (and need) that, some people can put up with it and some folk would hate it!
So I guess that I am firmly in the latter category!
As I keep saying, the people I know and others that I have spoken to who have done RAB enjoyed it, and having ridden much of the route, albeit in reverse (and including the Lect and Glenshee in one day and all the way down to Edinburgh), I know that it is a good route.
But there were a few too many things that put me off, no great loss to RAB and no great loss to me.