Inverness to Tomatin (JoGLE)

[skicat]

I'm trying to plan day 3 of my JOGLE trip in late September. I'll be coming from Bonar Bridge that day, but I was hoping to get further than Inverness. Tomatin looks about right in terms of distance, but looking at the profile, that last 20 miles seems to be all uphill, rising about 275m. I cannot gauge how serious a hill that really is so I'm hoping to glean some insight from someone who has done it. I'll be on the B9154 (NCN7) which seems to follow the railway line, so I guess it can't be too steep. I've never tried to cycle uphill for 20 miles after already having ridden 55 miles, hence my apprehension. I may be better staying in Inverness.

[irc]

It's mainly a long gradual hill other than dropping into and out the valley of the river Nairn.

NCN7 leaving Inverness wanders about a bit. Take the B9006 direct to Culloden battlefield then rejoin NCN7.

Or to save a mile or two from the B9006 I'd suggest an alternate route. From Westhill the unclassified road towards Nairnside House then rejoin NCN7.

[Mick F]

This is the route I took coming south from Inverness in 2010. I stopped for a rest in Tomatin.
This was on a Raleigh Chopper towing a heavy trailer.
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/BRTWebUI/Course/185049

[skicat]

Ok, thanks. I didn't think it could be steep being next to the railway. Also, 275m over 20 miles is about 14m per mile (apologies for mixing metric and imperial but thats how my mind works ). Lets hope for a tailwind.

I have been using OpenFietsMap to plan the route and I had spotted the Nairnside shortcut. OFM labels those roads as the C1051, then left onto the B851 for a while, then right onto the U1229 before picking up NCN7 again. It's good to get some hands on feedback from those who have actually ridden the roads though.

[skicat]

This is the route I took coming south from Inverness in 2010. I stopped for a rest in Tomatin.
This was on a Raleigh Chopper towing a heavy trailer.
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/BRTWebUI/Course/185049

It looks like you braved the dual carriageway for a while there. Respect!

[loafer]

hi skicat
this any good for you poss 3 routes http://www.cyclestreets.net/journey/39542370/

[Mick F]

This is the route I took coming south from Inverness in 2010. I stopped for a rest in Tomatin.
This was on a Raleigh Chopper towing a heavy trailer.
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/BRTWebUI/Course/185049

It looks like you braved the dual carriageway for a while there. Respect!

Yep.
Very easy, smooth and fast.

I was on the A30 dual carriageway for 7miles today. No fun, but quick and efficient.
I wouldn't ever ever make a habit of riding on a DC, but sometimes is ok if needed.

[matt2matt2002]

In 2011 I did Inverness to Aberdeen. I took this route and recall it being a bit of a struggle.
From Tomatin onwards was worse.
Past the ski slopes was a get off and push job.
Good luck. Great scenery. Maybe catch a view of the golden eagles.
Matt

[skicat]

In 2011 I did Inverness to Aberdeen. I took this route and recall it being a bit of a struggle.
From Tomatin onwards was worse.
Past the ski slopes was a get off and push job.
Good luck. Great scenery. Maybe catch a view of the golden eagles.
Matt

I agree it's not exactly flat. This is what Basecamp thinks the Tomatin to Pitlochry section looks like. As long as I can get to the top of Drumochter, I'll have a 24 mile bit of downhill to look forward to.

[matt2matt2002]

Not exactly flat?????
So show me something a bit tricky then.
Nice to see what I did in cross section. Think I deserve a beer tonight in celebration.
Cheers
Matt of the mountain.

[Mick F]

Here's what Inverness to Pitlochry looks like.

If you read the stats, you'll see that the total ascent is only 4,000ft in 90miles. This is only 45ft per mile.

Compare this to a ride I did yesterday here in Cornwall. No, not so high, but loads of hills, and almost none stop up and down. This is normal for here. 110 ft per mile

[ChrisF]

Maybe slightly off-topic, but what method did you use for these profiles? I have found (and proved*) that plotting routes on a PC map often over-estimates climbs by 30% or more. All those little jaggedy bits on the climb towards 1517ft are probably 'noise' due to inaccuracies in where the contours cross roads - especially so if this route is along a railway line.
The jaggedy bits add a lot more to the apparent climb. This profile goes from 0 to 1517ft, with an extra climb of about 800ft, and a smaller extra bit of about 200ft - i.e. about 2500ft in total, not 4000ft.
The amount of this 'noise' relative to real climbs is much less when there are continuous 'real' ups and downs like your Cornwall profile. (I live in Cornwall as well, and usually reckon on an average of 1000m of climbing for every 80km of riding here - this data is from Strava which is always less climbing than that given by plotting the same route on the PC (OS Memory Map 1:50000).
*I proved it by very carefully plotting a route along a river. According to the resulting profile the water is running uphill in places!

[Mick F]

No probs.

I use an AppleMac and have a program called Ascent.
http://www.montebellosoftware.com/index.html
The program isn't supported with updates and stuff much now, but it works very well, even though it's a bit old-hat.
Ascent "smooths" out the perturbations of speed and elevation, - and all the other parameters - and the smoothing is adjustable via the preferences pane.

I understand that SportsTracks is a PC version of similar, and it's supported and current.
http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/

[Mick F]

PS.
I'm happily in feet and miles.

I reckon on normally being 100ft per mile. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
If I plot a favourite ride on BikeHikeUk it comes out as 2,657ft for the 30miles.
I've recorded the ride 45 times since Feb 2008 via Edge 305, Edge 705 and Garmin Montana.

Lowest is 2,721ft
Highest is 3,322ft

Wind seems to affect the readings.
Windy days seem to increase the readings.