Motor X in Lewis

December 23, 2007 on 11:36 am | In Quad Biking | No Comments

I have always had a passion for motor bikes and suspect my children maybe getting the bug.  Currently there are six bikes in various states of repair in the barn. My own toy at the moment is a Buell XB9R Firebolt and no doubt when the weather improves there will be some awesome rides to be done throught the Highlands. However the latest purchase to hit the stable is a 90cc quad for Koren, my eldest daughter.

We are in an amazing position here in Lewis as we have a brand new state of the art Motor X track just outside Stornoway (http://www.westernislesmx.co.uk/). The interest is helped by the fact John Neil Mitchell lives just down the road and he has just won the European and British Quad Bike Championships. (http://www.johnmitchellatv.com/news_18062007.htm). John is just setting up in business doing bikes and kit and he supplied me with the quad etc.

So yesterday afternoon I loaded Koren into the car and the quad onto the trailer and headed for the track. The full track was closed for grading but that was no problem, as what Koren needed was to get used to and practice on the bike. So with her new flowery pink helmet and pink MotorX  jeans and top the bike was fired up.

She was very nervous of the bike at first, justifiably as it is not a toy and is a little sharp on the uptake whan you open the thumb throttle. But the start finish straight is fine gravel and provided a good place to gradually increase the speed and nerve. I still have the restricter on but I don’t think it will be long before it is off …

It is a little nervy as a parent as you stand and watch one of your children suddenly discover the thrill of a powerful engine and speed. I am often concerned, in today’s world, all to often we wrap our children in cotton wool; ‘don’t do that it is dangerous’  where is the opportunity to make mistakes?

I remember riding my push-bike over jumps and having a few crashes but I never did anything I thought was likely to hurt me (still doing the same on a moutain bike) …

I think we forget children don’t like pain any more than we do and are likely to avoid accidents. That said I still had  little heart flutter when she applied the power and slide the back end round in the beginings of a ‘doughnut’ (doughnut -spinning the bike round and keeping the front wheels in the same spot, do a google search for ‘quad doughnut’ to see some examples).

So I asked on the way home ‘did you enjoy it?’ to be faced with a big grin and the answer ‘yes, John Neil said the track is open on Boxing day, can we go?.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Winter walking in Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park

December 3, 2007 on 4:57 pm | In Hillwalking | 3 Comments

Saturday did not look very promising when we set off from Edinburgh. But Simo, Robin and I were determined to get some hillwalking (Munro bagging)  done! We planned either Ben Lawers and Beinn Ghlas or Meall nan Tarmachan (hill of the Ptarmigan) in Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. Upon arrival we decided to go for the slightly more scrambly and challenging Ptarmigan. No snow when we started off, but we could see some white peaks behind the clouds;

 

The walk starts at about 500m, which makes a big difference and especially in winter when you always need to be aware of the short days and potential white-outs. The ascent to reach the ridge was fine, not very steep or long. The ground was near enough frozen so nice to walk on, rain turned into slight snow showers and soon we were in knee-deep snow! After walking for about 1.5 hours Robin bagged his first Munro - we were so happy to share this experience with him! Just 283 more to go, Robin ;-).

The route is about 13k, 744m in ascent and after summiting Ptarmigan the ridge circles around and takes you back to the car which means no need for additional transport! Beacuse there was quite a lot of snow and ice a couple of the scrambly ascents were a bit tricky, and the vision was poor at times.

 

The route took 4.5 hours and it was a cracking day out - although about 40mph winds at time! Route info found here; http://walking.visitscotland.com/walks/lomondtrossachs/213707 and http://www.walkingworld.com/results/walksummary.asp?id=3078&method=eRes&direction=position.

Jenny Glumoff
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Main activity sport climbing but love all types of climbing, surfing, mountain biking and hill walking!