Adventure Blog Scotland | Land

There is something not right about this

April 1, 2008 on 8:34 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

We decided to take a couple of the new mountain bikes (Bike Hebrides) for a trial round the Castle Grounds in Stornoway and all I keep hearing from behind me was ‘There is something not right about this’

Tommy comes from a road racing background and he found he was having to unlearn all of the techniques of road racing. The consiquences were a couple of spectacular falls . I looked back at one bend and the bike was int he middle of the track and there were a pair of legs sticking out of the bushes.

The ground was very wet after all the rain over the last week so it wasn’t just Tommy who was riding without the bike. I ended up running through the undergrowth after pressing the ejector seat on the bike which had decided it wanted to take a close look at a grabby mud hole.

The two things Tommy learnt were; you need to hang yourself off the back of the bike on decents, the saddle needs to be low enough to get your bum over the back wheel and you can’t stand up in the peddles on slippery ground or the back wheel just spins, so on steep slippery accents you need to keep your bum on the seat or at the very least your wieght over the back wheel.

Hopefully the tumbles won’t stop him coming out for another blast.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Deer Stalking

March 4, 2008 on 10:58 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

I have returned from running with the deer and ohh how I ache.

I flew away on Thursday and we had a business meeting in Edinburgh, this gave me a chance to nip into the Edinburgh Bike Coop for some bits for the new fleet of bikes we have for Bike Hebrides

Saturday found Jez and I wandering round Glasgow looking for braces and shirts, we also had to pop into Laura Ashley to pick up our waist coats and shorts. After meeting Jamie the team was complete and we laughed our way to the race start.

This is where the organisation of the race started to show a few limitations. We were standing in the queue and getting closer to the desk when they said they were closing until quarter past two. This was because of the 5k race but it would have been nice to tell us so we didn’t spend 30 minutes standing around. It was worth going out to watch the start of the 5k it was hilarious. The start line with the backdrop of Traquair House. Then on the start there was a mad dash up to the first hurdle a line of bales of straw. There was carnage when they all arrived.

Deer Stalker start

Bales on Deer Stalker

We checked in and then off to the pub for lunch. Jez and Jamie found the new food of the elite sports person The Sports Burger. Jamie did resist the chips in the name of training.

We doned our tailormade tweeds courtesy of Breanish Tweed suitably refreshed we made our way to the start.

At the start as we walked though to the start line we caused a bit of a stir, one of the comments ‘You have already won the award for satorial elegance’

Deer Stalker start

At the race start we were joined by Dave Wiseman and we decided the best start was to be over the bales as fast as possible and then accept we were going to get over hauled and settle into our own races. The start saw us perfectly positioned and then we were off. Over the bales and then into the corner at which point I discovered I was in serious oxygen debt and I needed to slow down. So, I settled back into my own pace and accepted I was going to get overhauled.

The first obstacle was a muddy ditch and then the start of the accent, the lung busting hill. We just seemed to keep going up. My lungs were bursting and my legs screaming it was time to stop. Finally though, we topped out and there was a fantastic downhill tear through the forest. Into the river and then another up hill, it wasn’t to bad until we rounded the corner and faced the ’stone shoot’. It seemed to go up into the clouds. As I climbed I started to pass people, I decided there was no way I could stop or I would never get started again. Reaching the top I realised it was so dark I had to get out the head torch another down hill and into the forest, slippery and a little less exciting and more scarey. There was an amusing interlude here with flashing lights and dark music a sureal experience in the middle of a 10k mountain run?

It was here the organisation of the race started to see a few more problems. At some of the junctions on the way up the route marking hadn’t been great but as the dark fell the lack of marking made finding our way more difficult. At the junctions there was a distinct lack of waymarking and at one stream we came out and there was no markers on the exit and we had to ask some local kids for directions. Then we went over the river Tweed and again there confusion over where the route went eventually we found it and ran for the finish.

There was a little disapointment when we also discovered there was no free beer as promised on the web site if you came in tweeds.

It was a good run but the niggles, which talking to competitors from last year were the same, let the event down. A little thought and it would have been not just good but fantastic.

Next there was a suggestion of doing the Jura Fell run I will need to see what my legs are saying about it at the end of the week - 16 miles and 2500 feet of accent …

Running like the wind or perhaps running from the hail?

February 24, 2008 on 9:31 pm | In Hillwalking, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Sometimes the Hebrides has the ability to take your breath away both physically and methaphorically.

As the final run in the training for the Mighty Deer Stalker next weekend, I went out with Mike. Mike had just bought a new camera and was keen to take some pictures. So with the blue skies punctuated with vicious showers we decided to go for a run. Mike suggested the West Coast of Lewis from the Gearrannan Black House Village up to Shawbost where we parked my car. Jayne dropped us off and was then going to take the kid’s for a walk.

The wind was a strong westerly so we were in for a push but the thing is westerlies bring showers.

The first hill was a killer and I was glad when Mike stopped to get the camera out.

View south over Carloway to Old Hill

Running on, we rose and fell to reach each headland, time and again we were treated to another stunning vista.

Looking North towards DalMor

The running was varied with very little level ground, I am convinced there was more up hill than down though.

Running over cliffs in Lewis

As we ran, we became aware of an impending sense of doom, each time we glanced over our shoulders there was gathering cloud, threatening to deliver its payload on us.

It was noticable the pace quickened and as we crested the hill above Dalbeag, we were suddenly being pushed along by the freshening wind. First there was a few flecks of rain in the air, then the rain got a little harder, then it got much ‘harder’ as it turned to hail. By this time we were hurtling head long over the bog, we could see the car, all be it about half a mile away. The dogs were haring in front of us, perhaps a sign?

The backs of my legs were stinging, to the point I thought it might cut the skin. Through the pain I heard Mike’s cheery comment ‘Just wait until they get to the size of golf balls’. I ran faster.

The shelter of the car was a welcome restbite and the heater even better.

Thanks to Mike for the pictures, I am looking fowards to more runs with the camera . ‘Oh look there is a great picture … shall we stop for a second?’

The Mighty Deer Stalker Looms Large

February 18, 2008 on 9:42 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

I am into the final week of running like a mad man, until the wind down, in preperation for the Mighty Deer Stalker. So yesterday had a great run through the bogs of northern Lewis just to get in the mood

We have managed to get sponsorship for our tweeds, are are going to be wearing plus fours, waist coats and the obligatory deer stalker. Breanish Tweed here in Lewis have kindly agreed to let us have some of their tweed and it is off at the tailors, being made, as I type. The Tweed is high end, hand woven here in the Isle of Lewis.

I had the sureal experience of being measured up by a tailor in my kitchen !

I have to declare a slight interest here as Anna owns Breanish Tweed and blagging sponsorship wasn’t to hard, but that aside I am glad it is a light weight tweed or I suspect there might be some interesting chaffing.

Buelligans ride to Harris

January 3, 2008 on 10:17 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

The strong easterly wind means the roads were dry but it was bitterly cold. So after climbing into all the warm gear we owned, the bike is taken out from under the covers in the barn and woken from it’s winter hibernation, growling into life like a disturbed grizzly.

The Buell XB9R Firebolt (Link to technical bumf) is a great bike for the roads of the Outer Hebrides, it has loads of torque and is a little forgiving. The road from Stornoway in Lewis to Tarbert in Harris with the new surfaces and the two lane all the way, is a 35 mile blast. I have ridden may miles in a previous life as a dispatch rider and this is a very special piece of road. The set of bends through the Aline Forest are close to perfection.

I think I overtook three cars on the way and two on the way back, so it was busy. Puncuated with tea in the Harris Hotel, it was an afternoon of pure unadulterated pleasure stolen from Höðr.

I can’t wait for an excuse to ride to Inverness or even better to Fort William through Skye …

Fort William getting ready for World Champs

August 31, 2007 on 10:31 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

A small town in the Highlands of Scotland gets ready to host around 700 of the best mountain bikers from across the world next week. The population of Fort William will double by drawing over 40,000 visitors throughout the week!

Good luck to the Scottish participants:
Ross Creber (under 23 xc)
Hamish Creber (junior xc)
Ruaridh Cunningham and Chris Hutchens (junior DH)
Ruth McGavigan (elite women’s xc)
Duncan Shaw (trials)

Still accommodation and tickets available on http://www.fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk/.

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

MTB at Drumlanrig Castle

August 1, 2007 on 10:37 am | In Mountain Biking, Uncategorized | No Comments

I made my second visit to the mountain bike trails at Drumlanrig Castle near Dumfries last Sunday. For those of you with families / partners who are not into biking, this is a great place to come as there is a castle, craft shops and an adventure playground to keep non-bikers happy while you have fun on the trails. Even if you are riding with novices, it is a good destination as there are some nice blue trails which run alongside or close to red trails.

As I was there with a novice rider and we didn’t have a lot of time on our hands, we followed trails 5 & 6. Trail 6 is a blue trail with some easy riding but also some fun singletrack sections. Trail 5 is red but follows Trail 6 for much of the way. However, it has lots of little detours of red standard which provide an excellent challenge and a break from the more sedate blue trail riding, and these can be followed without leaving your partner for more than 5 minutes at a time.

With lots of natural trails such as the twisty Whirley Birley and more challenging descents such as Dr Evil, this route provides a refreshing change from constructed trails. I’m already planning my next visit to check out the rest of the routes.

And given that Drumlanrig is less than 90 minutes from Glasgow or Edinburgh, shouldn’t you be planning a visit too?

Stevie Christie
http://www.wildernessscotland.com
Director of Wilderness Scotland & also of the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival. Into most mountain sports, esp mountain biking, walking, climbing and sea-kayaking.