West Highland Way record

[Bearbonesnorm]

Am I right to assume the new record was carried out in a supported manner then?

[ScotRoutes]

Am I right to assume the new record was carried out in a supported manner then?

The new WHW record? Yes. It's in the video.

[Bearbonesnorm]

It's in the video.

More of a reader than a watcher

[fatbikephil]

Someone tell him to do the Cairngorms loop and get Chris Hopes time beaten

I'm pretty sure Huw Oliver broke Chris' time this year.

Oh aye right enough forgot about that.

It occurred to me that if yer man got his bikepacking sh*t together he could be a Highland Trail fast time contender

[Leerowe76]

Enjoyed that, great effort Rob

[voodoo_simon]

It's in the video.

More of a reader than a watcher

The jury is out in that one as HTrider stated is wasn’t self supported in his opening post

[boxelder]

So how long do we reckon from the start to Tyndrum for a fitter than average rider?
Riding this soon, but logistics mean I can't get to the start before 11.30am. Overnight accommodation is Tyndrum. Confident I can make it for 8pm, but the others I'm riding with will be a bit slower, especially on the 'loch side pleasantries' to the north end of L Lomond. I may suggest they set off earlier and I'll try and catch them up.
Rob in this vid did about 5.5 hrs, so I'm guessing they should manage half his speed. Chris Hope did approx 6.30 north and 8.30 south on his recent 24.45hr double.

Will we miss last orders........

[redefined_cycles]

The full vid is here: https://youtu.be/9ZVAbtKgPYk

Thanks Techno... enjoyed that

[boxelder]

It occurred to me that if yer man got his bikepacking sh*t together he could be a Highland Trail fast time contender

I think he's more a supported bike racer. Chris H did the double this year in 24h.43m. and I don't think he had much by way of support and has been known to ride for much longer. I know who I'd have money on over the HT550.

Any input/thoughts on my Qu above about time from Milngavie to Tyndrum? Under 10 hrs should be achievable shouldn't it?

[Dean]

Any input/thoughts on my Qu above about time from Milngavie to Tyndrum? Under 10 hrs should be achievable shouldn't it?

I went (t'other way) from Tyndrum to Milngavie with full camping gear in 11 hours. You would be doing 85km and 2500m+ climbing. It took me 4 hours to do just 11km and 350m ascent/descent along the lochside from Beinglas restaurant/campsite to Inversnaid hotel.

With fresh legs and no camping gear you should be much faster than that, if you are wanting to save time Conic hill and some of the lochside trail after Balmaha could be bypassed on the road.

[boxelder]

Cheers Dean. I'm comfortable with it, but the others are getting twitchy. They can set off earlier.

[rudedog]

Is the bag drop service still going? We used it and not having gear made a huge difference for the hike a bike section after inversnaid.

[fatbikephil]

Is the bag drop service still going? We used it and not having gear made a huge difference for the hike a bike section after inversnaid.

I think there are a few firms offering it - from taxi firms taking bags only to companies offering full support. Most of the walkers I met when I did the bit on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs loop were only carrying day sacks.

[boxelder]

s the bag drop service still going? We used it and not having gear made a huge difference for the hike a bike section after inversnaid.

We're eating out and staying in a B&B. I'm only carrying some pants, toothbrush and a spare shirt (apart from usual long day stuff).

[boxelder]

So, delayed and re-routed train meant I had to set off from Dumbarton at midday. NCN route 7 was ideal to reach Drymen. Included Conic Hill, but was 1.5 hrs behind the others at Balmaha, so took the road to Rowardrennan and higher fire road option few the first couple of Km from there. Loch shore was every bit as frustrating and tiring as expected - 4pm at Inversnaid, 8.15pm at Tyndrum, 15 mins behind the others. 8.5 hrs Tyndrum to FW at fairly social pace with lunch at Kingshouse. Not sure what Don Whillans would make of the new hotel and his portrait hanging next to a large TV screen showing endless adverts.
I did the Buichaille via Curved Ridge and Crowberry Tower on the way up - first big hill for a while and in hindsight not ideal the day before a long ride. Worth though as perfect conditions up there.

[boxelder]

I see Connor Swift now has FKT of 8:38. That's very impressive. I think I've got the 'in a day' urge out of my system.

[fatbikephil]

I see Connor Swift now has FKT of 8:38. That's very impressive. I think I've got the 'in a day' urge out of my system.

Bloody hell, thats a full on sprint - average speed just over 11mph. I would re-iterate my concerns about how WHW walkers will react to this, given my own stately progress along part of the route at the end of April, and some of the reactions I got.....

[ScotRoutes]

I hadn't thought of it in those terms previously. That's not a lot faster than Huw Oliver's Cairngorms Loop FKT. The latter route has a higher proportion of road/good tracks I guess but Huws time is also self-supported.

[boxelder]

I hadn't thought of it in those terms previously. That's not a lot faster than Huw Oliver's Cairngorms Loop FKT. The latter route has a higher proportion of road/good tracks I guess but Huws time is also self-supported.

But, for comparison - Chris Hope took 6:48 to get from the start to Tyndrum on his recent double and has a very similar CL time to Huw. Chris didn't practice I don't think, and sorted his own gates. I must say the thought of getting to FW and turning around to face Lich Lomond again made my head (and everything south of it) hurt. Over 8.5 hrs from Tyndrum to Milngavie.

Re: walkers - I used a bell, as is often requested. It helped a little, but still caused cardiac arrest moments in spite of our slowish pace