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Stirling
Bike Club does Aviemore
31st August-1st
September 2002
Stuart, Kieran, Andrew, Bryan (roadies), Julie, Briggie
and Crispin#1 (mtb'ers) wandered north on the Friday,
with Iain and Prasad joining us on the Saturday.
The roadies time-trialled their way to the ski station as
part of the Cairngorm Cycling Festival, while Iain showed
the mtb'ers around the local race circuit.
Iain Nimmo gives us a masterclass
Stirling Bike Club Calendar - March - Briggie
We waved goodbye to Iain, who went off to do 5 more laps.
We went in search of coffee and cake before riding trails
past the shores of Loch Morlich, through Rothiemurchus forest
and then on the 12-mile return track Loch Einich. A fantastic
ride with stunning scenery - highly recommended. Total
distance for the afternoon was about 35-40 off-road miles.
Stirling Bike Club Calendar - April
(Julie poses on the beach of Loch Morlich)
At the entry to Glen Einich
The guidebook describes this crossing as unrideable. Mince!
This is how it should be done.
Dealing with the inevitable wet socks.
On the final approach to Loch Einig
"You could do this on a touring bike"
We returned by the same route - which meant we had to
re-cross the ford. Julie chose to keep her feet dry by wading
across upstream.
Dealing with a rickety bridge.
With a navigational hiccup or two, we returned to Glenmore
Lodge to partake of the free swimming pool and sauna, followed
by a meal and excessive alcohol consumption.
The offical club line is that it is all Kieran's fault.
The reason for this explanation is that this is what Iain
has told Janet.
With three hours sleep, we were horrified to discover that
"vacate the chalet at 10am" meant the cleaning staff
burst through the door at 10am.
We left in a disorganised state of chaos, the roadies to
do roadie things (with a hangover) and the mtb'ers to
re-ride the race circuit and track down bacon butties
The plan came seriously unstuck when Briggie had a shot at
riding a big chute.
A faceplant resulted in my first-aid kit being dug out of my backpack. A big thanks to the Mountain Rescue guys at Badaguish Outdoor Centre, who looked after Briggie and gave us a lift back to the car. Three sets of stitches for Briggie in Aviemore (lip, chin and knee), a quick lunch and we headed home. Excellent weekend. Thanks to Stuart for the organisation!
Chicks dig scars!
© Crispin Bennett 2002
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