| Devils Staircase - 21st October 2002
Led and organised by Julie "You'd better recycle
that!" McKinney
The hardcore element wandered up on Saturday - less than 24
hours after the first ever Stirling Bike Club curry night!
Staying at Glencoe Youth Hostel, an excellent night was
spent at the Clachaig Inn - it's not a restaurant you know
- before wandering back under a moonlight sky, attempting
to spot
stars and not fall off the road.
Sunday dawned bright and very, very cold
It was minus 5C you know!
Even Canadian Scott agreed it was cold as we rode slowly up Glencoe into a head wind that went through rather than round you.
Discovering that the Kingshouse Hotel lay-by is not at the start of the route, I was despatched to round up the day-trippers.
For next year, meet at NN220 563.
Huddling together for warmth.
Linda, Scott (front), Sarah, Sonya, Mike, Crispin#2,
Julie & Briggie
The start of the route and Scott entertains himself by trying
to get air.
Some walk, some cycle...
Waving goodbye, I wondered if I would ever see my friends again.
More importantly, what about my lift back to Stirling?
Descending back through Glencoe at 30mph, I headed to the
Visitors' Centre for coffee and muffins.
The hardcore element battled over the Devils Staircase. It takes about 2 and a bit hours of steady cycling/pushing to get to Kinlochleven (NN192 618).
However, 5 punctures and a broken saddle can add considerably to that - trip time in this case was 3 hours 20 minutes.
Views en-route
The final descent into Kinlochleven
Beaming grins at the finish.
An 8-mile road ride back to Glencoe and it was time for coffee, soup and sticky things.
An excellent weekend!
© Crispin "fractured clavicle" Bennett
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