cairngorms

[bygone era]

why don't many people ride the a93 and a839 route from perth to inverness I did lejog back in 84 over 7 days I was 21 then I did it on a claud butler brevet bike never seen one since

 

[slow scot]

why don't many people ride the a93 and a839 route from perth to inverness I did lejog back in 84 over 7 days I was 21 then I did it on a claud butler brevet bike never seen one since

I think you mean the A939 after the A93. A perfectly acceptable way and covers some beautiful hill roads.

 

[CycleCommute.CC]

I think it's remoteness (don't pass through many towns) and some pretty tough climbing puts a lot of people off.

 

[Edwardoka]

It's a great road, there's a sportive called The Three Pistes that goes over it, but as @CycleCommute.CC says, it is remote.
NCN7 is mostly off-road, runs roughly parallel to the A9 from Pitlochry, has much gentler grades and crucially has much better options for supply and accommodation.

When I was putting together a tour route for a mixed-ability group I couldn't realistically ask them to ride up Glenshee and the Lecht.

 

[bygone era]

It's a great road, there's a sportive called The Three Pistes that goes over it, but as @CycleCommute.CC says, it is remote.
NCN7 is mostly off-road, runs roughly parallel to the A9 from Pitlochry, has much gentler grades and crucially has much better options for supply and accommodation.

When I was putting together a tour route for a mixed-ability group I couldn't realistically ask them to ride up Glenshee and the Lecht.

how does it compare with the roads of cornwall and devon re the hilly bits

 

[Edwardoka]

how does it compare with the roads of cornwall and devon re the hilly bits

Devon and Cornwall are pretty big places to generalise about, but once you're off the main roads in my experience they don't bother going round hills or serpentining to even out the gradient, instead going straight up them - have ridden up a fair few 25% gradients on the north coast near Barnstaple and used to live in the South Hams which had plenty of routes that involved getting off and pushing when I wasn't really a cyclist.

Outside of Devon, the Lecht remains the only hill I can think of that has straight up defeated me.

 

[CycleCommute.CC]

It's a great road, there's a sportive called The Three Pistes that goes over it, but as @CycleCommute.CC says, it is remote.
NCN7 is mostly off-road, runs roughly parallel to the A9 from Pitlochry, has much gentler grades and crucially has much better options for supply and accommodation.

When I was putting together a tour route for a mixed-ability group I couldn't realistically ask them to ride up Glenshee and the Lecht.

I rode the NCN7 along the
A9 last year and it was horrendous. The surface was dreadful and really not possible on a road bike (I did make it through but punctured twice and was not a pleasant experience).

 

[bygone era]

Devon and Cornwall are pretty big places to generalise about, but once you're off the main roads in my experience they don't bother going round hills or serpentining to even out the gradient, instead going straight up them - have ridden up a fair few 25% gradients on the north coast near Barnstaple and used to live in the South Hams which had plenty of routes that involved getting off and pushing when I wasn't really a cyclist.

Outside of Devon, the Lecht remains the only hill I can think of that has straight up defeated me.

the hill out of Lynmouth going north is tough

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Ilfracombe has some decent hills for the legs to warm up on.

 

[Edwardoka]

I rode the NCN7 along the
A9 last year and it was horrendous. The surface was dreadful and really not possible on a road bike (I did make it through but punctured twice and was not a pleasant experience).

You'll not get disagreements with me about the state of disrepair. I did it in 2004 and twice in 2015 and the difference was remarkable. Nearly ended myself when descending north-south with a tailwind when the smooth estate tarmac suddenly devolved into stone-strewn pothole hell.

the hill out of Lynmouth going north is tough

Ah, good old Countisbury. The looks of extreme loathing I got when I gaspingly asked a couple of locals if I was nearly at the top

 

[Ajax Bay]

why don't many people ride the A93 and A939 route from Perth to Inverness?

Because it's longer and hillier than the various other options. Lots of scenery though.

how does it compare with the roads of Cornwall and Devon re the hilly bits

Perth to Inverness:
- by the A9 is 181km + 1576m
- by the A93/A939 is 206km + 2592m
Land's End to Exeter on a route going south of Bodmin Moor and across via Okehampton to Exeter is 213km + 3067m (not seeking to avoid hills).
Land's End to Tiverton on a route going north of Bodmin Moor and across via Hatherleigh to Tiverton is 222km + 2871m.
So Devon and Cornwall's a fair bit hillier overall than the route going via Braemar (and much hillier than the A9 route). But the two main climbs up to the ski centres (Glenshee and Lecht) are harder than anything you'll get on a sensible route in the south west. Even if one rode over Dartmoor the hardest 2km (Tavistock up towards Princetown) averages at 7%. Final bit to the col above Glenshee is 9% for 2+km and the climb north to Lecht from Cock Bridge (crossing the River Don) is 12%.

the hill out of Lynmouth going north is tough

The hill out of Lynmouth going north is impossibly flat (and very wet).

 

[nickyboy]

I rode the NCN7 along the
A9 last year and it was horrendous. The surface was dreadful and really not possible on a road bike (I did make it through but punctured twice and was not a pleasant experience).

Because it's longer and hillier than the various other options. Lots of scenery though.

Perth to Inverness:
- by the A9 is 181km + 1576m
- by the A93/A939 is 206km + 2592m
Land's End to Exeter on a route going south of Bodmin Moor and across via Okehampton to Exeter is 213km + 3067m (not seeking to avoid hills).
Land's End to Tiverton on a route going north of Bodmin Moor and across via Hatherleigh to Tiverton is 222km + 2871m.
So Devon and Cornwall's a fair bit hillier overall than the route going via Braemar (and much hillier than the A9 route). But the two main climbs up to the ski centres (Glenshee and Lecht) are harder than anything you'll get on a sensible route in the south west. Even if one rode over Dartmoor the hardest 2km (Tavistock up towards Princetown) averages at 7%. Final bit to the col above Glenshee is 9% for 2+km and the climb north to Lecht from Cock Bridge (crossing the River Don) is 12%.

The hill out of Lynmouth going north is impossibly flat (and very wet).

I was wondering if there was any update on the condition of the A9 cyclepath?
@I like Skol , a couple of friends and I are planning a 2020 LEJOG. We will take the Cairngorms route. I'm not sure I'd be up for an extra 1000m of climbing via the A93/A939 route although it looks spectacular. We are all battle-hardened Peak District cyclists but no point in unnecessary suffering. A9 cyclepath makes sense if it's rideable. Comments on other forums suggest it's ok in the main

 

[Edwardoka]

I was wondering if there was any update on the condition of the A9 cyclepath?
@I like Skol , a couple of friends and I are planning a 2020 LEJOG. We will take the Cairngorms route. I'm not sure I'd be up for an extra 1000m of climbing via the A93/A939 route although it looks spectacular. We are all battle-hardened Peak District cyclists but no point in unnecessary suffering. A9 cyclepath makes sense if it's rideable. Comments on other forums suggest it's ok in the main

It became a bit of a hot potato a few weeks ago when journalist Lesley Riddoch asked Twitter why riders were on the A9 and not the path next to it. The responses - overwhelmingly that it is not fit for purpose - turned her into a fierce advocate of getting it upgraded. The section between Dalnaspidal and Dalwhinnie is currently shut for maintenance so right now it's difficult to say what state it will be in for your LeJOG.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Someone (whom has credence) said yesterday in another place: "further to my previous comments about the crap bit of the NCN7/A9 route between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie... It's being resurfaced right now"

 

[nickyboy]

It became a bit of a hot potato a few weeks ago when journalist Lesley Riddoch asked Twitter why riders were on the A9 and not the path next to it. The responses - overwhelmingly that it is not fit for purpose - turned her into a fierce advocate of getting it upgraded. The section between Dalnaspidal and Dalwhinnie is currently shut for maintenance so right now it's difficult to say what state it will be in for your LeJOG.

Someone (whom has credence) said yesterday in another place: "further to my previous comments about the crap bit of the NCN7/A9 route between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie... It's being resurfaced right now"

Thanks for the feedback. I guess we will have to suck it and see next year. However, it is a bit of a pain as accommodation will differ depending on whether we do A9 or (for example) A93. Currently we will be close to end of the day up to Dalwhinnie so plan is to stay in Newtonmore. We are quite used to riding what are perceived as "dangerous" roads around here like Cat & Fiddle, Snake Pass etc so if we have to do a few miles on the A9 I think we could hack it