Scotland : Glasgow & Clyde Valley CC Ecosse ride (West) - Saturday Oct 20

[Rasmus]

I've got an idea for a West CC Ecosse ride next year from a couple of wee cycle books i've recently acquired. This would suit people coming by car or train.

Start point for car : Gourock. Ride on to Wemyss Bay (9 miles round coast very short stretch on A road after Inverkip).
Ferry to Rothesay (bikes free, fare about £4, 40 min) meet anyone coming by train
Rothesay: optional climb of the "Serpentine" for anyone inclined (boom! boom!). Apparently 11 switchbacks 1.3 Km long avg gradient 8.3%, described in my wee book as "insane"!. Followed by coast road to Rhubodach then
Ferry to mainland (5 min to Colintraive)
Up to Strachur via mostly back roads and CAKE STOP (some hills on this stretch but don't know how hilly?)
Down to Dunoon via Loch Eck (described as easy) and ferry back to Gourock. (30min about £4).

The loop is 75Km plus the bit from Gourock and optional sepentine.

Time required 5 hours riding at easy pace 2 hours for ferries and cake stop. Loads of frequent ferries.

Might be a nice day out? I would hope to recce this route in advance but maybe some of you know some of it?

The Serpentine road has been on my to-do list for a while, but the only bit of the route you describe that I have done is the road from Strachur to Dunoon. It's perfectly fine for riding, although I find it somewhat uninspiring.

The A78 is a nasty road, for me very much something to avoid on a bike, even on the relatively wide bits at Inverkip.

 

[StuChalmers]

I've got an idea for a West CC Ecosse ride next year from a couple of wee cycle books i've recently acquired. This would suit people coming by car or train.

Start point for car : Gourock. Ride on to Wemyss Bay (9 miles round coast very short stretch on A road after Inverkip).
Ferry to Rothesay (bikes free, fare about £4, 40 min) meet anyone coming by train
Rothesay: optional climb of the "Serpentine" for anyone inclined (boom! boom!). Apparently 11 switchbacks 1.3 Km long avg gradient 8.3%, described in my wee book as "insane"!. Followed by coast road to Rhubodach then
Ferry to mainland (5 min to Colintraive)
Up to Strachur via mostly back roads and CAKE STOP (some hills on this stretch but don't know how hilly?)
Down to Dunoon via Loch Eck (described as easy) and ferry back to Gourock. (30min about £4).

The loop is 75Km plus the bit from Gourock and optional sepentine.

Time required 5 hours riding at easy pace 2 hours for ferries and cake stop. Loads of frequent ferries.

Might be a nice day out? I would hope to recce this route in advance but maybe some of you know some of it?

That's a good route - I did that one in reverse order from your description at the start of the summer ( our club call it the 3 ferries route). The hills were not super hard but tough enough for me (remember I'm very slow) with a very undulating section as you descend towards colintravie which looked harder than it was. We left at 9:30 and were back at just after 5pm although we were in rothesay just before 3pm, and just late enough to miss the ferry

As far as last weeks went - even though I was off the back for the hilly section it was great fun and just about right for my current fitness level - it pushed me but not so much I was really suffering badly - more the enjoyable kind of suffering

Stu

 

[tug benson]

I've got an idea for a West CC Ecosse ride next year from a couple of wee cycle books i've recently acquired. This would suit people coming by car or train.

Start point for car : Gourock. Ride on to Wemyss Bay (9 miles round coast very short stretch on A road after Inverkip).
Ferry to Rothesay (bikes free, fare about £4, 40 min) meet anyone coming by train
Rothesay: optional climb of the "Serpentine" for anyone inclined (boom! boom!). Apparently 11 switchbacks 1.3 Km long avg gradient 8.3%, described in my wee book as "insane"!. Followed by coast road to Rhubodach then
Ferry to mainland (5 min to Colintraive)
Up to Strachur via mostly back roads and CAKE STOP (some hills on this stretch but don't know how hilly?)
Down to Dunoon via Loch Eck (described as easy) and ferry back to Gourock. (30min about £4).

The loop is 75Km plus the bit from Gourock and optional sepentine.

Time required 5 hours riding at easy pace 2 hours for ferries and cake stop. Loads of frequent ferries.

Might be a nice day out? I would hope to recce this route in advance but maybe some of you know some of it?

love the sound of that ride

just give me a shout when the sun comes back out

 

[Get In The Van]

I've got an idea for a West CC Ecosse ride next year from a couple of wee cycle books i've recently acquired. This would suit people coming by car or train.

Start point for car : Gourock. Ride on to Wemyss Bay (9 miles round coast very short stretch on A road after Inverkip).
Ferry to Rothesay (bikes free, fare about £4, 40 min) meet anyone coming by train
Rothesay: optional climb of the "Serpentine" for anyone inclined (boom! boom!). Apparently 11 switchbacks 1.3 Km long avg gradient 8.3%, described in my wee book as "insane"!. Followed by coast road to Rhubodach then
Ferry to mainland (5 min to Colintraive)
Up to Strachur via mostly back roads and CAKE STOP (some hills on this stretch but don't know how hilly?)
Down to Dunoon via Loch Eck (described as easy) and ferry back to Gourock. (30min about £4).

The loop is 75Km plus the bit from Gourock and optional sepentine.

Time required 5 hours riding at easy pace 2 hours for ferries and cake stop. Loads of frequent ferries.

Might be a nice day out? I would hope to recce this route in advance but maybe some of you know some of it?

sounds very nice, work permitting, i'll try and be there. got my new turbo today so the hills will get owned!
also should have a new steed by then as well

 

[Col5632]

That's a good route - I did that one in reverse order from your description at the start of the summer ( our club call it the 3 ferries route). The hills were not super hard but tough enough for me (remember I'm very slow) with a very undulating section as you descend towards colintravie which looked harder than it was. We left at 9:30 and were back at just after 5pm although we were in rothesay just before 3pm, and just late enough to miss the ferry

As far as last weeks went - even though I was off the back for the hilly section it was great fun and just about right for my current fitness level - it pushed me but not so much I was really suffering badly - more the enjoyable kind of suffering

Stu

Glad you enjoyed it stu

love the sound of that ride

just give me a shout when the sun comes back out

You just not riding this winter then?

 

[tug benson]

Am hoping to get out tomorrow...am just getting lazy..don`t like cold feet

on strava i`ve signed up for the BMC 79 mile challenge so i`ll need to keep my fitness up for that, it`s about 23 days away and i don`t want to struggle with that distance

as i`ve said before because of Xfactor i`ve been having a few more beers at the weekend, that will have to stop, going out with the girlfriend to glasgow on saturday a few drinks and the new bond at the IMAX and this will be my last weekend on the drink until xmas

 

[zizou]

I've got an idea for a West CC Ecosse ride next year from a couple of wee cycle books i've recently acquired. This would suit people coming by car or train.

Start point for car : Gourock. Ride on to Wemyss Bay (9 miles round coast very short stretch on A road after Inverkip).
Ferry to Rothesay (bikes free, fare about £4, 40 min) meet anyone coming by train
Rothesay: optional climb of the "Serpentine" for anyone inclined (boom! boom!). Apparently 11 switchbacks 1.3 Km long avg gradient 8.3%, described in my wee book as "insane"!. Followed by coast road to Rhubodach then
Ferry to mainland (5 min to Colintraive)
Up to Strachur via mostly back roads and CAKE STOP (some hills on this stretch but don't know how hilly?)
Down to Dunoon via Loch Eck (described as easy) and ferry back to Gourock. (30min about £4).

The loop is 75Km plus the bit from Gourock and optional sepentine.

Time required 5 hours riding at easy pace 2 hours for ferries and cake stop. Loads of frequent ferries.

Might be a nice day out? I would hope to recce this route in advance but maybe some of you know some of it?

It would make for a cracking day out. IMO some of the best cycling in the country is over in Cowal.

The main road Colintraive to Strachur has a hill after the ferry then a flat section before a largish hill...i've never riden up it from the south probably about 700 ft over 4 miles.

Most cyclists though would opt to take the Bealach an Drain (Clachan of Glendaruel to Otter Ferry road) then up the loch side on the b8000 - this is a lovely road, scenic and quiet. The Bealach climb though is difficult, looking at about 1000 ft in 2 miles. The view from the top is pretty secial looking over the forest and the loch down below so is worth the effort. There is a pub / restaurant / shop / little beach down the bottom of this descent at Otter Ferry which makes a good stopping point.

Basically on the way up you may have a few riders wanting to to punch you for bringing them up the road...but once at the top and then down at the waterside again all will be forgiven

 

[Seamab]

The Serpentine road has been on my to-do list for a while, but the only bit of the route you describe that I have done is the road from Strachur to Dunoon. It's perfectly fine for riding, although I find it somewhat uninspiring.

The A78 is a nasty road, for me very much something to avoid on a bike, even on the relatively wide bits at Inverkip.

I'm not sure there is any alternative route from Gourock to Wemyss Bay to avoid a short stretch of the A98? Probably be pretty quiet early on a weekend morning. Plus there would hopefully be a bunch of us.

There is a minor road off the Strachur/Dunoon road at Whistlefield Inn which would take you over to Loch Long and then round to Dunoon but it's got a chevron on it, so it must be steep. Probably too steep for a CC Ecosse ride. But the non gentlemen group could go for it! and meet up again at the ferry?

 

[Seamab]

It would make for a cracking day out. IMO some of the best cycling in the country is over in Cowal.

The main road Colintraive to Strachur has a hill after the ferry then a flat section before a largish hill...i've never riden up it from the south probably about 700 ft over 4 miles.

Most cyclists though would opt to take the Bealach an Drain (Clachan of Glendaruel to Otter Ferry road) then up the loch side on the b8000 - this is a lovely road, scenic and quiet. The Bealach climb though is difficult, looking at about 1000 ft in 2 miles. The view from the top is pretty secial looking over the forest and the loch down below so is worth the effort. There is a pub / restaurant / shop / little beach down the bottom of this descent at Otter Ferry which makes a good stopping point.

Basically on the way up you may have a few riders wanting to to punch you for bringing them up the road...but once at the top and then down at the waterside again all will be forgiven

That sounds like a great road Zizou, but a general CC Ecosse ride needs to be able to be completed by all.
There is an 200K audax called "A Fyne Cowal" which takes in some of these roads - Scoosh?

I think we'd be talking about next Easter at the earliest for this what with the clocks going back this Sat...

 

[Col5632]

All sounds good to me Anybody fancy making a map of the route in question?

 

[Rasmus]

All sounds good to me Anybody fancy making a map of the route in question?

Plotted here.
And yeah, a few miles on the A78 may be a necessary evil to enable an otherwise lovely ride.

 

[Scoosh]

That sounds like a great road Zizou, but a general CC Ecosse ride needs to be able to be completed by all.
There is an 200K audax called "A Fyne Cowal" which takes in some of these roads - Scoosh?

You rang, M'Lud ?

Indeed The Fyne Cowal is a cracking 200 with quiet roads and beautiful scenery ... and a really nasty climb on the C road between Otter Ferry and Glendaruel, followed by a very long, gentle gradient climb along the A886 (must have been the 36 - 42km bit).

It didn't appear to be a hill, just a long drag. Later, everyone was commenting on how they were in very low gears, riding up what appeared to be a gentle incline ... the route there shows it to have been 10 - 11 %. It's not a hard climb, just long and steady - and a bore if (when ) you are on your own and have recently done the very steep Otter Ferry - Glendaruel as mentioned above. Not a problem for a CC Ecosse ride, IMHO.

This looks a nice great route and eminently suitable for a CC Ecosse route - provided there is CAKE !

 

[Fubar]

Plotted here.
And yeah, a few miles on the A78 may be a necessary evil to enable an otherwise lovely ride.

Looks good, except for that big lumpy thing in the middle - what is that?!?

 

[Fubar]

Speaking of mud-slinging Mark, did you get your mudguards sorted OK?

Mudguards adjusted last night - front flappy bit removed completely, white sticky-out cable tie (courtesy of my sponsor, GBC) replaced with small black cut-down cable tie, rear mudguard cable tie replaced with, er a cable tie and front wheel reflector removed (it was catching) - cycled to work this morning, not so much as a squeak . So Crud Road Racers are great so long as you buy a big back of cable ties and don't add half of what in the box .

 

[Rasmus]

Looks good, except for that big lumpy thing in the middle - what is that?!?

That's the part that comes right after someone says "it's mostly flat from now on to the finish".