Teuchter
Über Member
- Location
- Erskine, Scotland
This is an account of my first ever bicycle camping trip. Nothing overly ambitious, it was a mere "overnighter", 24 hours from departure to return.
No towering Alpine passes were conquered (though there is quite a steep hill between Drymen and Aberfoyle), there were no epic struggles between man and the elements (though it did get a bit chilly overnight), I wasn't travelling unsupported across an empty wilderness (stopping for icecream, coffee and beer reduced the need for carrying so many supplies of my own), I was neither attacked nor kidnapped by outlandishly attired and incomprehensible natives (despite travelling through Dumbarton) and I had neither a "proper" touring bike or a tent (more on those points later).
My decision to take this little trip was a last minute one. Just before leaving work before the Easter bank holiday weekend I checked thr weather forecast and was surprised to discover we were due for sunshine over the next four days. Plans began to form on my cycle home and my negotiating stance for taking two days off by myself IF I spent the other two days doing stuff with the wife and kids was prepared.
Permission granted, I set about retrieving camping kit from the loft and planning a route.
I own a couple of tents which I've used extensively in the past for car and motorbike camping but none of them are suitable for cycle touring thanks to bulk and weight. In place of a tent came plan B and I dug out my camping hammock and tarp. I've used this on canoe trips to the islands of Loch Lomond before but not for a while. The advantage is that it's relatively light and compact (though no more so than a typical one man tent), has a built in midgie net and can be pitched over rough ground.
The disadvantage of course is that you generally require trees to hang a hammock and tarp from.
I was able to fit the hammock, thermarest, light sleeping bag and fleece for evening into one pannier, pump, lock, food, spare water and Trangia stove (bulky, but I do love my Trangia!) in the other and small essentials (camera, wallet, etc) in a bar bag. The tarp went on the rack. It didn't seem too heavy and looked neat and compact.
My plan was to ride the 40 miles from Erskine to Aberfoyle, following NCN Route 7. Once there I'd continue into the forests around Loch Ard and camp wild for the night, returning the following day.
I set off on Sunday lunchtime. The bike felt a little unstable under the weight at first but after a mile or so I got used to it and didn't notice it after that. The first climb over Erskine Bridge went okay and I was soon barelling along the excellent track towards Dumbarton with a strong tailwind catching my panniers like sails.
After Balloch the climbs started as the route took to small country lanes in the hills to the South of the main road.
As the rest of the route will involve a fairly continual succession of climbs and descents, this is probably a good moment to mention The Bike.
My trusty companion on this adventure was my old 80s carbolite Peugeot road bike. For touring purposes it benefited from a rear rack capable of carrying panniers just outside of heel striking distance and was a comfortable frame that as well as daily commuting, I've ridden a century on before. Unfortunately it also had a fairly new leather saddle (a Spa Cycles "Nidd") which was still being broken in, Sora 8 speed road bike gearing (42/52 front and 12-25 rear) which I knew beforehand would be far too highly geared for lugging a load up hills. It also had an out of alignment rear derailleur following an incident earlier in the week... I had ordered an alignment tool from Wiggle but it hadn't arrived in time for the weekend. This meant the bike would sit nicely either in the lowest 4 or the hightest 4 gears, but not the whole cassette.
Not far out of Balloch I came to the decision that the ability to climb was more important than the ability to speed downhill and the derailleur cable was suitable adjusted to give nice low range shifting and left that way for the rest of the trip.
Despite a moderate headwind now that I'd turned East from Balloch, the sun was out and the short sections of off-road track that I encountered were dry and presented no issues to my 25mm road bike tyres.
Narrow bridge near Croftamie.
I arrived in Drymen and with the signs telling me I only had another ten miles until Aberfoyle, stopped for a celebratory icecream. I didn't know it at the time but I would need every calorie I gained from that soon enough.
Out of Drymen, the old military road climbs relentlessly for a couple of miles. Struggling out of the saddle, trying to drive the heavily loaded bike onwards and upwards with my 42-25 lowest gear, I desperately tried not to get off and push, motivated by the audience of walkers on the West Highland Way which also runs along some of this section. I made it... just and was soon freewheeling at 40mph down the other side, crouched low in the drops while I let gravity reclaimed me.
NCN 7 near Aberfoyle.
There were some other steeper but shorter climbs before Aberfoyle but I'd broken the back of it and it wasn't long before I was enjoying a pint outside the Forth Bar before I set off to find a secluded forest spot for the night's wild camp.
Exploring the forest trails North of Aberfoyle, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the relatively narrow road tyres and loaded bike coped with the rough tracks. I was soon in the middle of the Loch Ard Forest and chose a spot next to a small loch, Lochan Ghleannain to make camp.
My campsite.
It took me longer than it should to get the tarp then hammock hung from two suitable trees but eventually I was happy with the setup and I set up my stove to cook dinner, to the sound of ducks on the loch, happy that the midgies had not put in an appearance.
cont...
No towering Alpine passes were conquered (though there is quite a steep hill between Drymen and Aberfoyle), there were no epic struggles between man and the elements (though it did get a bit chilly overnight), I wasn't travelling unsupported across an empty wilderness (stopping for icecream, coffee and beer reduced the need for carrying so many supplies of my own), I was neither attacked nor kidnapped by outlandishly attired and incomprehensible natives (despite travelling through Dumbarton) and I had neither a "proper" touring bike or a tent (more on those points later).
My decision to take this little trip was a last minute one. Just before leaving work before the Easter bank holiday weekend I checked thr weather forecast and was surprised to discover we were due for sunshine over the next four days. Plans began to form on my cycle home and my negotiating stance for taking two days off by myself IF I spent the other two days doing stuff with the wife and kids was prepared.
Permission granted, I set about retrieving camping kit from the loft and planning a route.
I own a couple of tents which I've used extensively in the past for car and motorbike camping but none of them are suitable for cycle touring thanks to bulk and weight. In place of a tent came plan B and I dug out my camping hammock and tarp. I've used this on canoe trips to the islands of Loch Lomond before but not for a while. The advantage is that it's relatively light and compact (though no more so than a typical one man tent), has a built in midgie net and can be pitched over rough ground.
The disadvantage of course is that you generally require trees to hang a hammock and tarp from.
I was able to fit the hammock, thermarest, light sleeping bag and fleece for evening into one pannier, pump, lock, food, spare water and Trangia stove (bulky, but I do love my Trangia!) in the other and small essentials (camera, wallet, etc) in a bar bag. The tarp went on the rack. It didn't seem too heavy and looked neat and compact.
My plan was to ride the 40 miles from Erskine to Aberfoyle, following NCN Route 7. Once there I'd continue into the forests around Loch Ard and camp wild for the night, returning the following day.
I set off on Sunday lunchtime. The bike felt a little unstable under the weight at first but after a mile or so I got used to it and didn't notice it after that. The first climb over Erskine Bridge went okay and I was soon barelling along the excellent track towards Dumbarton with a strong tailwind catching my panniers like sails.
After Balloch the climbs started as the route took to small country lanes in the hills to the South of the main road.
As the rest of the route will involve a fairly continual succession of climbs and descents, this is probably a good moment to mention The Bike.
My trusty companion on this adventure was my old 80s carbolite Peugeot road bike. For touring purposes it benefited from a rear rack capable of carrying panniers just outside of heel striking distance and was a comfortable frame that as well as daily commuting, I've ridden a century on before. Unfortunately it also had a fairly new leather saddle (a Spa Cycles "Nidd") which was still being broken in, Sora 8 speed road bike gearing (42/52 front and 12-25 rear) which I knew beforehand would be far too highly geared for lugging a load up hills. It also had an out of alignment rear derailleur following an incident earlier in the week... I had ordered an alignment tool from Wiggle but it hadn't arrived in time for the weekend. This meant the bike would sit nicely either in the lowest 4 or the hightest 4 gears, but not the whole cassette.
Not far out of Balloch I came to the decision that the ability to climb was more important than the ability to speed downhill and the derailleur cable was suitable adjusted to give nice low range shifting and left that way for the rest of the trip.
Despite a moderate headwind now that I'd turned East from Balloch, the sun was out and the short sections of off-road track that I encountered were dry and presented no issues to my 25mm road bike tyres.
Narrow bridge near Croftamie.
I arrived in Drymen and with the signs telling me I only had another ten miles until Aberfoyle, stopped for a celebratory icecream. I didn't know it at the time but I would need every calorie I gained from that soon enough.
Out of Drymen, the old military road climbs relentlessly for a couple of miles. Struggling out of the saddle, trying to drive the heavily loaded bike onwards and upwards with my 42-25 lowest gear, I desperately tried not to get off and push, motivated by the audience of walkers on the West Highland Way which also runs along some of this section. I made it... just and was soon freewheeling at 40mph down the other side, crouched low in the drops while I let gravity reclaimed me.
NCN 7 near Aberfoyle.
There were some other steeper but shorter climbs before Aberfoyle but I'd broken the back of it and it wasn't long before I was enjoying a pint outside the Forth Bar before I set off to find a secluded forest spot for the night's wild camp.
Exploring the forest trails North of Aberfoyle, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the relatively narrow road tyres and loaded bike coped with the rough tracks. I was soon in the middle of the Loch Ard Forest and chose a spot next to a small loch, Lochan Ghleannain to make camp.
My campsite.
It took me longer than it should to get the tarp then hammock hung from two suitable trees but eventually I was happy with the setup and I set up my stove to cook dinner, to the sound of ducks on the loch, happy that the midgies had not put in an appearance.
cont...
. After a week hiking around Lochinver last year in shorts and sandals though, I will admit that I prefer the Highland midgie to blood sucking and potentially limes disease carrying ticks any day.
