Donald Noble's Website

Yesterday we cycled over the Bealach na Ba, one of the highest hill passes in the UK. Spectacular scenery, good weather, some pain, and a well deserved late lunch at the Applecross Inn made it a great day overall.

The day started with the drive to Sheildaig, much easier following the upgrade of the A896 road. Arriving in the campsite, we met those who had arrived earlier, setting up their tents, and preparing the bikes. We got our bikes out, and started preping them. After pumping up my rear tyre, there was a loud bang, as I pulled the valve away from the rest of the inner tube. Luckily I had brought a few spares, and a quick inner change later, as was well.

After Much Faffage™, we were off. The first few miles were an easy warmup, with only a few hills, and stunning views back over the Torridonian landscape. Then we reached The Sign, warning not to go over the 2053ft (625m) pass if you are a learner, or driving a large vehicle.

Paper pens and stopwatches at the ready, we were assigned our allocated handicap times. And then we were off.

The first section wasn’t that bad, but then it got steep. Rounding the corner into Coire na Bà, and I could see the road stretching a long way up the side of the pass, with a couple more riders in the distance. In the coire, the wind dropped, and it was hot. My pace dropped to a crawl, first 7 then 6km/h. But just ever so slightly faster than the guy in front, but it took me 2km to close the hundred meter gap between us.

Reaching the switchbacks, I got my second wind, sensing I was nearly there, and picked up the pace a bit. But I couldn’t catch the leader, who had set off a couple of minutes before me. I settled for second to the top, in a respectable time of 44:30. After congratulating the winner, and admiring the view (which slightly surreally included a refuse wagon in the car park) we waited for the stragglers to arrive. The presentation ceremony took place once all were present and correct.

Then there was the welcome descent, and the even more welcome lunch at the Applecross Inn.

We weren’t even halfway, we still needed to get back to Shieldaig, and the coast road included the much fabled “four, no—five, no—seven ‘hills of pain’”. We debated whether it would be eleven as we set off again.

A couple of hours and few stops later, to fix slow punctures, dodgy gears, and sore legs, we could finally see the finishing point. Then there was pain. A couple of steep, but thankfully relatively short hills, really tested tired legs. A short cycle back to the campsite, and it was over. Celebratory Chomp bars all round.

A total distance of 74km according to my cycle computer, in just over 3½ hours of cycling (but with 3 hours of breaks), an average speed of 21km/h (13mph). According to the Bealach na Bà Challenge website, 6,200ft (1900m) of ascent (but including all the hard bits!).

This entry was posted on Saturday 5th May 2007 in Outdoors and tagged cycling, mountains, Scotland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.