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E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake


Postby Sspaterson » Wed May 18, 2022 10:45 pm

Route description: Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhòr

Munros included on this walk: Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich, Lurg Mhòr

Date walked: 14/05/2022

Time taken: 6.1 hours

Distance: 38 km

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This was the first proper, here's what I got it for, E-bike to save my decrepit legs for the climbing and to keep up with hubby who is a club cyclist and saw this as a training run. Boy was I grateful for it. What a doddle this turned out to be, for me anyway.

Car park to bike dump - 1 hr 40 minutes
Walking 2 hills - 2 hr 45 minutes
Cycle back to car - 1 hr 30 minutes

Stayed the night before at the delightful wee campsite in Lochcarron. Showers, loos, water and EHU with great views. Would recommend.

Up at 7 for a leisurely breakfast before driving to start at Attadale Estate car park. The cycle in was full of steep as hell hills. No problem for me on the e-bike and kudos to hubby for being not too far behind me under his own steam. I'm a reasonable biker though don't like the technical stuff however this bike made everything so much easier and my confidence increased even on the steep downhills. I dutifully waited for hubby at the top of each hill, relishing the role reversal.

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Decent track


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The slog begins for hubby at the first hill


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Alarmed at the sight of the impending hill even with an e-bike


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Close up of the hill


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Here comes Hubby


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The pain is real


We stopped off at the bothy for a wee look-see. Very palatial with a flushing toilet (fill cistern with water from the burn) and a dining table that was posher than ours at home.

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Room 1 at the bothy


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A flushing loo and a sink too


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Very posh dining table


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From the outside


Rather than leave the bikes here we cycled on to the loch and left them at the convenient signpost pointing up the hill. Someone was already in front of us but we never saw who.

Passed a couple of guys heading north on the Cape Wrath Trail and one heading south.

Started the trudge upwards on yet another pathless hill. Unfortunately the clag was sitting at about 750m and it never cleared. There were a couple of steep bits on Lurg Mhor but nae view at the top. Didn't hang around and retraced our steps and on to the Cheesecake.

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Atop Lurg Mhor


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A wee rest out the wind


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Almost back at the bikes


The wind was pretty strong and in the clag I was starting to feel like Frodo climbing Mount Doom. There's not a lot of me so I was getting blown all over the place making progress somewhat arduous. Probably just as well the clag was down as it looked scarily steep over the edge of this one. Again, didn't hang about and retraced our steps again rather than do the loop - didn't seem much point without a nice view. This was definitely the right choice and we got back to the bikes at 1.30pm, meeting a lady who was walking in and up to wild camp and climb in the morning (when the weather was better).

Hubby set off whilst I took my time changing back into my bike shorts. Soon caught him up and we whizzed merrily along. Well I did.

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The long and winding road


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Nice bridge


We were soon back at the van and couldn't quite believe we'd bagged these two, remotest of Munros in just over 6 hours. Yes I might have been cheating for the purists among you but hubby did this all under his own steam.

160 & 161 for me and we celebrated by consuming an entire fruit cake from the shop in Lochcarron washed down with a cuppa.

The campsite was full for Saturday night but the Strathcarron Hotel lets campervans (and tents) park up for a night for £5 per person with access to toilets and even a shower - which was a bit of a novelty walking through the public bar with my towel and soap. But a more hospitable landlady you'll be hard pushed to find. She was so welcoming and helpful and couldn't do enough for us. We had a bar meal and a couple of drinkies and the most peaceful of nights. What a find!
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby gaffr » Thu May 19, 2022 4:55 pm

Kind-of reverses the order a bit when the ladies get onto the power assisted bikes....not showing the images to my wife. :lol:
I am still on a non powered bike and I am regularly overtaken on the trails around here by elderly ladies using bikes with a booster. I guess that it is the cost of the new wave that I find difficult to come to terms with. :)
Yes, there are sections of that trail up from Loch Carron that are steep.
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Sspaterson » Fri May 20, 2022 8:28 am

@gaffr it was hubby’s idea to get me the e-bike. I was a bit miffed at first as I’m pretty fit anyway but not in his league hence he thought it would be useful to enable us to cycle together :wink:
It certainly takes the sting out of the tail of these remote ones and makes them very achievable in normal hours. Still not ditching the normal bike though - been on too many adventures together.
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Huff_n_Puff » Wed May 25, 2022 7:35 am

Brilliant :clap: :clap: call me slow on the uptake but I've only just started to think about the potential of an ebike for remote hills. Wizzing past fit walkers/cyclists on an ebike really appeals :lol: :lol:

Shame about the weather this is seriously stunning country :D
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Woodsy Boy » Mon Aug 15, 2022 3:57 pm

Good wee report and thank you for the wee tips if staying in the area
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Delice » Sun Jul 23, 2023 9:09 pm

[quote="gaffr"]Kind-of reverses the order a bit when the ladies get onto the power assisted bikes....not showing the images to my wife. :lol:
I am still on a non powered bike and I am regularly overtaken on the trails around here by elderly ladies using bikes with a booster. I guess that it is the cost of the new wave that I find difficult to come to terms with. :)

OOOOOh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pick you up there Gaffr! As a representative of the "Elderly Ladies" brigade [I assume you count 64 as "elderly" :problem: ?], I have just come back from a brilliant day on Lurg Mhor and Bidean a Coire Sheasgaich, so was interested to read other walk reports. Me and a slightly less "elderly" lady did it from Attadale in 6 hours 21 minutes, much to my surprise when you look at the guides for timings. We overtook a group of 5 guys - just a bit younger - on the metal bridge on the way in, and a couple on the long steady uphill on the way back out, who were in their early thirties. :D We were on NON-powered bikes :clap: And the only people I know personally who've bought e-bikes to get into the hills are Men! :roll: ....Can you tell I get a bit twitchy about the use of stereotypes! Maybe we all need to accept that we do start to slow down as we get older! As long as e-bikes keep people active and get them into the hills - whether they're Ladies or Men doesn't matter!
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Delice » Sun Jul 23, 2023 9:49 pm

Delice wrote: Me and a slightly less "elderly" lady did it from Attadale in 6 hours 21 minutes, much to my surprise when you look at the guides for timings.


Whoops! I meant 8 hours 21 minutes, (not 6!)
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby gaffr » Mon Jul 24, 2023 8:46 am

Forgive me I have sinned.
Maybe you will excuse me now that I have gone over to the Darkside ...I now have one of these assisted bikes.
I Am now an Octogenarian. The folks hiring out these bikes occasionally have Sales when getting in new stock for hiring out.
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Re: E-Bike n hike in jig time - Lurg Mhor and Cheesecake

Postby Sgurr » Wed Jul 26, 2023 6:26 pm

Have been over this route twice, once for the Munros and once for the Corbett. Our B & B landlady put us on to hiring bikes ("The Wing Commander did it.") but having an e-bike probably wouldn't have stopped our friend plunging over the handle-bars into bog, as he hadn't liked to tell us he had barely ever cycled. Lots of expletives "Bloody Biggles!!!"
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