Beinn nan Lus with Meall Garbh e-bike from Inverawe
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 1:02 amWith a 2 hour drive to get to the start and a potential 24 mile round cycle trip it seemed sensible to attempt both Grahams in the one outing, weather and long day permitting. Ideal for the electric pedal assisted bike 
.
I parked at the entrance to the forestry / estate road NN025317 not aware that a quarter of a mile up the track is a large car park! I set off at 8.30 am taking the left fork stating "No unauthorised vehicles" and right fork in 200 yards. There is a padlocked barrier in a mile with no turning area! The track is quite well maintained, some tarmac and even cat's eyes
(from recycled road scrapings). The track goes up and down over 3 headlands with bridges across R Noe (2.5 miles), R Liver (4.6 miles), third in disrepair at Inverliver Bay bypassed by concrete ford then R Kinglass bridge ( 6 miles) NN079374 with route turning right immediately after crossing then easily up Glen Kinglass for 5.7 miles.
Captainslow's times for Beinn nan Lus seem fast. With my e-bike it took me 2.25 hours for 11.7 miles to the shaky suspension footbridge across River Kinglass which was my start point for both hills. I unzipped off the top of my Avenir triple pannier which doubles as a daysack, ideal for biking then hill-walking.
For Beinn nan Lus I aimed up and to the right towards the skyline notch between Beinn nan Lus and Beinn nan Aighenan below a rising line of slabby crags to reach the easier east ridge at 250 metres. This was slow going due to long overnight soaking wet clumpy grass hiding ankle breaking holes. It may be easier in Spring when grass is dead. It may be possible in drier conditions to go directly up by the stream, though it is steeper near it's top. On reaching the ridge it is 1 mile rising gradually due west to the summit 709m skirting left past half a dozen small lochans just before. Retraced steps to bike.
This took me 2.75 hours then 1.25 hours back to bike, so 4 hours for the 660m climb. Cloud covered the higher peaks so views poor.
For Meall Garbh I crossed the shaking bridge and turned left up the semblance of ATV track then rising right across the field to an open gate in the sheep fence. I aimed for the dip in the skyline then followed the stream up and round to the left before heading to the skyline sheep fence about 400m. Shortly after the sheep fence right angled about 440m and after the first set of crags there is a grassy breach to reach the ridge about 500m. ENE along the ridge bypassing to the right some impressive crags to reach the summit cairn at 701m on 1:25,00 or 696m on 1:50,000 (I omitted to check the height with my GPS as time was marching on 6 pm having taken 2.75 hours for 650m ascent. Retraced steps to bike. Another 4 hour climb.
At 8 pm, with an hour of daylight left, I zoomed off but not for long - the motor kept packing in and shutting down
I ended up having to push it on uphill sections. Darkness descended - fortunately the front headlight was independently battery powered. I huffed and puffed. There are only two inhabited dwellings on this track. I saw no lights on at Inverliver though Invernoe had one room lit but it was now 10 pm, so I plodded on in the dark pushing uphill when I heard a vehicle approach from the rear. Off course I had no rear warning light on (not expecting any approach from the rear) so frantically waved the front light about to show my presence. It was the gamekeeper from Invernoe with a pick-up truck going to set some vermin traps - he had seen me setting off in the morning at the track end and saw my bike light passing and offered a lift for the last 1.5 miles which I gratefully accepted, arriving at car 10.30 pm.
I tried the e-bike yesterday from Dumbarton along cycle path to Lock 27 on Clyde - Forth canal and it performed ok but with grinding noises coming from the motor at times but at least it did not cut out on the mainly level 22 mile round trip. It has gone to Phillips Cycles in Gourock, the nearest Freego Martin Sport stockist for repair.
PS No major fault found. New chain fitted, gears adjusted, contacts cleaned, rear brake calliper adjusted and as good as new! Thanks to Stuart Phillips.
PPS Turns out the battery was faulty after 2000 miles of use. Whilst still displaying plenty of power available and having used a fair bit, there was just none to power the motor so it just cut out completely - very confusing. A new 15.6 Ah battery at £425 has solved the problem. Transpires it was a fault in BMS (battery management system) which can be purchased on internet for about £40. A new 29Ah battery from China on Aliexpress for £500, if mileage approximately 3 miles per Ah, could give a range 60 - 80 miles.depending on terrain, wind and weight.
.I parked at the entrance to the forestry / estate road NN025317 not aware that a quarter of a mile up the track is a large car park! I set off at 8.30 am taking the left fork stating "No unauthorised vehicles" and right fork in 200 yards. There is a padlocked barrier in a mile with no turning area! The track is quite well maintained, some tarmac and even cat's eyes
(from recycled road scrapings). The track goes up and down over 3 headlands with bridges across R Noe (2.5 miles), R Liver (4.6 miles), third in disrepair at Inverliver Bay bypassed by concrete ford then R Kinglass bridge ( 6 miles) NN079374 with route turning right immediately after crossing then easily up Glen Kinglass for 5.7 miles.Captainslow's times for Beinn nan Lus seem fast. With my e-bike it took me 2.25 hours for 11.7 miles to the shaky suspension footbridge across River Kinglass which was my start point for both hills. I unzipped off the top of my Avenir triple pannier which doubles as a daysack, ideal for biking then hill-walking.
For Beinn nan Lus I aimed up and to the right towards the skyline notch between Beinn nan Lus and Beinn nan Aighenan below a rising line of slabby crags to reach the easier east ridge at 250 metres. This was slow going due to long overnight soaking wet clumpy grass hiding ankle breaking holes. It may be easier in Spring when grass is dead. It may be possible in drier conditions to go directly up by the stream, though it is steeper near it's top. On reaching the ridge it is 1 mile rising gradually due west to the summit 709m skirting left past half a dozen small lochans just before. Retraced steps to bike.
This took me 2.75 hours then 1.25 hours back to bike, so 4 hours for the 660m climb. Cloud covered the higher peaks so views poor.
For Meall Garbh I crossed the shaking bridge and turned left up the semblance of ATV track then rising right across the field to an open gate in the sheep fence. I aimed for the dip in the skyline then followed the stream up and round to the left before heading to the skyline sheep fence about 400m. Shortly after the sheep fence right angled about 440m and after the first set of crags there is a grassy breach to reach the ridge about 500m. ENE along the ridge bypassing to the right some impressive crags to reach the summit cairn at 701m on 1:25,00 or 696m on 1:50,000 (I omitted to check the height with my GPS as time was marching on 6 pm having taken 2.75 hours for 650m ascent. Retraced steps to bike. Another 4 hour climb.
At 8 pm, with an hour of daylight left, I zoomed off but not for long - the motor kept packing in and shutting down
I ended up having to push it on uphill sections. Darkness descended - fortunately the front headlight was independently battery powered. I huffed and puffed. There are only two inhabited dwellings on this track. I saw no lights on at Inverliver though Invernoe had one room lit but it was now 10 pm, so I plodded on in the dark pushing uphill when I heard a vehicle approach from the rear. Off course I had no rear warning light on (not expecting any approach from the rear) so frantically waved the front light about to show my presence. It was the gamekeeper from Invernoe with a pick-up truck going to set some vermin traps - he had seen me setting off in the morning at the track end and saw my bike light passing and offered a lift for the last 1.5 miles which I gratefully accepted, arriving at car 10.30 pm.I tried the e-bike yesterday from Dumbarton along cycle path to Lock 27 on Clyde - Forth canal and it performed ok but with grinding noises coming from the motor at times but at least it did not cut out on the mainly level 22 mile round trip. It has gone to Phillips Cycles in Gourock, the nearest Freego Martin Sport stockist for repair.
PS No major fault found. New chain fitted, gears adjusted, contacts cleaned, rear brake calliper adjusted and as good as new! Thanks to Stuart Phillips.
PPS Turns out the battery was faulty after 2000 miles of use. Whilst still displaying plenty of power available and having used a fair bit, there was just none to power the motor so it just cut out completely - very confusing. A new 15.6 Ah battery at £425 has solved the problem. Transpires it was a fault in BMS (battery management system) which can be purchased on internet for about £40. A new 29Ah battery from China on Aliexpress for £500, if mileage approximately 3 miles per Ah, could give a range 60 - 80 miles.depending on terrain, wind and weight.
