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Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.


by bigkeith » Wed Aug 05, 2020 4:08 pm

Route description: Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhòr

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

Date walked: 02/08/2020

Time taken: 9.8 hours

Distance: 42 km

Ascent: 1715m

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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby bigkeith » Sat Aug 21, 2021 11:27 am

Sgurr wrote:We didn't intend to do these, as we hadn't brought bikes. Our B & B landlady said "When the Wing Commander stayed here, he rented bikes to do them." I have never had such a heavy and awkward, and to add insult to injury, girlie pink bike. A friend had barely cycled in his life. After he had hurtled over the handlebars into the bog and I pulled him out I heard him say "B****r Biggles." It is indeed a long trek.....however, we had much better weather than you. Apologies if I have told this story before.


:lol: :lol: :lol: Hard to back-out in front of your landlady when the Wing Commander had set the standard :? . It feels like you're away from it all, that's for sure, which I like.
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby bigkeith » Sat Aug 21, 2021 11:42 am

Girlsinthehills wrote:Great to read your post on those two Munro's. Just visited the lovely Attadale gardens where there is a description of the walk, so they are now on the 'to do list'. Will walk in and either have a night in the Bothy or camp out. looking forward to an adventure.


Thanks. I think the area is great (they all are, really!) and the long approach adds a bit of extra challenge whatever way you do it. Good luck :thumbup: .
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby Butterscotch » Mon Mar 07, 2022 4:15 pm

Great to know the bike is a possibility for these 2
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby Bimbling » Thu Mar 17, 2022 2:33 pm

Thanks so much for such a thorough and clear description. Extremely helpful. I am planning maybe for early next week (March 2022) with this high pressure forcast, and like you were, I too am struggling to estimate time by bike. The best I could manage was comparing to the ride into Carn an Fhidhleir and An Socach from the Linn o' Dee and I estimated a couple of hours in, and a lot less back :D

What I learned on the Cairngorms trip was the minimal advantage of taking the bike much futher than the end of good tracks. A ride on singletrack has a value in itself, but is of little benefit in time saved against walking...and takes a fair bit more effort.

So thanks again for the help and guidance. Fingers crossed for the decent weather to materialise.
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby bigkeith » Thu Apr 14, 2022 10:24 pm

Butterscotch wrote:Great to know the bike is a possibility for these 2

It definitely is. Good luck 👍
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby bigkeith » Thu Apr 14, 2022 10:37 pm

Bimbling wrote:Thanks so much for such a thorough and clear description. Extremely helpful. I am planning maybe for early next week (March 2022) with this high pressure forcast, and like you were, I too am struggling to estimate time by bike. The best I could manage was comparing to the ride into Carn an Fhidhleir and An Socach from the Linn o' Dee and I estimated a couple of hours in, and a lot less back :D

What I learned on the Cairngorms trip was the minimal advantage of taking the bike much futher than the end of good tracks. A ride on singletrack has a value in itself, but is of little benefit in time saved against walking...and takes a fair bit more effort.

So thanks again for the help and guidance. Fingers crossed for the decent weather to materialise.

Hope it worked out well if you went as planned :thumbup: I biked in to Carn an Fhidhleir as well but it was about 15 years ago and I can't remember timing except that it was a very good, flat biking track and I got back to the carpark in reasonable time. I didn't see another soul on the hills themselves all day.
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby Knee-groaner » Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:11 pm

Very useful report, thank you. We (two sixty-something men) just did this route using bikes and it was a fantastic day. Only thing I would add is that while the cycling section has occasional smooth compacted moments, a lot of it is very rough with loose stones and quite treacherous. I think it may have deteriorated a bit in last couple of years. You have to dismount for the steep downhill sections as well as the steep uphill sections - at least if you are as unskilled with mountain biking as us. We took two hours to cycle in to Bendronaig bothy and two hours to cycle out. Allow 11 hours for entire expedition if you like to stop and smell the roses too
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby Sgurr » Sun Jun 12, 2022 9:02 pm

We were 4 x 60 year olds when we did it in in 1999, and it was bad enough then to propel our friend off his bike (admittedly, he wasn't a very good cyclist) . When we did it again to do Ben Dronaig, there were 2 x 70 year olds and it was even worse. If it has deteriorated since then or in the last 2 years, its condition must be awful. Maybe people who are used to mountain bikes find no problems because it is actually a TRACK, however rough. Am moving, and have transferred husband's accounts to new abode & can't be bothered to fetch them back, so don't know how long it took us overall, but I have a feeling that for the 2 Munros, we set off after breakfast at 9 am and didn't get back until 9 pm.
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby Sgurr » Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:20 pm

Sgurr wrote: I have a feeling that for the 2 Munros, we set off after breakfast at 9 am and didn't get back until 9 pm.



Even worse than that. I have found husband's account and it took us 12 hours 50 minutes....though we had to wait for him as he cycled straight into Attadale Gardens on the way back and the gate was locked, so he had to retrace his tracks. Don't know how long "Biggles" took.
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Re: Lurg Mhor and Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich by bike.

Postby bigkeith » Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:49 am

Knee-groaner wrote:Very useful report, thank you. We (two sixty-something men) just did this route using bikes and it was a fantastic day. Only thing I would add is that while the cycling section has occasional smooth compacted moments, a lot of it is very rough with loose stones and quite treacherous. I think it may have deteriorated a bit in last couple of years. You have to dismount for the steep downhill sections as well as the steep uphill sections - at least if you are as unskilled with mountain biking as us. We took two hours to cycle in to Bendronaig bothy and two hours to cycle out. Allow 11 hours for entire expedition if you like to stop and smell the roses too


Glad you had a good day, KG :) . It's a fantastic area, I think it adds to the enjoyment of a day in the hills when you have to earn it a bit.

Sgurr wrote:
Sgurr wrote: I have a feeling that for the 2 Munros, we set off after breakfast at 9 am and didn't get back until 9 pm.



Even worse than that. I have found husband's account and it took us 12 hours 50 minutes....though we had to wait for him as he cycled straight into Attadale Gardens on the way back and the gate was locked, so he had to retrace his tracks. Don't know how long "Biggles" took.


:lol: :lol: Definitely a memorable day, Sgurr :crazy: . The track may have been upgraded for the hydro since you did it but I don't know for sure. In general I'd say best for those who feel confident biking landrover/forestry tracks.
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