Bike for Creag Mhor with a safety suggestion

[bydand1]

We did Creag Mhor only but don't be put off by the time we took as we're almost 70.
The road east from the north end of Killin is long narrow and slow with potentially a long
reverse if you meet an oncoming vehicle. The car park is obvious and was full of euphoric
and now less frustrated baggers getting out on the hills with the partial relaxation of Covid
restrictions. We tried to do the Walkhighlands map route.
After reading the report "Bike and Hike Creag Mhor" of 28th May 2016 we took the lovely
lower road along the valley floor. It is a perfectly reasonable untarred estate track suitable
for bikes with ideally a bit of suspension. There was only one gate and the one bridge is
in order. We parked the bikes at Batavaime Farm at the foot of the Allt Bad a' Mhaim.
We took the liberty of using a large shearing shed for the bikes which would have been
particularly useful of we'd come back in rain. Zigzagged up the steep track to the top road
and SW for 800 metros to the gate before doubling back as per the Walkhighlands route.
I'd have been best using GPS to go to the exact location of the beginning of the steep
300metre slog up through the cliffs from 412347 so I'd have been more confident for the
exact route.
At 710 metres the slope lessens at 409351.
Coming down the use of these references as Waypoints on GPS would have been even more useful descending a steep slippy grass slope at the end of the day when you can't so easily see
the cliffs compared to going up.
The walk past Sron nan Eun and on to Creag Mhor was an easy joy in the good weather.

[StevieS]

hi there

Just read your report on Creag Mhor which is very helpful as planning to do this one soon , can you tell me if the upper track looked suitable for a bike , tia

Steve

[1Magnus]

I took the upper road in October 2018. It had 4 or 5 gates in it, the kissing gate type, but very tall (too tall for me to lift my scruffy mountain bike over it). I could get my mountain bike round the V-shape of the kissing gates by putting it upright, in all cases but the last one. At that last gate, I then parked the bike and walked on. (I hadn't realised that the lower road didn't involve that kind of obstacle race, or I would have taken the lower road!)

[StevieS]

Thanks a lot 1magnus , bottom track it is 😀