Ben Lomond Mountain Bike Trails

Ok, so they aren’t technically mountain bike trails. But you can ride a bike down (if not up) them. And by god it’s worth it.

It started innocently enough with a forum post from Neil asking who fancied a ride up at Devil’s Staircase on Glencoe. Checked it out on YouTube, “looks easy enough” I think to myself. Arrangements are made for the morning and I go to bed on Sunday looking forward to my first ride in a month.

Sunday am. Neil calls.

“Everyone’s dropped out from hangovers. We’re going to Ben Lomond instead. Up for it?”

Me, without engaging brain: “yeah, no bother. See you there.”

Arrive to find Neil in the car park, teasing Richard for never having ridden it and implying he was going to end up dead. Of course, I hadn’t ridden it either, so hello twitchy bumhole. Especially as Neil is now padding up in full-on body armour. Although I’ve done my far share of mountain biking in the past few years, with the exception of Fort William I’ve never actually ridden down a mountain. And the trails at Ben Lomond are a far cry from that. Hmm.

“So is it hard then?”

“It’s like the rocky bit at Fort William, but more technical.”

OH. NOES.

“how long does it take to push up? About 45 mins?”

“Nah, about 3 hours – if you’re fit”

I work behind a desk and go to Greggs twice a day. Bumhole starts spasming. Luckily I brought my massive bag with every bit of mtb gear I’ve owned in the past ten years, so I suit up, gobble a butty and hit the hill.

It’s a glorious day and 20 minutes in we’re soaked in sweat. Have passed about 20+ walkers, each with the same banter:

“You boys riding down this?”

“Aye”

“Really? You must be mad… er, good luck. ”

None of which helps my confidence.

Keep pushing. Getting high up – bikes have been on backs to scale steep sections and I’ve seen lots of line-critical stuff I’m really not confident about. Sweating buckets and dying for a break, we finally stop.

“So, can’t be far now eh Neil?” His reaction.

To cut a long story short, we keep pushing. It gets higher…

And higher…

And finally, my Greggs-powered body aching, we reach the top. And it’s beautiful.

Getting up there I’m elated. I’ve never felt vertigo on a bike ride before, but this really is a mountain. And you could actually fall off one side of it. I’ve forgotten how tired I am, and how hard it was getting up there. I’m 974m above sea level, and I can see the trail drop down to the Loch beneath me for what seems like forever. The excitement at the prospect of riding back down it is phenomenal, outweighing any trepidation about exactly how I’m going to do it.

So, we set off. Neil goes first, and following his lines down my confidence grows and grows. The initial section is relatively tame and a nice mix of technical lines and speed. Also, before big changes in the terrain Neil stops and lets us know what is coming next, which makes what would be a daunting experience much easier. It soon gets very steep and super technical, before opening out to smoother, faster trail. Ten minutes in my body feels like it’s made from adrenaline and starting to think I’m Steve Peat. Bunnyhopping the drainage channels – a thought that bothered me on the way up seeing as many are not only deep, but wide and high sided – is a joy and my newly purchased Lyriks let me away with any mistakes I make. I even start looking for obstacles in front of them to launch off and clear them with. In short, I’m having some of the best fun I’ve ever had on a bike. Then the inevitable happens.

Dropping into a steep section at the bottom of which Neil and Fraser are waiting, my arms have had it. Arm pump is one of those things you think can’t be that bad until you really get it. I’ve no energy left and just can’t seem to brake hard enough to control the bike. Making a last ditch attempt to stop, I brake too hard as my front wheel batters into a boulder. Then, that horrible feeling as time slows down, the world flips upside down and you really really hope it’s not going to hurt too much. Hearing “Oooohhhh Shhhiiit!” from your pals at the same time as you fly through the air performing a half somersault waiting for the inevitable crunch.  And crunch I did.

At this point I have to commend SixSixOne, Fox, and pretty much all makers of body armour for what has to be the best invention ever. I hear it scrape across the rocks as I grind to a halt and know it’s saved me from a world of pain. I get up and save for a few bruises and a knock to the ankle I’m okay. We’re less than halfway down and still have all this to come:

So, we set off again, and the riding just keeps getting better. Crash number 2 happens shortly after, bringing me level with Richard who’s also taken a couple of knocks. But like they say, if you’re not crashing, you’re not trying hard enough. Close to the bottom things get really technical again and I take the crash leaderboard when my pedal clangs a high sided rock and sends me flying through the air for the third time. But back on the bike for the final section I can still feel my riding improving, taking lines I thought I wouldn’t have a chance on just a few hours earlier. Then, before I know it we’ve reached the car park. My pedal bent, rear wheel missing spokes, body aching I’m grinning like a maniac and don’t have a care in the world. Well, apart from getting a pint and a steak that is.

I didn’t intend this post to be so long, but once I started reliving the day in my head I didn’t want to leave anything out. Having said that, I didn’t mention Fraser’s awesome dog helping us up the hill and chasing sheep on the way back down, the fact that no-one thought to take any food up or even go on about any of the banter we had all the way to the top. But I do have to say that this was probably the most epic experience I’ve ever had, let alone on a bike. I couldn’t recommend it more – blowing out the stressful weeks at work I’d had, my mind was absent of the mundane worries we carry around with us in our day to day lives. It was good to be alive.

So, in summary, if you can handle most blacks and are looking for something a little more, get out there and do it. I can’t wait to go back, and hopefully with some good weather we’ll be up there again soon. If you haven’t already, join our social network and keep an eye on the events section for our next rides. You won’t regret it.

EPILOGUE:

I asked Neil for his views on the day. They were a little more to the point:

“Went up the ben for 137th time. Rode down it. Took ages cos I was with 2 poofs, a walker and his dog. Still a cracking day though”.