Rain all through the night. The
temperature had risen slightly so most of the snow had gone around
the tent, leaving very waterlogged ground. I decided to scrap my
original plan of going over the pass to Loch Venachar because of the
lady telling me the road was closed. My first objective of the day
is Callander and it is possible to get there by riding along the A81.
I was away just after 9am and headed east with a helping tail wind.
Modern bridge on the old railway line
It was raining with
lots of standing water on the road. After Port of Menteith the road
heads NE and starts a long climb which got steeper on the way. The
rain was hammering down as I eventually reached Callander. The road
I would have approached from on my original road had road closed
signs across it. In Callander I noticed the cycle track sign and
followed it across the park and car park heading out toward the old
railway route the path was underwater due to flooding and only just
rideable.
Preston Railway Station
The track was quite a
mix of terrain. Some was more like riding the big dipper with steep
ups and downs. The route along the west side of Loch Lubnaig was
quite difficult in places because of rutted mud which is very slow
to ride through. My overall average speed was quite low and my
planned destination for the day was in doubt. At Strathyre there was
a stretch of road with fancy wooden cabins around. The cycle track
continued on gravel to the outskirts of Lochearnhead.
Lochearnhead
At a bridge I took a
wrong turning and had to return to bridge where the cycle track was
so steep I had to push the bike with difficulty up a 20% gradient.
After a lot of pushing I reached the high level rail route which was
compacted gravel and a steady push up as it was climbing steadily to
the summit of Glen Ogle.
Loch Earn
This was one of my
major objectives as I'd seen the railway viaducts from the road
below on previous visits. Some workmen and a vehicle were parked
while they stood around doing nothing. Warning sign were up on a
stretch of the track but nothing was going on. The views down were
impressive even with the grim weather.
Above Glen Ogle
At the summit I
crossed the road and continued upwards for a while to a memorial to
the crew of a crashed jet. I took another wrong turn up part of the
Rob Roy way. Descending from my mistake I started the long descent
down to Killin. I was getting cold on the descent and in my wet
gloves my hand were almost numb. At the main A827 I found that
inexplicably my chain had come off. It was quite a struggle to get
it back on. The river along the roadside was very high and an
amazing sight of bouncing brown water.
Old Railway Viaduct Glen Ogle
I left the main
road to follow the minor road along the south side of Loch Tay. It
was very quiet and I only saw a few vehicles. Unfortunately it was
very hilly and no sooner had I climbed up one it was a very steep
descent to the start of the next. I’d hoped to reach the east end of
the Loch but I soon ran out of daylight and had to camp several
miles short of my objective. Fortunately I found a grassy patch by a
forestry gate and small stream adjacent.
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Whittle Wanderer
