Bike Sale

Cracking medium sized Focus mountain bike for sale.  Shimano XT brakes and drive train with RocShox front forks.  £320 ono.  A very light and fast mountain bike.

Also mountain bike shoes from 5:10 and SixSixOne that are in vgc but not needed. Size 8

Mountain Biking Thoughts

Fiona Gunn, Lyndsay & Ian MacConnel doing proper mountain biking.
 Meal Mhor before the road

Mountain biking is a key sport in North Argyll and Lochaber and one of the things that brings folk to the area and helps retain them. We are fortunate in having great natural trails from deer stalking and forest works, and also the downhill tracks at Glencoe and Nevis Range. Nevis Range also has a superb network of prepared trails that are now being worked on to keep them in order. There is not much family friendly cycling other than forest tracks and footpaths and Nevis Range are planning a couple of family friendly tracks which will be a great idea for them. Funding trails is not easy in this economic climate and will cost £10's of thousands. Oban is also keen on developing trails and is fast becoming a major adventure destination, and Nick Cranes BBC 2 docu on "little towns" featuring Oban will do a lot for it’s profile. Oban is also keen to develop mountain biking, and one of Scotland’s best kept secrets is the plethora of natural mountain biking south of Oban. I spent a week mountain  biking in south Argyll and had a ball on some long natural and remote trails that could have been designed by someone from Whistler, but were all natural.

 

Fiona Gunn ponders An Grianan going over to Glen Etive from Glen Creran

Cycling as a sport is on the increase in general. Much like skiing there is a tendency for the better mountain biker to go “off piste” with a lot of folk really getting into the mountains and wild areas and the prepared trails at centres are bit like skiing “on piste” on predictable. Road biking is a growth sport and leisure cycling on Route 78 our local Sustrans route is booming. The future of cycling as a tourist activity is assured but with such a diverse range of cycling from leisure on the forest tracks, wild mountain biking and prepared trails where is any investment needed?

My own personal view is that trail centre's will be less popular as the same demographic group goes around them, so too much development may not be viable. Not because new trails are not good, more because they cost so much to make and maintain and essentially become boring and worn out after a while. Expensive to make and horrendous to maintain at an acceptable standard this type of “on piste” has maybe had it’s day? A lot more fun can be had with a hand saw and a shovel working with natural forest features and as areas are felled then others can be worked on. No cost, low environmental impact and at your own risk on public land. Just don’t start felling trees, and work with the landscape. Investment in promoting the natural wildness and natural trails, and education on treating road cyclists with respect has to be part of it. A holistic view of cycling is needed and investment if any needs to be aimed at promoting what Scotland has in abundance and more bike piste’s might not be the best use of money and don't help the youth in further out areas such as Ardnamurchan which is also part of Lochaber.  Maybe some bikes and paying a tutour to run profficiency and bike skills on and off road would be good use of any funding and bring on the kids. Other than that just enjoy getting out there and stay away from the honeypots or centres and enjoy the landscape.  We need to teach our kids that it's ok to explore. 

Looking back to Tayvallich. Some great trails down there!

How hard is it to market this?

In the raw this is our biggest asset:

Money can't buy what the film makers see here or the free advertising from it

There is much talk of a BID (business investment district) for the entire Lochaber area in order that funds can be levied from business rates and match funding gained so that projects such as:

• Gateway signage at all entry points to Lochaber
• Complimentary welcome signage in each main community
• Three modern, bold breath-taking viewing platforms in key locations across Lochaber
• A full-time event co-ordinator to help
• An annual and sustained, dynamic whole-area marketing campaign
• Co-ordinated work to increase the power and draw from some of our key regional assets: Glencoe, Ben Nevis, West Highland Line.
• Cruise ships visiting Fort William routinely.
• Much better access to the water for users around Lochaber.
• Phase 1 of a marina for Loch Linnhe.
• Leverage an additional £60k per year from other partners and agencies (eg HIE, Highland Council, VisitScotland).

All this sounds fine and is based partly on Seattle where "The Outdoor Capital" had a visit. It's good to know that those who are members are paying for these trips to get ideas, but I wonder what it really means and who stands to gain in our area. I don't see anything in it for South Lochaber, or as it still is to me North Argyll as I still feel more an Argyll person than Highland.  I see a lot in it for Fort William which as a town seems to be failing badly so a Fort William BID would make sense. None of the proposals will do anything for here and in fact a business levy would be punitive as we might all on this side of Loch Lhinnie vote no, yet still be levied. An event co-ordinator might score with a nice salary though.

Kinlochleven,  Rapidly becoming a must go place for serious mountain biking and a famous and iconic trials bike destination.

My personal view is we have too much signage cluttering our road sides and whats a breath taking viewing platform if its stuck onto the scenery we are trying to protect.  Cruise ships visiting Fort William, maybe but I dont see it.  As for better water access.  We have old ferry slips and a huge coastline along with a very good access code so this is another non starter.  A marina for loch Lhinnie, who for?  A very good pontoon system is at Glencoe, and Fort William could benefit from a similar low cost project.  A marina though?  I dont think so. We are just barely scraping through a near triple dip recession.  Yachts are not selling and frankly are a luxury item unless you are really serious. Who's boats will be bobbing about in the marina?  

Cuil Bay Duror.  Plenty access to the water here!  Duror and Appin are fantastic places to stay with in easy reach of Glencoe and Oban.  Oban - the town that faces the sea, not with it's back to it.

At the Discover Glencoe AGM we are asked what Plan B was if the BID process was rejected.  My Plan B take is that we ignore Plan A (BID) as its devisive and will polarise opinion.  We live in a fantastic area with great natural beauty as a resource.  What we need to help the area is for folks to stay longer and in my opnion we need more for families. I find that my family activities package such as geocaching and personalised maps help.  Again though our mom & pop business is under fire as others with more resources try and squeeze us out. Competing unless there are cups on the table isn't what we are about as we are passionate cyclists not business development types.  

While we wonder about getting more trade then what's happening about key trade thats been lost?  Folk may have noticed a huge drop in the numbers of cyclists on the A82.  That's because the CTC and the many forums are advising folks not to do the JOGLE (john o' groats to lands end) or LEJOG on the A82 as its too dangerous and unfriendly to cyclists.  That includes charity rides. So a few hundred bed nights gone and not much of an advert for an area that purportes to by an outdoor destination, especially as cycling as now the number one growth outdoor sport in the UK.

Ballachulish. A cracking village that deserves a bigger co-op!

Dynafit Boot Sale

Up to 25 % of RRP for the following boots I have left in stock. first come first served:

Dynafit Boots ZZero 4C-TF (T. Green)	1					1				1	3
Dynafit Boots ZZero 4PX-TF (T. Yellow)										1	1
Dynafit Boots ZZero 3UMF									1		1
Dynafit Boots Zzero 3C-TF-27.5 (T.Green)									1		1
Dynafit Zzero 4U-TF Womens (Pearl/Green)				1	1	1					3
Dynafit Boots ZZero 4U-TF Women's  (T. Olive)	1		1								2
Dynafit Zzero 3PX-MF Womens (Pearl/Red)					1						1
Dynafit Boots ZZero 4PX-TF Women's  (T. Sand)		1					1				2
Dynafit Zzeus TF-X (T. White)						1	1	1		1	4
Dynafit Boots Gaia TF-X Women's		1	1								2
Dynafit TLT5 Mtn Women TF Plum		1									1
One PX Mens						1	1	2	3	1	8
One PX Womens			1			1					2

ANENA French Winter Season Summary

There is no substitute for lots and lots of practice!

The prelimenary report for this winter season in France by ANENA reports the following stats worth bearing in mind when considering survival times. Twenty six victims lost their lives in one hundred and forty seven incidents. 38% were recovered in less than 15mins and 90% in less than 35 mins
.

• 85%  of snowshoe victims do not carry the three essentials
• 45% of skiers
• 18% of ski tourers
• Almost nil mountaineers

Recco is increasingly seen as a better than nothing stop gap option which ANENA are promoting trying to encourage more integration of reflectors into clothing.  Recco is so common and available with the ski rescue services that unlike the UK it is more of a rescue tool rather than body recovery method.