Ride in to the danger zone
July 26th, 2010 • Cycling • Somhairle
I had wanted to ride the hill over from Faslane to Loch Lomond for a while now. It’s famed as one of Robert Millars training routes before he left to race in Europe and you can see why it help breed such a champion climber. The run out to Faslane along the firth o’ Clyde is fast and mostly flat, with a decent road surface which is wide enough to let traffic past without to much bother. Myself and Misha had a good chain going and made the imposing military hotspot – that is Faslane – pretty rapidly despite a moderate head wind. Turning right at the roundabout at the Northern edge of the naval base begins the climb in earnest with a constant gradient on a beautifully smooth and wide road. Bearing right at the second roundabout at the top of the first climb the road seriously kicks up with a serious gradient, the presence of snow gates at this juncture is a sure sign of what your about to face. The road that runs along the side of the ‘DANGE AREA’ that the m.o.d have commandeered to the North of Glen Fruin is a phenomenal piece of tarmac. Flanked by high peaks – some up to 600m – you get a real sense of being in the mountains and the road reflects this. It doesn’t actually gain an enormous height but undulates across the feet of the hills to north. There are many ups and downs all fairly short but steep with several labeled as 10%. It is clear to see how Robert Millar developed his ability to attack on the alps and pyrenees here. The way the road rolls up and down encourages you to use the momentum gained from the frequent descents to attack the steeps and power to the top. It has to be said I ran out of steam on a lot of these steep ascents but Misha managed to honk to the summits with more conviction. The descent from the top down to Loch Lomond is good but punctuated with many undulations so it’s not a full on high speed freewheeling affair. Some parts of it are very steep and speeds of 40+ are easily attainable. The road remains wide, with a superb smooth but grippy surface and traffic is low. Unfortunately the day ended on a low note when I picked up a puncture on the rough cycle path around the loch. I fixed and re-fixed it to discover after much faff that the valve had a tiny split in it. So a walk back to Balloch from Duck bay to catch the train back to the city was required. I will definitely be riding this road again, it is a beautiful area despite the military presence and riding it the opposite direction would present an even greater climbing challenge. Highly recommended. Here’s the route.
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