X-adventure Raid Series
Rapidly down the Great Glen
Rob / 10.05.2003
Bunched together again at the start of the ride the teams made their way along the Great Glen cycleway above Loch Lochy after a short section of main road which was untimed. It was a break Ben Bardsley didn’t really appreciate. “It broke things up rather and we got cold as we pottered along, maybe we should have just kept going at speed. There was a big group of us, like a pelaton, which I think is caused by the rule change. You used to get 20 minutes for transition and out you went again. Now we all set off together when the next stage opens.�It was a good track above the loch, though it was still raining heavily so there were no expansive views and it took teams to the start of the canoe stage, at the southern end of Loch Oich. Here they inflated their bright red 3 man jumbo canoes before setting off up the loch.
For the Hoppers though there was some debate about whether they should start that job as they were considering missing the canoe stage out. They were near the back of the field and looked a bit dispirited by the weather and the thought of falling further behind. While the support crew sorted out soup and hot drinks they debated what to do. Who would do what stage? Was it best to miss the canoe, or the kayak? Making a decision took them 20 minutes and in the end they carried on, waiting to make another choice at the next transition. It looks inevitable that along with the other teams near the back they will have to miss stages at some point.
The narrow loch led the teams into the river Oich which has it’s exciting moments, especially some rapids near the end of the stage. At least one team went over in these, and another lost a paddle and had trouble getting it back. The river exits into Loch Ness at Fort Augustus so the teams jumped out here and carried their canoes up a short, but steep, hill to a point where the support crews deflated them and packed them onto roofs or into trailers – they are bulky to carry around. See All Event Posts
