Nice one, some friends attempted it a couple of months ago and were foiled by a terminal machanical problem.
We're planning to do it in September in the other direction, we all live near the Milngavie end so it makes sense.
It does seem to be hard on bikes from everyone I've talked to thats done it, and I will remember your point about extra brake pads.

Fantastic write up, I walked the WHW this year and found that hard enough, I cant imagine how difficult taking the bikes round the top end of Loch Lomond must have been. I Wonder who I can persuade to mountain bike the route..........

For others April was a good month weather wise and midgie wise (at least this year!)

I have a dim recollection from many moons ago, of some foolhardy insomniac from Edinburgh Bicycle attempting the whole thing non-stop in 24 hours. Set off from Fort Bill at midnight, arrived in Milngavie with time to spare. I tried Googling it but can't find any record...

there is an article on here somewhere about some guys doing it in a day

Some guys from the glasgow mountain bike club attempted the route in 24 hours and didn't succeed. I spoke to a young fella in Alpine Cycles in the Tiso store in Glasgow who rekoned he'd done it in 24 hours. Apparently he's some kind of enduro racer but as he looks like he's not long off his mammies breast I took it with a teeny pinch of salt. Love to be proved wrong and if you recognise yourself - no offence intended!

If anyone fancies giving it the WHW a go, either all of it or part of it and want a (slow) ride buddy, email me via this site and I'll see if I'm free.
All the best - Colin

Colin
Curiously, my friend Jules and I go cycling together. My wife thought it was me in the photos!!
Regards
Colin Colclough no 2.

that looks like fun:)

Munro bagging the last few weeks (14 left to go...) I used the couple of km between Dalrigh and Tyndrum to return to my start part last week. Jesus - even just walking I overtook 10 fat-arsed ramblers, festooned with knee braces and battering the ground into submission with their trekking poles. On a bike...you'd have to have the patience of a saint.

Plenty of people have ridden it in a lot less than 24 hours.
And a fair few people run it in less than 24 hours.

the running record is under 12hrs i think

they cant be mere mortals.

If you only want to ride the best part then drive to Crianlarich, get the train from there to Fort William (with your bikes !) and ride north to south (against the flow of walkers) back to Crianlarich. A great ride and only takes maybe 6-7 hours.

There is a race every year on foot - www.westhighlandwayrace.org and the record is 16 hours and 26 min. Of course someone may have run faster out of the official race but in my humble opinion 12 hours is a little optimistic! 16 hours is not mortal!

Anyone completed this in a day? I am considering doing it north to south as training for some ultramarathons on the continent in the summer i.e. see http://www.salzkammergut-trophy.at/_uploads/_elements/2707_file1.pdf and http://www.chenduro.com/Chris%20Alps%202006.html

PS Does anyone have the MTB route on GPS route?

There is now a free download of the GPS route for anyone interested.

http://activefuel.co.uk/index.php?cPath=51

I know this might sound mental but doing it un 12 hours is possible...so 24 should be a bit of a doddle...100 miles in 24hr works out at an average 4.1miles per hour so even if you have to walk some of it you should make up the 4mph speed average in other places.

I'm not saying it's a piece of piss, as you definitely need to be fit for it as there is a fair amount of ups and downs...but it should be doable in under 12hrs.

Says me who will be trying it for the first time in August over a weekend!

took me a day(about 9 hours) going from milngavie to rowardennen so i'd probably need atleast 3 days to do it, 26 miles if you look at it on a map the bit i done, we went over conic hill tho which was a supreme pain in the arse, your alright getting to conic hill decent down hill to the bottom of the hill from garadbhan forest(going towards balmaha) but once you are up the stairs onto the hill itself you are walking, well i was anyhow, only managed to get on the bit across the top down about half way then you hit the stairs walk down about fourty of them(i've since heard there's an alterative route to the stairs, i never saw it tho, after them it's an easy 2 minutes on 2-3 fort wide forest paths..worth downing once if you the curiosity to do it, i don't i'd do it again, might get the train up and go from crian larch to for william tho heard thats alright..i'll be avoiding the bit at the top end of LL

couple of pictures of the bit i came down conic hill, right round about where i went over the handle bars!:D mentalness..

[IMG]http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/893/img2849xi2.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
you come down over the left shoulder...

[URL=http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img2849xi2.jpg][IMG]http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/893/img2849xi2.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL
i walked a wee bit just after here then got back on, and continued round to the left and down to the stair which isn't far away round the corner and down a bit..

I'm knackered just reading this... can the section from Milngavie to Drymen be cycled on a hybrid touring bike? (700X32)loaded with paniers and tent. I'm hoping to join up with NCN route 7 at Drymen but i'm biking from Cumbernauld via Strahblane. I've already negiated the sea of glass from Airdrie to Glasgow and have no desire to relive dodging the 'huddles' of super-lager drinkers (except me).

There's one bite between Milngavie and Drymen where you have to hoist the bike over a stone wall. Not difficult normally but if you're full loaded it might be a strain.

Apart from that between Milngavie and Drymen the only potential difficulty would be the rocky bits alongside Dumgoyach but as long as you're not hammering it I reckon a hybrid would be ok.

there's about a million gates after dumgoyac aswell which is a pain. there's nothing difficult about it tho, you can make alternative routes going thru mugdock if you want something a bit more exciting, but the main path is easy, the bit a dumgoyac is good for flying down aswell, after that there's a fence you need to go over aswell as the wall AH was talking about. it's easy enough tho...some bits like the sheep gates will be awkward on a fully laden bike tho..