Saturday 3rd August – Sunday 4th August

As the east of the country baked in a continued dry spell, a cluster of us mountain-bikers decided to head for the rain on an early August foray to Fort William. With high winds and regular showers forecast, it didn’t look like being a great one for riding, but with a little careful planning we all got some fun in.

Gathering on Saturday lunchtime at Laggan, we rode a few rounds of the black, red and orange sections as the showers came and went. Around 6 we packed it in and headed to our night’s stop at South Laggan (thanks again to Jon for the recommendation), where we popped out for a pub tea.

Sunday seemed even wilder than Saturday to begin with, and Dan and I were worried our chances of getting on the gondola at the Nevis Range were slim – especially after they’d stayed shut the previous day in similar winds. We talked options, before placing our faith firmly in the forecast and heading to the Nevis Range for breakfast at the café.

Dan and I had already bought our lift passes for the day as great swathes of wind and rain pounded the wooden café. Nevertheless, it cheered up a bit by the time we were done. Despite warnings of folk getting blown off the red run boardwalk on the exposed upper section, the weather only continued to improve and we managed to squeeze in three runs of the red and three of the World Cup DH course, while Niall, Gail and Suzy had a great exploratory run through the many great singletrack trails at the foot. Even Jack got a good run in – see pic!

• Alex Corlett