Grinduro’s first Scottish cycling event

The Grinduro festival of cycling, music, camping and food caused a stir of excitement as 145 cyclists visited Arran to enjoy last weekend’s events and the warm and inviting hospitality that Arran has to offer.

Undeterred by heavy downpours, cyclists made their way through more than 80km of road, dirt track and forest paths with only four short timed events and the remainder of the cycling being for enjoying the scenery and elevated vistas. For many offroad riders, the rain added to the element of excitement, creating challenging and muddy conditions which they enjoyed.

The organisers, accustomed to meticulously running the sister event in California, placed the same organisational skills into their first UK event on Arran, leaving many locals enthused with the professionalism and minimally disruptive nature of the smaller events which took place. Included in those were an art and bike exhibition in the Arran High School sports hall and a bicycle and gear demonstra- tion, to name just a few. In the evening, the Van T’s and DJ Tony Robson entertained the weary cyclists while local Arran beers and other drinks were enjoyed by revellers in the canteen, which shut promptly before midnight.

By the following morning, after the departure of most of the entrants, there remained hardly a trace of the event with organisers having left all public areas in the same, if not cleaner, condition than they found them.

Photos by Marbeth Nix and PhotoGNick Arran

A cyclist, suitably dressed for the weather, enjoys a tarred section of road during the Grinduro race.

Piper Andrew Earle pipes the participants off at the start/finish line.

A cyclist makes the most of the rainy downpours and flooded dirt track.

A Grinduro participant smiles and greets an unusual spectator on the cycle path.