The Westerly Loop

The Westerly Loop

Chairman’s Run 18th April 2026

This weekend, the main event in the diary of a significant number of SMC Members was the traditional early season Chairman’s Run. Led again this year by Peter Johnson, The Westerly Loop was the title given to this 145-mile circuit around a lovely chunk of Scotland.

Although it was well into April and there had been a sprinkling of spring-like days already this year, the weather forecast threatened the appearance of some April showers. Still, it felt quite pleasant as the group of riders met up at Dobbies in Stirling. An impressive 14 names had been added to the Club Run Diary. Twelve of us (Peter, Antonios, Grant, David, Tim, Brian, Ali, Ewan, Ben, Gavin, Frank, Kenny) assembled at Dobbies for the 10.00hr departure. The other two riders (Alex, Allan) planned to join us en route to our first stop, the Olive Branch cafe at Arrochar.

Peter took the lead and with Ewan as TEC, we set off along the A84 before joining the A811 at Garagunnock. Dry roads and 12°C helped to make a relaxed, comfortable start to the day’s riding. The road developed a few more twists and turns as we got closer to Loch Lomond. As we approached Balloch we spotted Alex, who joined the group.

We headed northward along the west side of Loch Lomond, with oncoming traffic flashing lights frantically, in case anyone was unfamiliar with the near certainty of speed cameras being on that road! As we approached Luss, the weather took a nosedive and the heavens opened. About 10 minutes later we reached Tarbet, where we turned sharp left and rode another mile or two towards the head of Loch Long for our first refreshment stop at The Olive Branch. At times you could be forgiven for thinking that with all the rain we get, it’s no wonder there are so many lochs in Scotland. Loch Long is a sea loch though, so it’s got a bit of an excuse.

We parked at the carpark opposite the tiny Olive Branch and formed a long queue, hoping that they weren’t going to run out of any essentials. I thought that Greggs bacon roll and a coffee deal was pretty unbeatable, but Olive Branch comes a close second at only £5. It was especially welcome having just got off my bike feeling cold and soggy.

At that point, I saw that Allan had now joined up with the group, making the full complement of 14 SMC Members. Checking out the carpark, I saw that there was a nice mix of manufacturers; 5 Triumph, 5 BMW, 2 Honda, 1 Suzuki, 1 Yamaha. There was a definite bias towards mid-capacity machines though, with only 3 bikes over 1000cc.

After our reviving stop at The Olive Branch, we took the A83 and headed up past the Rest-and-be-Thankful. This road has suffered frequent closures over the years, due to landslides. It seems that, as a permanent solution to protect the road from further rockfalls, construction of an eight-mile-long protective tunnel is being given serious consideration. Hmm. Fortunately, we rode on to Inveraray on the shore of Loch Fyne (another sea loch) without any hinderance. From here we turned northward and enjoyed the 30-mile ride to Dalmally then Tyndrum.

Although the rain had subsided by the time we got to Tyndrum, my gear was feeling a bit waterlogged and together with the temperature having fallen to about 8°C for a lot of the way, I definitely felt it was time for a hot drink and something to eat. We stopped at The Good Food Cafe, which was surprisingly busy for this early part of the tourist season. At this point I retrieved my spare warm top and waterproof gloves from my top-box. Better late than never!

The weather brightened up for the ride back to Stirling and the memory of the dodgy weather from earlier faded quickly as it started to feel spring-like again. Everyone agreed that it was a very enjoyable day out. As usual, the great company of fellow Club Members enhanced the enjoyment of getting back into biking after the long winter break. Big thanks to everyone involved in making the day work so well.