Cycling: Whitelee Windfarm is open

Oct 2 2009 by Mike Wilson

ALL roads led to Whitelee Windfarm near Eaglesham at the weekend as cyclists and walkers sampled some of the 55 miles of new paths linking the giant turbines.

So busy was the visitor centre - opened earlier in the week by Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy - that the car park and overflow car park were soon full.

Cars with bike racks and various forms of trailer lined the access route from the A77-Eaglesham road. And out on the dirt tracks themselves were hordes of outdoors fans keen on experiencing something new among the 140 windmills which produce energy to power 180,000 homes.

The £2 million visitor centre features an exhibition area with working models and a film show explaining the need for renewable energy. The centre will open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm, although later opening is anticipated during the summer.

Road bikes won't cope with the network of hardcore paths but would easily handle the 13-mile tarred spine road running from the B764 to Ardochrig.

Mountain bikers will find the terrain well-suited to their heavy tread mountain tyres but would find the flat, featureless moorland boring.

The positive aspects of windfarm cycling are that the climbs are manageable (and will eventually become familiar), there is no traffic to contend with and no one is likely to get lost – because all the turbines are numbered and mapped.

Keep fit enthusiasts with hybrid bikes who prefer mile-munching to thrashing through forests will love the freedom. Then again it will only be a matter of time before some of mountain biking's maddest reclaim the remains of the old forest to create more challenging escape routes around the Fenwick and Darvel perimeters.

That's when Whitelee Windfarm will be a true haven for bikers!