MTB Tour of The Cairngorms

[Dan_K]

Well, i've managed to catch up on some sleep so thought i'd post a few pictures and a bit of a report about my recent trip to Scotland.

The trip started with an overnight coach from London Victoria to Aviemore. I put my bike in a plastic CTC bag and asked the drivers nicely if they'd take it. There was a bit of a fuss but I think it was more that they were trying to assert a bit of authority than anything else and when offered to load it myself, there was no problem. The 12 hour coach trip was as long and boring as you'd expect so I was keen to get off at the other end. For £50 return, it was a pretty easy and cheap was to get a trip in. The nice folk at Nevis Sports looked after the plastic bag for me until I came back.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692759145/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8117/8692759145_dfa1c8e3eb.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692759145/]IMG_0639[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

I did the standard route but opted to finish on the road back to Aviemore rather than the forest as my legs had given up on me. Think the ride could have been made easier if i'd used gears and suspension.

The route and scenery were incredible and humbling. It's a mixture of tarmac, land rover track and single track. I'm not a great rider so there was a fair amount of hiking involved and a few low points where I had to drag the bike over a snowy bog when the bridge had been washed away and I had to use a footbridge. The river fords were interesting and fortunately not too deep. I made the mistake of misjudging a throw of one of my boots and nearly lost it in the current. Could have been a very costly (and dangerous) mistake as I didn't have any other footwear with me. The route is extremely remote in parts and I barely saw anyone when I turned off the tarmac.

I'm glad I took a proper mountain jacket with me as the Scottish weather threw absolutely everything at me in one day!

Total distance was around 130 miles in two and a half days so not bad and probably at about the limit of what I can manage on a single speed on that kind of terrain. It's nothing like any other riding that i've done before. Finished a day ahead of schedule so jumped on an earlier coach home. The kind receptionist at the SYHA let me use their shower so I didn't stink the coach out!

If anyone wants a gpx of the route or details on the kit that I took, let me know. I'll stop waffling anyway, here are some more pictures.....

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692767215/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8538/8692767215_ffced3138c.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692767215/]IMG_0610[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692772273/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8404/8692772273_27a1ca090c.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692772273/]IMG_0594[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692770881/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8543/8692770881_977cc11c60.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692770881/]IMG_0595[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693887130/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8262/8693887130_29af8a501c.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693887130/]IMG_0599[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693886142/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8693886142_cc08220784.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693886142/]IMG_0605[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693884270/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8536/8693884270_1329ea33be.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8693884270/]IMG_0617[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692764823/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8541/8692764823_8b32923a8b.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692764823/]IMG_0618[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692763303/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8118/8692763303_4945819395.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692763303/]IMG_0628[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692761679/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8405/8692761679_38e0dd8b60.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692761679/]IMG_0635[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692760229/][img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8258/8692760229_c5934cafd6.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053886@N08/8692760229/]IMG_0637[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/76053886@N08/]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[George]

That looks like an amazing trip Dan well done I would love to see the route map of your trip

A couple of years ago I was working in the Aviemore conference centre for the week and flew my mtb with me on easy jet. Had some awesome rides after work as it was June the light faded around 11pm.

One evening I managed to ride to the top of Aviemore summit up the nursery slopes, it was hard work but rod all the way up without walking
[img]http://i41.tinypic.com/nlq5na.jpg[/img]

I was amazed by the solitude of the place, you are totally alone and don't see anyone else

[Marcus]

Great trip and photos Dan. Were you riding fixed or freewheel ?

Your trip seems magestic too George

[Andrew G]

Looks like a fantastic trip Dan and 130 miles offroad in two and a half days is pretty good going, particularly on a rigid singlespeed.

Marcus, I would imagine standard MTB singlespeed free, fixed and offroad don't work - too many pedal and root issues apart from anything else.

[Dan_K]

George, here is a link to the route. With a couple of wrong turns and hunting for a camp spot and cafe stop, it came in at slightly more.
Refuelling stops available at Tomintoul, Braemar and Blair Atholl.

[url]http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTgwMTY=[/url]

Marcus, fixed would be too dangerous for that route! I recently switched to single speed as my gears were knackered and single speed is more reliable for this kind of trip. I was confident of being able to fix anything on the bike that went wrong.

Thanks Andrew. It was one of those trips where there was as much happiness as hardship!

[Sylv]

That looks awesome Dan. Love the look of that grass flattened by the snow (had some over here in France too on Sunday).

On a couple of these pics you'd think you were in Iceland.

Hope you had down feather in your sleeping bag!