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I suspect I'm going to get flamed for this but..........
Where are the good mountain routes in Scotland? We keep trying ones from Phil McKanes book (Scotland mountain biking Vol 1 and 2) and have come to the conclusion that:
1. He has never been on the trails he describes.
2. He has never ridden a mountain bike.
3. He is a congenital liar.
However, today's ride really took first place in the list of rides that aren't.
We went to make the most of the weather and do the Linn of Dee loop he suggests. All started out well, very pretty fireroad scoot, technical uphill over into a nice but short decent into Lairig Ghru and then a turn onto the "superb piece of single track" south to white bridge and...oh no, hold on.....it wasn't a superb piece of single track at all.
It was one of the worst pieces of track I've ever tried to ride a bike along. It's not that it wasn't rideable it's that it was one of the most actively unpleasant pieces of riding I've ever had to do. The small fragments of trail were nice enough but they were constantly disrupted by big boulders, stepping stones or bottomless bogs (~every 25-50 meters). The bits in between were mostly loose baby head rock gardens. Not impassable but not exactly flowy either. This went on for 10km. In the end we walked the rest. Not because of the difficulty but because we were just so sick and tired of not being able to ride for more than 50m at a time.
So, having established that Phil McKanes is FOS, where would you all suggest going in Scotland to enjoy riding your bike? We are happy to hike-a-bike, push up hill, etc. but when it comes to riding want to actually be able to enjoy the ride!
So far Torridon is the only place I'd go back to......
Glentress Blue FTW
Have to admit glentress blue is good. Not quite the big mountain experience though 😉
Aviemore.
Skye.
Torridon.
Stirling.
Tweed Valley.
Cairngorms.
That'll do for starters.
Lochnagar from Braemar is one of my favourite mountain loops, I can send you a route map in an email if you want. Some spectacular descending and a top day out.
Ben Lomond
Ben Macdui
Ben Vorlich
Ben
Vrackie
Ben Nevis
The Quirang
The Ciaran Path
Devil's Staircase
Lairig Ghru
Anything around Kinlochleven
Arrochar Alps
Lochnagar
Jocks Road
Glen Clova
Torridon
Some good stuff around Loch Laggan and Ardverikie
Golspie
Heaps of stuff around Aviemore
Glen Derry
Some pleasant stuff around Ballater
Glen Garry
Loch Something beginning with O above Dunkeld
Dunkeld itself
And, of course, Broon Troot.
^^^ you missed out Gypsy Glen, but nailed pretty much everything else.
Well you might well have a point, i note that the inner Cairngorm loop, is described as anticlockwise, going up Glen derry to the falls of Avon, missing out one of the best descents in the area, the descent off the shoulder of Bynack shoulder is a travesty in comparison (sanatised with massive waterbars) then up Glen Feshie this is bonkers as there is some great singletrack to descend, luckily with some knowledge of the area, i had figured the best way, it's pretty obvious just looking at a map.
There is no inclusion of Ben Lomond one of the best descents in Scotland, the Torridon loop misses out corrie Lair, just a few of the major omissions i can think of.
PS the truth is the majority of the best riding on offer just isn't in these books, the same south of the border.
Much obliged chaps.
Mactheknife - is you could send me a route that would be awesome (Email in profile). Thanks again.
OP sounds like he has found some real mountain tracks in Scotland. 🙂
If you don't want to do the odd bit of hike a bike on Scottish tracks, you're going to miss the best stuff.
OS maps is your friend.
Blooming heck, I forgot all of Aberfoyle and the Trossachs and Ben Lawers.
I haven't yet come across a book that has good routes in it for Scotland. The best advice I have always had is from here, Google or trailscotland. I was planning on going up and over the Ghru last year and all advice here said don't.
I would suggest the Minigaig loop as a classic. Not sure if it's in the book.
Epicyclo - sadly I know that line between hike a bike and bog snorkeling which the OP has crossed. Hike a bike is mandatory on most of the rides I listed, but most of it is uphill and will make the ride rather than spoil it.
mac ygm
nothing worth riding here its all over rated really.
Oh you missed the Stalkers path to forest lodge, another to add to that list.
Epicyclo
Hike a bike up - no problem
Hike a bike down - not cool
Hike a bike down - not cool
That there is your problem.
A lot of the best Scottish routes don't make good loops. Dalwhinnie to Ben Alder Cottage (as an example)and back is a great route, making a loop of this will spoil your day. Guidebook writers are guilty of putting any old dross in to make an attractive loop.
Having ridden the inner Cairngorm Loop anti-clockwise I never, ever want to do this ride again, in any direction; much better fare east of the Glenshee road IMO.
There are no awesome trails in Scotland, stay away, there is a good lad. 😉
Sorry matt, I already live here.
I'm just a bit clueless about where to ride!
Hike a bike down - not cool
That there is your problem
What? That at some point I want to ride my bike rather than walk? Yeah, me and my fringe mountain biking desires 🙄
I think he is making an unkind judgement about skill, but there are plenty of things that just can't reasonably be ridden down or over on some descents. I rode down Ben Venue at easter. Lots of it were unrideable regardless of skill and it was a waste of time. On the other hand I have ridden down the tourist trail on Ben Nevis and it was so technical it gave me a headache, but it was rideable.
Millions of great trails of the "winch up the fireroad then ride hard downhill tracks" variety, that's all I do these days so can't comment on xc loops sadly. I did some nice rides at Pitlochry in the past
Grab some os maps and have a look.
yesterday i rode a 60km loop around kinlochleven area and it was awesome, also have a look on http://www.mtbtrails.info/Default.aspx you should get some good ideas on this.
What? That at some point I want to ride my bike rather than walk? Yeah, me and my fringe mountain biking desires
It's a day in the mountains. Mountains are jaggy. There are always going to be bits that you cant ride down. Treat is as a day in the mountains rather than expecting to be able to ride everything and it'll become much more enjoyable.
There are always going to be bits that you cant ride down.
That I'm happy to deal with. It's having the whole thing as being a pointless undertaking on a bike that bites. Yesterday was a beautiful walk, we just happened to have the world's most expensive walking sticks for a goodly chunk of it.
And anyway, my op was about it being recommended as a mtb route in a book I've paid money for. I've done plenty of exploring routes that ended similarly but I knew there was that chance. With a published route and a description that includes "a superb piece of singletrack" I was expecting more.
I thought it was just me! I rode in the Cairngorms last year and also thought the Linn of Dee route to be pish but so many guides include it that I thought it was my inability to jump huge gaps between badly placed rocks to be the problem . Luckily I found loads of other interesting routes and will be going back this year
The thing with routes in guidebooks is that the terrain changes over time and what may have been a great ride a few years ago may have changed beyond recognition by the time you come to ride it.
Guidebooks are all the same and why does anyone need a guidebook with detailed descriptions of trail center routes? ❓
Obviously tonnes of mind blowing riding all over Scotland but for me Aberdeenshire is hard to beat in terms of sheer diversity, remoteness, lack of people and quality of riding.
Kilpatrick hills for some awesome natural trails
OS Map - explore and take your chance - I've been lucky enough to find some amazing routes with this approach.
As previously said - be prepared to walk from time to time.
OP, someone introduced me to the Trailmaps series when I first moved to the Highlands and didn't know where to start. I found them great as either routes in their own right or to use as a starting point for exploring as they have trails marked on as well as suggested routes.
They're easy to read pocket sized maps with useful info on the reverse of each.
[url= http://www.trailmaps.biz/aviemoremaps.asp ]link[/url]
A mate and I did the west highlands tour in Phil Mackanes 'wild trails' book and enjoyed it, but the trailmaps series come from the starting point that a ride doesn't have to be difficult/ impossible to be enjoyable, which I appreciate!
However a friend was known for planning routes which he described as 'mostly rideable', which seemed to be the norm where we were, but they were all still enjoyable 😉
Anyone else amused by a username "[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Shackleton#Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition_1914.E2.80.9317 ]shackleton[/url]" complaining that their day out on a bike was a bit of an arduous journey? Just me then...
To the many good suggestions above I'd add Mt Keen /fungle road loop.
One problem with using maps to plan a route is that the black dashed line could mean anything from a plain track suitable for learner Land Rover drivers to nothing visible on the ground. Sites like Geograph.org let you (hopefully) get an idea of what each is like.
Anyone else amused by a username "shackleton" complaining that their day out on a bike was a bit of an arduous journey? Just me then...
😀
But really I was complaining about the quality and accuracy of the guide. I'm no stranger to OS map based "adventure" guesswork suffer fests but at least they were my own doing.
>I'm no stranger to OS map based "adventure"<
'course you are. That's why you're on here bleating about PM guidebook 😉