Category Archives: mountain biking

Tyndrum Bike packing Trip, September 2020

With a week off work and the weather forecast looking ok, it was time to head North again to Scotland for another bike packing adventure. My starting point would be the small village of Tyndrum on the Southern edge of Rannoch Moor. The large car park next to the Green Welly shop is an ideal safe place to leave the car for a few days while you disappear off into the wilds. An early morning start saw me arriving at Tyndrum about 11.30am, the sun was out and it was pleasantly warm so I wasted no time in putting the bike back together again and attaching the bags, it was around about here that I realised that I had forgotten to pack my helmet, oh well, nothing to be done now, I just made a mental note to myself to not fall off. The Highland Trail 550 is a bike packing route that starts in Tyndrum and heads off Northwards to Bealach Hourn taking in some of the best natural mountain bike trails and quiet roads in Scotland and then heads South back to Tyndrum. The full route is 550 miles long and if you look at a map of this route it looks like 3 loops stacked on top of each other, my aim for this trip was to do the southern loop. I left Tyndrum heading North along the West Highland Way for about 5km then turned right and went under the railway viaduct between Beinn Odhar and Beinn Dorain, this easy track follows the Allt Kinglass for several kilometres and criss-crosses the stream many times at fords, almost guaranteeing wet feet. Soon Loch Lyon comes into view and after a short but steep climb up to the dam at the Eastern end of the Loch you get a great view down into Glen Lyon, the route then joins the very quiet road through the glen for 8 miles or so to Bridge of Balgie, where I stopped off at the Glen Lyon Tea Rooms for some soup and a coffee. After another 1.5km on this road you turn off left onto a forestry type of track and head North steeply up a stony track heading for Rannoch Forest, eventually you pass a lake and start heading Westwards through the never ending forest. After crossing the Allt Camghouran you turn left and head for the gap between two steep-sided hills (Leagag and Cross Craigs).

Bridge leading to Ben Alder Cottage

It was almost 6 o’clock now and I was looking for somewhere to stop for the night. i was only carrying a sleeping bag and a waterproof bivi outer so was looking for somewhere flat and soft. I decided on a soft grassy river bank spot next to one of the bridges, it looked idyllic and I soon had everything set up, however I had made a big mistake…. soon the midges found me and I was tortured that night by these small but infuriating insects. The next morning I was up and away as fast as I could before the dreaded midges could gather in numbers again, I was however slightly shocked when I saw all the red bite marks on my legs from last night. I cycled the 6km or so into Bridge of Gaur in a steady drizzle but by the time I reached the Rannoch road it was raining quite steadily, I turned right for a kilometer or so before turning left on the forest road that heads North to the shores of Loch Ericht and Ben Alder, it was now pouring it down but it didn’t last long and gradually the weather improved as the day went on. The trail was good most of the way but seemed to run out about a mile or so before reaching Ben Alder Cottage bothy and the way I went I had to cross some very rough boggy ground before the unusual wooden bridge that leads to the bothy came into view. There were a couple of other mountain bikes parked here but no sign of anyone, I’m guessing they were out climbing Ben Alder. After a coffee and some breakfast I headed off on the much anticipated single track section around Ben Alder, there’s a hike a bike start but it’s not long before it gets rideable, it helps if you are good at bunny-hopping as there are numerous drainage channels that cross the narrow trail, unfortunately I’m not but felt I was improving as the miles went by, I met another couple of mountain bikers as I was heading down, they had cycled in from Dalwhinnie and were doing the full Ben Alder loop which looks like a great day out. The sun was now out so I stopped by the stream for half an hour or so to have something to eat and to dry my damp sleeping bag out, then set off on the fabulous trail that leads down to the bothy at Culra.

Culra Bothy near to Ben Alder

Shortly after leaving the bothy I crossed the stream on the right at the bridge, there was a sign attached to it saying that the swing bridge at the ford on Loch Pattack was damaged, this trail leads up to the main track that goes past Loch Pattack and heads North along the River Pattack and eventually comes out onto the A86 main road from Spean Bridge, I turned right here and headed for Wolf Trax mountain biking centre, hoping to get there before the cafe shuts, unfortunately I was just too late, so I continued on my route and turned left off the main road shortly afterwards on a dead end road that leads down to the Spey Dam and followed this road to Melgarve Bothy at the end of the road and the start of the Corrieyairack Pass. The bothy was locked up due to the covid restrictions so I had bivi number two by the stream nearby. The next morning I was all packed up and away by 7.30am and it was a steady climb from the start, into the gloomy green and brown Corrie, with low grey clouds covering the tops and a line of huge electricity pylons on my left, snaking its way off into the distance, a lot of the trail is rideable which I was pleased about but the hairpins certainly weren’t and involved a steep push, a small square concrete building marks the top of the climb and from here it’s a very long fast descent, I had to stop a couple of times to let my brakes cool down as a I could smell them burning, eventually you come to a fork in the road which wasn’t marked on my old OS map, I went left and the road started climbing again into the distance and I thought I must have gone wrong but eventually after another long descent down some hairpins I arrived at a small lake and an easy track brought me past the impressive Culachy House and onto the road, where I turned off left at Ardachy Lodge, on an overgrown narrow trail that leads to the B862 road into Fort Augustus, where I had a coffee and something to eat at Cobbs Cafe overlooking the 5 canal lochs.

Looking over to Buachaille Etive Mor from the Kinghouse Hotel

The next section to Fort William is via the Great Glen Way and is 36 miles long, it basically follows the Caledonian Canal and is easy pleasant cycling, the only hilly bits being through Clunes Forest on Loch Lochy, there is even a nice bit of single track to look forward to between Bunarkaig and Gairlochy. Once in Fort William I went round to the Bank Street Lodge, a place I’ve been to many times before, to see if they had a room, I was in luck and tonight I would have a comfy bed to look forward too. The final section of this tour would be along the West Highland Way from Fort William to Tyndrum, a distance of 43 miles. I stocked up on food and drink from the local supermarket and was heading along Glen Nevis by 8.00am. It’s a long steady uphill ride through Nevis Forest up to the Dun Deardail ancient fort sign, shortly afterwards you turn off left on a single track section and it’s a bit of a roller coaster section and some pushing through the rest of the forest. Once out of the woods you are on a wider loose rocky path and you can ride it all the way to the turn-off for Kinlochleven where I pushed the bike down the steep narrow slopes into town and had a sandwich on a bench overlooking the river. The weather was improving rapidly and it was now a beautiful sunny hot day as I set off on the massive climb out of Kinlochleven up to the Devil’s Staircase, most of it was hike-a-bike and I did get some strange looks from the steady stream of West Highland Wayers coming the other way. The views were spectacular though, to the North the impressive peaks of the Mamores and looking South there was Buachaille Etive Mor and the Glen Coe peaks. I stopped off at the newly refurbished Kingshouse Hotel and sat on the wall outside drinking an ice cold pint of lager and enjoying the beautiful weather and views before setting on on the final 19 miles to Tyndrum, initially over the Black Mount to Victoria Bridge, then along the newly resurfaced and velvety smooth road to Bridge of Orchy and then finally back to Tyndrum. After packing the bike away in the car I headed over to The Real Food Cafe and had a much needed meal of fish and chips, then set off to drive home, arriving close to midnight… it had been another memorable trip up to Scotland.

5km after leaving Tyndrum the route goes under the railway viaduct and follows the Glean Achadh-innis Chailein

Exploring Arran, October 2019

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Arran Map

I first visited the island of Arran briefly in September 2019 on my way to a cycling holiday on the Outer Hebrides and was impressed by the outdoor possibilities, so I decided to return again in October and spend a few days exploring the island. Situated on the beautiful West Coast of Scotland, Arran is very easy to get to by public transport therefore I left the car at home and took my mountain bike with me instead. I got the mainline train to Glasgow Central , then caught another local train to Ardrossan Harbour, which is right next to the ferry terminal. The train and ferry timetable are intergrated so I had 30 minutes to buy a ticket for the 55 minute ferry ride to Brodick on Arran. The island is not very big, it is approximately 20 miles long by 10 miles wide, a road follows the coastline and is 56 miles long. For my first day here I decided to explore the Southern half of the island by bike, setting off from Brodick to Lamlash, Whiting Bay, Kildonan, Blackwaterfoot and returning to Brodick Bunkhouse via the String road.

Day two on this exploration of Arran was a tough and spectacular walk around the mountains in the North of the island that surround Glen Rosa, you can read about my day out on the Glen Rosa Horseshoe here.

After yesterday’s exertions doing the Glen Rosa Horseshoe I thought it would be a good idea to do a gentler walk today and set off to do part of the Arran Coastal Way. I set off from the Bunkhouse in Brodick for Lamlash, which is 3 miles away via the Fairy Glen track, Originally i had intended to get the ferry from Lamlash to the Holy Island and maybe climb the big hill there but it had stopped running for the season now and would be Easter before it started again. Leaving Lamlash I turned right onto the Ross road which crosses the hilly interior of the island, i took this road as far as the forestry commission car park, where I followed the signs for the Arran Coastal Way (high level alternative) which snakes it’s way uphill along a wide forestry road for a couple of miles. I’m not a big fan of walking in man made forests as they can be very boring and this one was no exception but eventually i came to a path split and the one i took went to Glenashdale Falls. A finger post leaves the main track and goes to an man-made viewing platform from where the impressive two-tier falls can be seen unimpeded. There are some good views over to the Holy Island and Whiting Bay on the way to the next point of interest which was the intriguingly named Giants Graves, which are the remains of two Neolithic chambered tombs, set in a flat grassy area with great sea views it’s a good place for a picnic. I then headed down to Whiting Bay via a steep eroded path and headed North along the pleasant bay road before turning off right and heading for Kingscross Point. I was hoping to walk along the Coastal Way back to Lamlash, however the tide was in and this made the path totally impassable, I had no option but to return to the road for a mile or two before a short cut lead me down to Cordon and Lamlash. It’s a very pleasant walk along Lamlash Bay with great views over to the nearby Holy Island. I followed the small road around the bay to Clauchlands and up past the farm to the ancient site of Dun Fionn fort and the nearby trig point which gives panoramic views of Arran, i then took the small road that leads back to Brodick.

After two tough days of walking on Arran it was time to get back on the mountain bike and explore the rest of the islands roads. The plan was to set off from Brodick and ride down to Lamlash again, from there I would pick up the Ross road that goes across the island and then head North to Lochranza Youth hostel where I would stay the night. Instead of riding on the road to Lamlash, i went off-road and took the narrow track through the Fairy Glen, which I had walked yesterday, this track takes you all the way to Lamlash where I turned off right onto the Ross road and headed across the island. The road is nice and flat to start with and has recently been resurfaced but it soon starts getting steep and it’s a long steady climb that keeps on going. The road crosses a remote and quiet part of the island and about half way across there is a Buddhist retreat center. Eventually the Ross road rejoins the main coastal road not far from Lagg, where the new whisky distillery has just opened, here I turned right and headed North through Blackwaterfoot and on past the tourist hotspots at King’s Cave and Machrie Moor standing Stones. The road hugs the coastline and is relatively flat apart from one short steep bit near Imarcar and in calm conditions like today it made for easy cycling, i can imagine with a strong Northerly wind it might be a different story. I rolled into the beautiful and peacefull Lochranza at about 1.30pm. To fill the rest of the afternoon i went to the Lochranza distillery and went on a very interesting tour and followed it up with a tutored tasting session immediately afterwards where the drams kept coming….

This was my last full day on Arran and on paper it looked like the easiest one, cycling from Lochranza to Brodick….. if i took the main road it would be only 14 miles, a steep climb out of Lochranza up the Boguillie climb followed by a swooping descent and a largely flat ride into Brodick. However there is another way and this is the reason i brought my mountain bike on this trip. This off-road route uses sections of the Arran Coastal Path from Lochranza to Sannox, followed by a short road section past Corrie before entering Merkland Woods for the final section into Brodick. After a leisurely breakfast at Lochranza Youth Hostel, i got chatting to the warden who was also a mountain biker, he warned me that with the heavy overnight rain large sections of the route would be very muddy and difficult to ride but i decided to go ahead anyway and was prepared mentally for any hike-a-bike sections on the way. Leaving the hostel i cycled up the road and turned off left to the golf course and explored the tracks around Newton point, one goes along the coastline and the other climbs quite steeply and gives great views back over Lochranza. With my curiosity satisfied i then set off on the route proper, along the track to the right this time and climbed steeply up a stony path/track heading for Laggan Cottage. The hostel warden was certainly correct about the difficult conditions, this was more like a stream bed and was unrideable. At the top of the climb there are good sea views out over the Firth of Clyde and the isles of Bute and Cumbrae. The long grassy slopes leading down to the dilapidated bothy of Laggan Cottage were treacherous in the wet conditions and it was a relief to get back onto level ground, though the coastal path was still quite rugged, all the way to the aptly named Fallen Rocks, after this it’s an easy ride to Sannox. A short road section was next, taking me past Corrie and then I turned off right into the forest at the Moal Donn car park. This rough potholed forest track was quite hilly and had some steep ramps in places. There had recently been some logging activity here with piles of timber stacked up on the edge of the road and I may have missed a turn here because the track became very rough and muddy and was covered in the discarded branches from the felled trees, it was a great relief to finally emerge from this quagmire onto the well trodden path that descends from Goatfell. There are some good trails leading off this path and I explored a couple of them before finally rolling into Brodick.

Specialised Hardrock SL mountain bike with Apidura frame fitting bags

The Cairngorm Loop April 2017

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http://www.cairngormsloop.net/map.html

The Cairngorm Loop is a 186 mile mountain bike route that takes in some of the best tracks and trails that the area has to offer, the challenge of the event is to complete the 186 miles in under 56 hours. You can do this at any time but twice a year (April and September) there is a group ride, effectively a race, there is no entry fee or prize money and it is totally unsupported, you ride as if doing it yourself and no caches or pre-booked accommodation is allowed. More information about the challenge is on the Cairngorm Loop webpage. I put my name down for the April group ride and this was to be my motivation over the winter to get in shape to complete the challenge, it also gave me some time to think carefully about the gear and equipment I would need and also plenty of time to get the bike in good mechanical working order. The bike I use is a 7-year-old Specialized Rockhopper SL hardtail mountain bike, with a 21 inch frame, it has 26 inch wheels, Deore XT gears, Avid Elixir disc brakes and a Rockshox Reba front fork. It fits me well and has an excellent light weight aluminium frame. I hit the trails at the weekend with it and use it for commuting to work during the week, I try to clean it regularly, particularly the drive train and keep it well lubed. However little problems were starting to mount up though, skipping gears, damaged chainring teeth, hard gear shifts, rattling pedals and a rough feeling back wheel…. time for a major overhaul.

Preparing the bike…

Wheels The wheels i have at the moment are an upgrade from a couple of years ago and they have Stans ArchX tubeless ready rims and run on Hope hubs which use cassette bearings, which makes servicing a bit easier.The front wheel was running smooth but the rear wheel was feeling rough so I took the cassette cluster off and then removed the free wheel body, on Hope hubs this just pulls off and comes off with a pop, being carefull not to lose the washer which sits behind it. This gives access to the rear wheel bearings and I could feel with my fingers that one of the cassette bearings was turning very roughly and needed replacing, you tap these out with a drift (or a screwdriver if you are feeling brave…) Hope sells servicing kits which makes knocking these bearings out and back in square a lot easier. With the new bearing in the wheel it was turning smooth again. Before replacing the free hub I removed the 4 pawls and springs (responsible for that distinctive Hope buzzing sound) and cleaned everything up for inspection and found out that one of the springs was broken… this seems to be a problem with Hope hubs as I have broken quite a few, anyhow I replaced it with a new one and greased everything and popped the freehub back on the wheel and made sure it was spinning ok.
New cassette (Shimano XT M770) 9 speed 11-32 ratio, replacing the old 11-34 cassette as I found I was very rarely using the largest 34 cog.
New chain (Shimano HG93) 9 speed. The last time I used a reusable link to join the chain, thinking I could then take it apart for cleaning, in practice I never did though so this time just used the pin Shimano supply with the new chain to join it together. Those re-usable links are handy to keep in your saddle bag though together with a small chain tool for any problems out on a ride.
New chain rings (Shimano Deore FCM590) 44-32-22 ratio. I took the crank arms off the bike to clean everything up and fit these 3 chain rings. You need to make sure you fit these the right way round, particularly the middle one. I fitted the last ones and I think I put it round the wrong way…. I’m sure now that this was responsible for some of the gear change slips I was getting as the Ramps and teeth profile wouldn’t be aligned optimally. With the cranks off it was a good opportunity to clean and re-grease the bottom bracket too.
new Jockey wheels (Shimano 105 RD-5700). This set is compatible with lots of derailleurs including mine, again care need as they are slightly different, the guide pulley is the top one and the tension pulley is the bottom one. I took the derailleur off the bike to replace these as I wanted to give it a good clean and was surprising how much gunk came out of it. After a good soaking with bike spray and oil it was moving much more smoothly.
New gear cables (Shimano MTB stainless steel gear cable set). Everything you need in one bag, cables and outer housing, end caps and cable stops too.
Headset service The bearings at the top and bottom of the steerer tube taken out cleaned and re-greased. I use a small neoprene collar attached with Velcro around the bottom of the steerer tube to help keep the worst of the mud and water out of the bottom bearing.
New pedals (DMR V12 platform pedals). The old pedals were the original alloy ones that came with the bike, they were still usable but were starting to rattle quite a bit.
New tires (Schwalbe Nobby Nics Evo, tubeless snakeskin, (26×2.25) pace star compound). The rims on my wheels are ZTR Stans Archx which are fully compatible with tubeless setups so this is the way I went front and back. The front tyre inflated straight away and soon after I heard the explosive pinging sound of the beads locking into the rims but with the back tyre I had a much harder job, even getting it inflated was tough but to get the beads locked in I tried all sorts of recommended tricks, washing up liquid on the beads, putting a tube in and trying to seat it that way (that got one side seated ok…) what done the job in the end was removing the core from the tubeless valve to allow a greater airflow from the track pump into the tyre, then pumping away furiously until finally with the sweat pouring from my brow I heard the explosive pings of success as the beads locked in. Once the beads are locked in you can deflate the tyres and the beads will stay in place, then you can inject the recommended amount of sealant into the valve hole and put the core back in and inflate the tyre as normal. They should now be immune to normal punctures as the sealant will quickly find and fill the hole in the tyres as it is spinning inside the tyre. The sealant does eventually dry up so check every now and then, I still carry a spare tube, patches and inflater just in case though!

Clothing and equipment…

Something you have to think carefully about is the clothing and equipment you take with you on the ride and that is largely dependant on the weather you are expecting, in Scotland at the end of April that can be a very tricky subject to predict! True to form the week before I travelled up to Braemar, winter returned to large parts of the country for a few days, with fresh snow and freezing northerly winds. On a bike it’s the extremities that feel the cold first, so a warm hat that fits under a helmet and winter mountaineering gloves went in the bag, along with a lightweight Montane insulated jacket which provides instant warm, particularly under a thin waterproof. Footwear choice is very important too as the route fords several rivers with no real choice but to wade straight across and this can lead to very cold feet, after much thought I decided on using my old Mammut summer walking boots, they were lightweight, comfortable and had room to get a nice thick wool sock inside too, which I was hoping would feel warm even when wet and they would be perfect on the hike a bike sections too.

Another big choice has to be made about your sleeping system, how much do you intend to get? and where do you plan to get it? There are bothies on or near the route but conditions on the ground may make you slower than expected or they could be full when you arrive there. I decided to take a lightweight down sleeping bag and a Alpkit Hunka bivi bag, so in theory I could stop anywhere. If you intend riding in the dark you need a good light and these can be expensive, the best mountain bike specific ones are probably by a brand called Exposure, I did have a look at cheap Chinese ones on eBay and was tempted but in the end I decided I would just use my old MYo XP head torch and some spare batteries. I probably would have left the stove and pot in the car just to save weight, the ready cooked meals in a bag are just as nutritious cold. Also there are places on the route to buy hot food if you arrive when they are open. To carry all this gear I used an Apidura seat-post bag (compact size,11 litres), this carried my sleeping bag wrapped inside a plastic bag and I also used a very light-weight OMM 20 litre rucksack for the other stuff including food, some tools, spare socks, maps, compass and a small first aid kit etc.

Waiting for race day…

I drove up to Braemar on Thursday arriving just after 6pm, I got something to eat then reassembled the bike and packed some gear for an overnight bothy stop and set off on the 6 mile ride to the Linn of Dee, just past the car park there is a signed track that heads off north into the heart of the Cairngorms, I took this and headed for Derry Lodge, an old abandoned shooting lodge. I was surprised to read on the notice board that there were plans to turn this lodge into a hostel with warden accommodation, I had mixed feelings when I read this, it certainly would be a good location but I think also it would lessen the remote feel and the commitment needed for the long walk or ride to access the Cairngorms from this side. Also there is a very nice bothy nearby and I wondered what the impact of a hostel would have on that….. it was starting to get a bit chilly when I arrived at the bothy, there were 4 people already in, 2 young guys and a Dutchman with his son, they had the stove going strong and candles lit and it was a very cosy warm atmosphere. They had been up in the hills the day before and said the conditions had been really tough, deep soft snow in places, cold wind and rivers in spate with a thaw setting in.

The next morning I wanted to recce a section of the race route from Glen Derry to the Eidart bridge as I would possibly be doing this section in the dark come race day, so I headed off past Derry Lodge and then north up Glen Derry to the edge of the forest to check the terrain out, I turned round here and headed back to the Linn of Dee and carried on west along the track to White Bridge and followed the track heading along Geldie Burn, a couple of hundred meters before this track crosses the river there is a smaller track heading off on the right, this leads eventually to the Eidart bridge. Up until now the cycling had been easy with a nice firm stony track to follow but now on this smaller track it was much harder because it was so wet and boggy and in places soft snow, in fact I ended up pushing the bike nearly all the way to Eidart bridge, this was as far as I went and I now retraced my route back to Braemar, however things didn’t go smoothly, just before White Bridge on a rough land rover type track I caught my front wheel in a rut and I came off the bike and my left knee hit a rock with some force. At first I just tried to walk it off and ride the easy bits but it soon started swelling up really badly and I slowly realised the race tomorrow was over for me, all that preparation and planning ruined by a lapse in concentration on an easy track, by the time I eventually reached the car in Braemar it was hurting quite a lot and it was difficult to bend it. The next day I went to the hospital to get it checked out and an X-ray confirmed that I had a clean break of my left knee cap and I’m writing this with a full leg cast on wondering when I will once again be back in the Highlands…..

Discussing this accident with friends when back home we talked about the best ways to get help if ever you are out in the wilds and need to contact the emergency services, this little video by Lyle Brotherton contains some very useful information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZv_8dABfU

: Sign on the Linn of Dee road

: Bob Scott`s Bothy

: Bob Scott`s Bothy

: Bob Scott`s Bothy

: Bob Scott`s Bothy

: Confluence of the Eidart and Feshie rivers

: Eidart Falls

: Eidart Bridge

Cairngorms February 2017

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Early February 2017 I had a week off work and decided to head north to the Cairngorms once again. Last year sometime I requested to enter the group ride for the Cairngorm Loop which is a mountain bike challenge ride that takes in most of the Cairngorms in two loops (see map here) there is no entry fee or prize money and you have to be totally self supported. It’s a tough challenge, 186 miles in 56 hours, most of it off road. The group ride takes place at the very end of April……February is usually not the best month to go mountain biking around the Cairngorms but this year has been relatively mild so far and not a lot of snow. The plan was to take my mountain bike and riding gear and also take my hill walking kit too so if riding was impossible then at least I had something else to do. I based myself for the week at Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel next to Loch Morlich, about 7 miles east of Aviemore, which is an excellent, comfortable base to explore the area from.

Lochan Uaine

Monday The first day was cold about 3 or 4 degrees but the weather forecast was predicting very strong gusty winds late on in the afternoon (80mph!). My original plan was to try and do the inner loop on the Cairngorm Loop with a bothy stop halfway at Derry Lodge but this wasn’t really possible with the forecast. So instead I headed off on some of the excellent trails around Loch Morlich and Rothiemurchus Forest, crossing the Cairngorm Club footbridge and onto the path that goes around the picturesque Loch an Eilein, a rocky side trail from here goes up to the lovely little Drakes Bothy before continuing on through the forest to Feshiebridge. Here I turned right along the B970 road and headed north-east to Inverdruie. After a short detour along the “The Old Logging Way” into Aviemore for some lunch I returned to Inverdruie and turned left over the bridge to pick up the B970 road between Coylumbridge and Nethy Bridge, after 5 km or so turned right on a wide track and headed east to Forest Lodge in the Abernethy Forest, which is a RSPB national nature reserve centre, from here I turned south up the trail for the steady climb up to the Ryvoan Pass and down to the Bothy. By now it was late afternoon and the weather forecast was proving to be accurate, as soon as I left the forest I was buffeted by strong gusts and had to get off a couple of times and it was a relief to dive into the bothy to get out of the wind for 5 minutes before continuing downhill past Lochan Uaine and Glenmore Lodge back to the hostel.

Old Logging Way near Glenmore Lodge

Tuesday The next morning the strong winds had gone but when I opened the curtains and looked outside i was amazed to see everything covered in 3 or four inches of snow, quite a transformation and it looked beautiful. No mountain biking today then, instead it was on with the big boots and hill walking kit. I headed off towards Ryvoan Pass again past Lochan Uaine then followed the trail that crosses over the River Nethy and goes around the back of Bynack More. As I gained height the snow became deeper and the path was difficult to follow and subsequently the going became hard work, eventually I made it down to the Fords of Avon, a strategic mountain crossroads with a small emergency refuge no bigger than a garden shed. Here I turned west and made slow progress in the drifts to Loch Avon which was partially frozen over then headed steeply uphill to a feature called The Saddle, then even steeper ground up through a weakness in the cliffs to the flanks of Cairngorm Mountain itself. After a bit of navigational faffing around I eventually located the Mountain Funicular Railway and ski runs of the Cairngorm resort and slowly waded my way down through the snow drifts and onto the never-ending road that leads back to Loch Morlich, arriving back at the hostel at 7.20pm, it had been a tough day out.

Loch Einich

Wednesday Back on the bike again and headed over to Feshiebridge via the same route as Monday to check out another little section of the Cairngorm Loop route. This section started on the west side of the River Feshie and headed south to Ballintean along trails, road and forest tracks to the hamlet of Drumguish, i then picked up the B970 road back to Feshiebridge. With this little job done I retraced my tracks back into the Rothiemurchus Forest, past Loch an Eilein to a cross roads about a km before the Cairngorm Club Footbridge, the route heading north went down to Coylumbridge but I headed south on the track that led to the remote and magnificently located Loch Einich. After a couple of Kms the trail became quite snowy but not icy and the tyres were gripping well, the trail split after a while and for some reason I took the high route and ended up doing quite a bit of climbing for nothing because it soon descended back to the lower trail, which gradually made its way up to the Loch, the terrain is quite easy but there are a couple of stream crossings to keep you on your toes and the snow was becoming deeper and harder to pedal through, especially with a bit of a headwind too, but it was all worth the effort in the end to see the Loch surrounded by imposing snowbound cliffs. The ride back down was a blast, downhill with the wind behind and a great bit of single track along the river which I missed on the way up. It was dark by the time I hit the forest again but a full moon provided enough light to high-tail it back to the youth hostel and it was a great way to end to a memorable ride.

Thursday Similar ride to Monday, around Loch Morlich and through the forest to the Cairngorm Club Footbridge then at the crossroads I turned right on the very pleasant trail that heads down to Coylumbridge. I turned left here on to the Aviemore road then took the next left on a very quiet road that leads to Loch an Eilein and I done a circuit of the Loch once voted as Scotlands favourite picnic spot no less! then picked up the road to Inverdruie where I crossed over the river Druie on a shortcut to the B970 that leads to Nethy Bridge, I followed this road for a few miles before turning off right to cycle past Loch Garten which is famous for it’s Ospreys (which had long since migrated to sunnier climes for the winter), then onto Nethy Bridge. Here I took the road on the south side of the River Nethy that heads south back into the Caledonian Pines of the Abernethy Forest and headed for Forest Lodge and south again to the Ryvoan Bothy and back to the hostel.

Swing bridge next to the ford at Loch Pattack

Friday I drove down the A9 to Dalwhinnie and parked up at the railway station, a good track runs along the side of Loch Ericht to Ben Alder Lodge where the trail leaves Loch Erich and heads to Loch Pattack. The snow was a couple of inches deep here but again it didn’t feel icy and the tyres were gripping well so it felt ok apart from being harder work than normal. I turned off left when I reached the Loch and crossed the the river on a rickety wooden swing bridge next to the ford, then kept left at the next junction on the trail to Culra Bothy and Lodge. This bothy is situated in a fantastic remote location amidst grand mountain scenery which looked even more impressive covered in snow. I was surprised to see that the bothy is officially closed due to asbestos being found in its construction and the outer walls of the bothy are spray painted with warnings, however all 3 of the rooms I checked out were open and the main room with the stove in it looked very usable. I had a quick look at Culra Lodge, a short distance away but everything was battened up. Back at the bothy I retraced my route over the swing bridge, here I briefly considered heading left just before the Loch on the track to Lochan Na Earba and onto Ardverikie and back via the River Pattack but decided to leave it for another day! Instead I headed back to the car the way I came. Before putting the bike away I had a ride to the Whisky Distillery at Dalwhinnie had a look around the visitor centre and tasted a wee dram of their 15 year old single malt which i had never tried before but will certainly get a bottle of it in the future.