The Yorkshire Dales has been a regular holiday destination for me since I was a nipper and bikes have featured in many of my visits starting with a Raleigh grifter in 1980ish and a range of machines since. Time was that anything over 30 miles was seen as a monster ride and the odd time I went up to 50 miles it was an epic. Looking back these day trips seem to be positively easy compared to the expeditions I've engaged in in recent years. Its all thanks to Stuart Ryder at Ryders cycle centre setting the 200 and 300k bikepacking routes around this fine piece of countryside and organising annual group ride outs on them. This year was the first I wouldn't have my parents caravan to use as a base, them having finally given up the site last year after the prices went up by 300%... So a certain poignancy was felt on this trip, as well as the need to find digs on the Friday night! A Travel Lodge in Keighley was a cheap but poor substitute...
This years 200 went through a few iterations. Stuart varies the 200k route every year in a bid to show case the extensive good riding to be had in the area and to keep the challenge fresh. Really its just a big bike ride and the format takes you comfortably away from the whole idea of these being a 'race' and plants it firmly in the category of social. The final route was a flattened loop running east / west, just north of Skipton with a few cross-overs and subsidiary loops to make up the distance. This made for careful route homework to ensure you went the right way round all the loops. Its a good format as its nice returning to various points that you've previously visited and means that if you run out of steam, its easy to bail back to base.
According to Gpsies the final route was 192k with 3800m of climbing. Bikehike agreed on the distance but put the climbing up to 4000m - a chunk less than last years leg burner so hopefully fairly straightforward.....
8 of us lined up at 8am at Ryders Cycle Centre, after partaking of the included breakfast (Stuart does charge a fee for turning up to ride which covers breakfast and supper - a small price to pay for a days entertainment). On the word of go we headed off steadily up the hill through Embsay and over Bardon Moor. That's another nice thing about the 200 (and 300) there are a few familiar features which always get included so it doesn't feel too intimidating. My year of cycling has been a bit up and down - lots of good rides but a few injury niggles keeping me away from anything too epic. So my form was something of an unknown with only a few recent bigger rides hinting that I'd probably be fine. On that basis I made a big effort to keep the pace down in the early stages and this made the difference as I never really suffered too badly at any point in the ride.
The weather was fab - not the roasters of earlier in the summer but instead a far more pleasant combination of sun / clouds and north westerly breeze ensuring near perfect riding conditions. The heavy showers of the previous day had left plenty of puddles and a few damp bits but nothing to impede progress, just enough to make the bikes look like you'd been doing some real riding....
A trail quest was in progress in the hills above Malham and Settle so we rode through a large number of riders sporting map boards on bars and looks of confusion. I got a few odd looks from them and a muttered comment about my lights on a sunny day with daylight until 8. If only they knew....
I'd stopped in Settle for drink and snacks and after this I didn't see any of the others until much later in the day. After Settle is one of several monster climbs - tarmac but a real cricket bat job (you ride to the hill and it smacks you in the face). Thereafter it was a nice track descent and then various wee roads, quaint walled trails and smooth (former) roman roads. This is the appeal of the dales for me. In Scotland there is a tendency for it either to be smooth estate / forest roads or rad-core single track with not much in between. So its fab to ride wee stony / rocky / grassy tracks without having to fight tooth and nail for forward progress (I do like doing this too however).
Clapham provided my longest stop of the ride - about 15 mins - scoffing food from the shop and avoiding the temptation of several cafes. Definitely a change for me as typically I tend to go with a high pace / burn out / stop lots and for ages tactic. A chunk of road riding followed with a seemingly endless string of roadies coming the other way. At first I wondered if they were on an official ride but it was just a normal sunny Saturday in the Dales. I got a lot of funny looks, particularly as I bombed down hills towards them, stood bolt upright to give my backside a rest....
The café in Wray was roadie central so I carried on, not wanting to upset them with my filthy bike and smelly clothes. Out of Wray is monster hill climb number two and the biggest on the route. The good news was a stiff tailwind so I got up it OK and out onto the open moor of Salters Fell. This bit was a beauty and one I'd not done before - a big moor crossing in the sun on a good track with ace views.
After a bit more road bashing and more hoards of roadies (I saluted them all with a wave of the meat pie I was eating whilst riding no handed) it was into Gisburn forest and some trail centre stuff. To be honest I could not be arsed with this, I'm not a trail centre snob (OK I am bit) but this seems to be so far away from my concept of mountain biking and yet seems to be the 'main stream' for so many others. Several hundred metres of braking bumps and puddles did nothing to change this view....
Back on the road allowed me to eat more and contemplate the four remaining big climbs on the route. I felt pretty good but major thigh ache on the climb out of Long Preston suggested a pain fest was in the offing. In the event a second break outside the Settle Co-op, various high calorie drinks and a banana did the trick and on the pleasant but steep pull out of Settle I felt pretty good again and this persisted all the way over to Malham Tarn.
This whole section was a peach - a run along Mastiles lane (now much dryer than the morning) then a nice grassy descent, a bit of road then a lengthy plummet on gravel single and double track. Another grind back up the road to the same point and then another grassy burn up back to Mastiles lane, then back over the top to where you were an hour or so ago. Confused? It was easy, you just had to think Like Stuart - fun descents and easy(er) climbs.
Heading back along Mastiles lane for the third time it occurred to me that I would very likely bump into one of the others. Lo and behold a figure in the distance sporting a spotted (with pies) cycling jersey resolved itself into Bob. He looked a lot more chipper than the last time I'd bumped into him in the wilderness after he'd pulled out of the Highland Trail so we chatted a bit and then went our separate ways. The sun was starting to set but I managed the final trail / climb / divine descent into the valley floor in daylight.
Thereafter it was a highly pleasant mix of roads, trails and a bit of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath. The last trail was a section of disused railway line sporting some gargantuan puddles / lakes, a see saw and a section of railway sleepers(!) Actually used by the Landrover experience for testing vehicles - I predict this will be a grassy field next year given that they no longer make real 4WD's. Back to Ryders Cycle centre at a few minutes past 9pm.
I chatted with Stuart for a while then Mike turned up with tales of punctures, blagged tubes, cafes, roadies and bidets. Soon after George and Ian appeared then Bob. So we sat and drank tea and coffee, talked about the day and the fab weather. One guy was still out there and one had cut the proceedings short but all in all it was a great ride. This is one to be done year on year for me so long may it continue.
Afterword:- I checked my track on returning home - final distance was exactly 200k with 4400m of climbing....
I still wasn't sure if my July BAM take 2 whereby I pitched the bivvy on the 31st July but struck it on the 1st August counted for this month so decided to grab a proper one to make sure I'm up to date.
Summer seems to have switched to Autumn pretty quick up here and after a week of damp weather I was hoping for some more sunshine. The forecast for Perthshire seemed good but it looked pretty dreich everywhere else so I hightailed it to Dunkeld with a loaded straggler in the boot of the jalopy. After a bit of a delay sourcing a spoon (once again I had forgotten my spork) I headed north then west on NCN 7, the sky looking decidedly grey. This is all back roads apart from one section of path out of Dunkeld and was very quiet this dull day. I left NCN 7 just after the amusingly named Dull then it was up the hill and along the Schiehallion road to Loch Rannoch. Looking west showed only cloud and rain, no sign of the forecasted sunshine. East looked better and it occurred to me to ride back to the car as I wasn't in the mood to battle the elements.
In the event I pushed on and cruised round the loch, whereby the drizzle came on. This suggested a change of plan but it was now to far to bale out back to the car. As it happens there are plenty of bothies and other huts that would make for shelter at a push hereabouts so it was just a case of picking one. The sky cleared a bit so I decided on Duirnish, scene of the epic 2017 Scotland winter bivvy. This lies some 6 miles north of Loch Rannoch at the top of a broad strath which pushes right through to the A9 a Glen Garry. Last December this track was and hour of hard going on deep snow. Today the straggler disposed of it in about 35 mins, a stiff breeze helping me on the way.
There were a couple of local guys in the bothy but they were sociable and had lugged a pile of wood and drink down from the A9 which they were happy to share. There followed a convivial evening chewing the fat before I turned in about 11 feeling somewhat worse for wear.
The forecast for the next day was for heavy rain but in the event I woke to a steady but light drizzle. So I grabbed breakfast and clattered down the track, my head louping after far too much whisky....
Alongside Loch Rannoch there was a constant stream of roadies on TT bikes, all going like the clappers. I'd seen all the signs the previous evening so it looked like they were doing a lap of the loch in double quick time. I soon got bored of saying 'hi' every few seconds so contented myself with a surly grimace as my hangover slowly abated. Greggs in Pitlochry was my saviour with pies, cake and coke so I was feeling quite chipper by the time I got back to the car. Total distance 105 miles.
This is the third BAM I've done on the Straggler and its proving itself to be a worthy tool. Its at least as capable as the fargo off road, despite the narrower tyres, and on road it rolls easily. Gravel bikes seem to be the thing just now and the press seems (as usual) to be struggling to pigeon hole them into a suitable category and to clearly define their purpose, by turns either slagging them or praising them. Away from the gravel roads of the mid west of America, their forte is just what I've done this weekend - riding sections of track and back roads whose potholes would make a 23mm tyred road bike a liability. There are tons of such routes to choose from across Scotland as well as the vast areas of forestry and attendant fire roads. So away from the hype they make great bikes for avoiding traffic and bagging those tracks that would be a chore to get to by mountain bike.
I'm just back from a nice three day trip starting in Lower Speyside, heading down the Speyside way, along the Moray Coastal Trail, a return to upper Speyside via the river Findhorn, then back to Speyside via the cairngorms loop to Tomintoul and a bit of the Speyside way Tomintoul link.
I'd spent the weekend with friends who live in Speyside indulging in the local tourist practice of doing distillery tours. By bike of course! Sunday was spent bagging a few of their local trails so I started this trip on a sunny Monday Morning. My friends place is about 6 miles up stream of Aberlour. Its whisky central around here with distilleries all over the place. The Speyside Way follows an old railway line so makes for easy riding given how dry it is everywhere.
This is a new one. The building is modern but the process is largely as it has been for years. The copper stills are made by hand locally and are a work of art in themselves. The trail follows the railway line to Criagellachie and then heads into the woods of Ben Aigen.
Looking down the last section of the Spey to the Sea. The Speyside way makes for some easy pedalling (apart from one bit between Nethy Bridge and Grantown) with a few nice sections of trail as well as the usual gravel paths, forest roads and the odd back road.
After a brief stop in Fochabers for coffee and cake I followed more trails to the end of the Spey at Spey Bay. Views across the Moray Firth were fab with many of the north / northwest Highland hills visible.
The end of the Spey, looking back to Ben Rinnes, near my start point.
This rather fine old railway bridge takes you across the Spey and onto NCN 1. I departed NCN 1 at Garmouth to pick up the Moray Coastal Trail. This is a (generally) well signposted and defined route following a mix of tracks, paths behind the dunes, gravel paths and some bits where your on the beach. Its a fat bike job really as some sections in the dunes were unrideable on the Jones but fortunately the plus tyres allowed me to ride on the sand below the tideline. The highlight was having a large otter appear out of the gorse in front of me and then scurry across my path back into the under growth.
Wear long socks if you attempt this in summer!
Looking north, the views were ace with the hills behind Golspie and Brorar visible, Ben Wyviss and even the Fannichs and the hills of Stratch Connon visible, despite being at sea level.
Its quite a trek to Findhorn and hard going in places. The sun was shining however so it was hard work of the best kind. Findhorn was as far as I expected to get but it was too early to stop so I lingered over fish and chips and Bitter and Twisted courtesy of the pub. Thereafter it was round the bay and over another funky bridge on NCN 1 and then into Culbin Forest, a large black cloud looming to the South and east.
Culbin forest has a network of tracks and sandy single track, I followed a random selection and then picked up a well made path which led me to a huge viewing tower right in the middle of the forest. Its not marked on the map and I'd never heard of it so ran up the top for a look at the view:-
Aerial shot of the Jones...
Looking North across the Moray Firth to the hills behind Brora and Golspie. The other direction it was a wall of black cloud with a full rainbow across it.
I was keen to get the tarp pitched before the rain came on so headed north and west in the hope of missing the cloud (it was slowly moving north and east!)
Bivvy a Month July, part 2! My claimed BAM for this month was in a bothy so I was glad to bag a proper one. I was right on the boundary of the huge cloud but apart from a few drops I missed it totally.
The next morning the sun shone and I headed for the River Findhorn following a hot tip on a fab riverside path. There followed a fair bit of route faffing trying to get on it - several false starts blocked by estate house gardens, disappearing trails and large cliffs eventually got me onto it and what a joy it was. Several miles of single track varying from easy going to proper noodly to seriously nadgery.
The Findhorn runs in a huge gorge with some bits more like what you'd find in North America. In places the trail was hairy - you were right up by the drop with a misplaced wheel likely to end up with you and your bike mashed into the river... As well as this amazing-ness of riding, there is also a fab café at a touristy place about halfway along (Logie Craft Centre). 2 Bacon rolls and a gallon of tea set me up a treat. Back to the river side you can continue for a fair distance on more single track. I had a look at Randolfs Leap and noted the stone commemorating the 'muckle spate' (i.e Great flood) of 1829. The stone was some 50 feet above the river level and marked the height of the water during the storm. The spate destroyed numerous bridges and properties as well as taking many lives across the Northern and Eastern Cairngorms area. By comparison Storm Frank and Desmond which did so much damage in Dee and Don-side in 2016 produced water levels much lower than this 19th century monster...
My bike at the muckle spate water level.
I departed the Findhorn at Relugas and headed up onto the Dava Way - this is an easy route from Forres to Grantown, mostly on a disused railway line.
This hut is halfway along - its an old linesman hut that has been done up as an interpretation centre. It would make a nice cheeky bivvy spot.
I've amassed a fair bit of headwind Karma this year and the next section substantially added to this - over a big moor with no shelter right into the teeth of a gale. I could have followed the Dava way down to Grantown and then an hour of easy pedalling would take me back to the start. However I opted for a longer ride and another night out. There are various ways south from Lochindorb but given the wind I took the easy(!) option of a road ride to Carbridge. It was brutal - no hiding from it and no other way forward.... Soup, tea and cake in Carbridge helped me recover and contemplate my next bit of route.
In the hope of grabbing a bothy I headed up the Dulnain as there were a couple of dots on the map which were potentials. Once again the clouds were building so a roof seemed like a good plan, despite it being quite early. In the event one was a house and the other a shooting hut firmly locked. The next hut up was of course the bothy but I didn't learn this until speaking to my mate the next day.... It looked brighter over in Speyside so I girded my loins and headed over the Burma road.
No false summits or long moor crossings thank heavens but its still a brute - a solid climb straight up to nigh on 700m and quite a challenge at the end of a long day. Aviemore was mobbed so I stopped for chips and water then headed into Abernethy on the Cairngorms Loop route in search of a bivvy spot.
When I did my first successful ride of the CL in 2014 I stopped by loch pityoulish - I was a bit desperate due to it being dark and me being knackered and it seemed an ideal spot. Looking at it in daylight I noticed the house overlooking it which I'd missed in 2014. Hmm, the trees sheltering the spot had been felled and the wind (now behind me) blowing straight into it. I figured Abernethy would provide a better option so carried on into the evening sunshine.
BAM July Take 3. If I'd waited until after midnight to pitch up I could have claimed it for August! A nigh on perfect spot - sheltered from the worst of the wind but with enough to keep the midges away. A few sprinkles of rain came through over night but it was dry the next morning.
I kept on the CL route to Tomintoul (as dry as I'd ever known it despite the heavy rain here two days previously) and then headed up to the Glenlivet Trail centre for food. Annoyingly the café was shut on Wednesdays so it was a case of tighten the belt and keep on. I followed the blue / red route up to the high point and then re-joined the Speyside Way which takes you down a great descent to Glenlivet.
Halfway down I heard a whistle and saw a group of figures on a hillside just across from me. A figure was running to something white lying in the heather. This turned out to be a newly dead hare, still in its winter coat, having been killed by their dog. Yes its the start of the Hare coursing season, another barbaric 'tradition' that is proof that whilst Scotland as a whole is part of the modern world, a very small part of it still seems stuck in the dark ages. The justification for this 'sport' is lame - stopping hares spreading ticks and eating young heather that the grouse need to feed on. Ticks are in abundance and Grouse get fed from birth to being shot so this cuts no ice with me whatsoever. Saddened I finished the descent and then pedalled back to my pals place via the road.
Total distance 280k and almost no rain!
