December BAM on the second attempt...

The first attempt was to be the Bear Bones Scottish Winter Bivvy, destination Loch Muik and the 'Royal' bothy behind Glas Alt Sheil house. On the face of it a straightforward prospect with a few options to get there. Plan A for me was to drive up to Glenshee ski centre, have an easy pedal down to Braemar and then over to Loch Muik. The return would be via a route I'd scoped years ago over the high tops between Glen Muik and Glen Shee. Dave and Morne were heading up from Newcastle with a plan to start in Glen Clova. Jimmy formed the remainder of the SWB crew with a plan to spend the weekend up there and ride in from Ballater. A last minute addition was my old mate Max from Uni days who was to pedal up from his gaff near Huntly.

First casualty was Dave with the seasonal cold and concern about dragging a bike through knee deep snow. The weather had been for sunshine all week with a smattering of snow on Friday but this ramped up to a full on dump Friday, making Plan A increasingly dubious as the Glenshee web cams showed increasing amounts of snow on high. The final kybosh on this was the A93 being shut on Saturday morning. Worse, more snow was forecasted for the afternoon and over night. So Plan B was engaged - up into Glen Clova, up the road and over the Capel Mounth - a fairly straightforward route. The first intimation of doom was large clouds looming over the Angus hills and snow showers on the road up. After parking by the Scott / Wilson Monument I set out into the gathering gloom.

Didn't know this was here, apparently both of them spent a lot of time in this area before their ill-fated expedition to the South Pole.

The snow started soon after - big heavy, wet flakes. The road was slushy and views were nil. Nearing the Clova hotel the clouds lifted and the snow went off but this revealed plastered hills with spin drift blowing off the tops. In hindsight this was the point where I bailed....

But I carried on up the glen, despite the snow coming back on heavier than ever, and off on the track up to the pass. The snow was lying thickly below and coming down thickly from above.

At the start of the pass. Its 5 1/2 miles to Glen Muik and the route tops out at 650m. I've done it twice before (in the summer) so knew that as well as a substantial climb, there is a reasonable trek at high level before dropping into the glen. It was a no brainer - I'm done with epic hikes through thigh deep snow these days and writ large was the realisation that however bad it was tonight, it would be much worse coming back tomorrow. So I about-faced and cruised off back down the glen to the car, as usual feeling like I'd wimped out rather than made a rational decision.

Well it turned out it was a rational decision as Jimmy took 9 hours to reach the bothy at 11pm, totally exhausted after pushing through waist deep snow. Max didn't even make it that far. Two guys in a 4WD coming out of the glen warned him of the conditions (which Jimmy was fighting his way through) so he camped near the trees and his words, "went to sleep in a tent and woke up in a snow hole." Their return trips were similarly epic....

To further add to the frustration, on getting home and deciding to unload the bike straight away (rather than forget about it until the next morning,) I discovered a lack of front wheel. I had one of those horrified moments of realisation - I'd lent it against the car to shove the bike in but not then picked up. I actually briefly contemplated abandoning it but swiftly over-ruled myself - it was £500 worth (with brand new Surly bud fitted) and I wanted to go out the next day. So a fairly rapid return to the car park I'd started from ensued. Fortunately the snow was sticking to the hills and there wasn't much traffic (or police) around. Sure enough, there was my front wheel.... A leisurely return home followed.

By way of compensation the forecast locally was to be cold and clear for the Sunday and the Ochills had received a mere dusting of snow rather than the large volumes the Highlands had caught. So a fine day was spent on frozen trails and enough snow to provide plenty of amusement.

So now what. I'd done the same in 2018 - wimped out of an SWB and went with grabbing one on the way down to Mum and Dad's. After much rumination I fancied Dryfehead bothy as it could be easily accessed from Boreland, not far off my route home. So no epic rides, just an easy pedal on a forest track.

I passed a car near the farm as you enter the forest which looked out of place. Hmm - somebody out on a night ride or would the bothy be occupied? As the rain had come on within minutes of me leaving the car this seemed a little unlikely on a Thursday night but sure enough on arrival I noted xmas lights and candle light in the window - very festive!

Three guys were ensconced and seemed happy for me to join them although as usual my self consciousness came to the fore, wondering if I should do an about turn. In the event we had a convivial night. It turned out two of them ran Pipedream cycles and the other chap was their mate, all residents of Peebles. What's more, Si's wife is in for next years Highland Trail so much bike talk ensued. Finally I retired to the back room, now wood paneled and equipped with proper bunks since the 2019 SWB. The three fire logs I'd dragged up with me took the chill of the air and would hopefully help to dry my damp gear. A good night's sleep followed....

Defo a good one and the loo makes things much easier...

I threw in a variation via the black Esk reservoir on the way back just to get some miles in.

So a lamer of a ride but December done, therefore completing yet another BAM campaign!