Far Easedale and the Four Passes
What better after a long, wet winter than to travel south for a roadtrip? Not to spread out the beach towels unfortunately, but to visit the wettest place in England at the head of Borrowdale. Perhaps it’s Stockholm syndrome, and secretly I’ve grown to like the squelch of a nice soggy chammy – but hopefully it’ll be some time before it comes to that. The … Continue reading Far Easedale and the Four Passes
Bluebird skies on the Ben
Me and Annie both took our winter mountain leader training at Glenmore Lodge recently, so after a week of criss-crossing the Northern Corries and learning some new skills we were enthusiastic to get out and practice further from home. This week was the first time in several months that high pressure has dominated Scotland, and it would have been downright rude not to take advantage … Continue reading Bluebird skies on the Ben
Winter sun in Torridon
It’s been a blustery winter so far, but for the second time in four days last week the forecast turned up a gem in the far North-West. Another early start; this time it was local bicyclists Ronan and Nash joining me in the front of the van. As we moved through Inverness at 0630 a watery sunrise began to shine through the rain beating on … Continue reading Winter sun in Torridon
Lawson, Ling and Glover’s Route, Beinn Eighe
Breaking the recent trend, the forecast this week has thrown up the odd island of calm in amongst all the Atlantic lows, especially in the North-West. After last-minute planning in the bar and optimistic interpretations of weather and avalanche forecasts, I left Glenmore at 6am on Tuesday, headed for Beinn Eighe with Patrick and Julia. Seize the day and all that jazz. Since Christmas it … Continue reading Lawson, Ling and Glover’s Route, Beinn Eighe
Pace and Momentum at the Strathpuffer
Last year, I swore that I would never do the ‘Puffer again. It was too damp, too dark, too gritty, and it cost too much in new bearings/chain/cassette etc. I think I said the same thing the year before; I’ll probably say the same thing before entries open for next year. When it comes down to it though, the thought of everyone else suffering their … Continue reading Pace and Momentum at the Strathpuffer
Indian Summer
Back in early October I went for a few wee rides around Aviemore to make the most of the warmth before autumn came. It was good fun filming some of the ace little singletracks around here and putting them in a video, although the results of an afternoon out with the GoPro were a bit hit and miss, as I didn’t have a tripod and … Continue reading Indian Summer
Tour de ben Nevis 2013
The Tour de Ben Nevis must be the only race of its type in the UK – a 72km marathon circumnavigation of Britain’s highest mountain, with a carry climb, and river crossing thrown in to keep it interesting. If that wasn’t enough, within the timed circuit there are 4 enduro style ‘special stages’ in which you have to turn your race head up to 11 … Continue reading Tour de ben Nevis 2013
Scale and 650b
At the start of September I was lucky to be able to squeeze in a quick roadtrip to the Alps to visit Sam at Bikevillage, where I guided in 2011. the condition of the 3 of us going was that I finished converting the van into a rustic passion wagon within the 4 days that I had left myself. Many shuttles to B&Q and several … Continue reading Scale and 650b
A classic summer’s day in Lochaber
Sometimes, you get so fixated on finding new, better trails that you forget the quality rides that are sitting right in front of you. That elusive dream trail is still waiting out there somewhere, but in the meantime there are all the old favorites waiting for a chance to show you why you ride your bike again. In August I went with Seb to revisit … Continue reading A classic summer’s day in Lochaber
Ardverikie Wall
Last weekend me and Annie parked up on the Laggan road at Ardverikie to take a wander to a classic multi-pitch HS route that hides around the back of Binnean Shuas: Ardverikie Wall. The SMC guide gives it four stars, and seeing as Annie’s been raving about it since she did it last year I was pretty excited to have a look for myself. We … Continue reading Ardverikie Wall
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