Those of you who follow my journeys on Instagram (@linzoo) will be well aware of a bike-packing trip that almost certainly made me question my sanity.
I had just finished my finals for an environmental science degree, which I’d been slaving over for the last 3 & 1/2 years. A holiday was in order, and I thought we’d stay local and take on a shorter trip, fewer days with fewer miles than the usual 3-week expedition. Something off-road to break in the new mountain bike. A theme of slow-moving, good scenery, and peaceful trails. Scotland was decided. What could be more perfect? In the midst of studying and focusing on work, I left planning to another trail-loving thrill-seeker, and this is what happened…
The Cairngorms loop - a 185-mile (300km) independent time trial route through the Scottish Highlands National Park. A seemingly pleasant picture as you set off from Aviemore, clean, energised with coffee and a full Scottish breakfast. A luring amount of tarmac and gravel followed by a vast expanse of traitorous blanket bog - which must be tackled with enthusiasm to avoid despair and thus, becoming part of the future's next carbon store.
To accompany the theme of damp and dangerous, there are plenty of river crossings, not just on lower levels, but also on the high-altitude mountain passes, better known as Lairig Ghru. You can only reach this point, however, once you have taken on at least 1 Scottish Munro, hiking your bike up Bynack More to complete the 7-hour expedition, where you will voluntarily carry your fully-loaded gravel bike … not only up, but also back down! And FYI, there is no phone signal or safe place to land a rescue helicopter! Single track, ah, just what a graveler dreams of…if they haven’t been washed away by land slides!
You are teased with small sections of glorious track, some more technical and some littered with storm drain booby-traps, accompanied by big boulders and ‘pedal mashing’ rigid rocks. It’s a route that ventures into canopy-covered woodland, thick heather carpeting the Caledonian forest, split by wild, open landscape, elevated moors, and mountains. The sheer cliff-edge drops are lined by narrow single track, which in utter exhaustion you may deviate off, or involuntarily dismount your bike and descend down the cliff face on a thrilling backward slide, towards the river, met face first by the local un-bemused sheep.
Once you’re done crying and questioning your existence, you can follow the trail onto more gravel track, which remedies some face as you glide the meandering paths, swooping up and down, eventually leading to slick tarmac roads, scattered glimpses of civilisation, creamy sweet Coca-Colas, tranquil lochs, and if you are really lucky, sunshine.
100 hours of physical defiance, character building, and emotional turmoil.
Yep, the Cairngorms route is the epitome of the ‘type 2 fun’, which takes you back to a new, more extreme bike-packing experience each time. The newly refurbished bothies, the looks of disbelief and admiration from passing people, the extraordinary views, the sweet spot moments of downhill cruising on crunchy gravel track, the light breeze brushing your cheeks, and the satisfying purring sound of a ticking free-hub. Crushing waterfalls and restful silence. New and exciting villages, historic architecture. The hours of feeling broken, carrying wet gear, and morphing into something amphibious, all blanketed by glasses worn with a hint of rose.
So once you take home your souvenir of munched mechanics and wash off the peat (which buries itself into the deepest depths of your soul, not just beneath your toenails), you’ll be sat wondering...
How the FUDGE do people do that in less than 56hours... and when can I go back to try it again?
Lindsay James
GRVL Ambassador
Follow Lindsay on Instagram - @Linzoo
