Some Scottish inspiration......

[HobbesOnTour]

Came across this today in the paper and I thought I'd share.
With "free" wild camping (within reason) Scotland really is a great place to explore. Of course, the weather and midgies can make it challenging

The article is about the guy from this website:
https://bikepackingscotland.com/
and I know at least one of their videos has featured here before.

(Don't be put off by the "Bikepacking" tag, the photos in the article feature all kinds of bikes and loads).

Routes also seem to include background info for arrivals/departures by train.

 

[chriswoody]

I've been following Markus's adventures for a while now, he has some lovely routes in that new book. If I lived in the UK I'd probably have bought it on pre-order. He also rode an interesting route here in Germany tracing the route of the old East/West border past where he had grown up. I might follow it one day myself out of curiosity.

Sadly though Scotland is pretty much out of reach for me now though. Even though it's not that far from me here in Germany, the sheer cost of traveling there is far to prohibitive these days. I'm currently saving up for one last dream ride in the highlands, but I can't justify the cost for any more trips.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

he also rode an interesting route here in Germany tracing the route of the old East/West border

I think that one was on Bikepacking.com? I was thinking of doing it (or parts of it) as shakedown prep for the Big, Big one. I know I have notes on it somewhere...... I always used to have "dream" trips, ones that I'd researched a bit so I'd be able to go if the opportunity ever arose.

the sheer cost of traveling there is far to prohibitive these days.

I know what you mean. I was recently back in Ireland and the prices were astonishing. There's quite a bit of investment going in to Greenways and Blueways (trails beside water) - not just for tourists it has to be said - but prices really are out of control. There's far better value to be had elsewhere, in my opinion.

 

[Drago]

Motorhomes are good for seeing Scotland, they make an excellent base for cycle exploration. There's an old dear in Dunfermline who'll let you park one on her driveway, no questions asked.

 

[chriswoody]

Motorhomes are good for seeing Scotland, they make an excellent base for cycle exploration.

I know, it's a great idea, I actually do own a rather lovely 25 year old campervan that me and the family have had many a great adventure in over the years. Unfortunately though there's a big old puddle between Britain and the mainland and getting across it is rather problematic these days. The shortest route would be Amsterdam - Newcastle and it wasn't many years ago that I spent under €400 return for a family of four with a campervan, today that same route is over €800 one way. Going via Dover Calais is the cheapest, but then it's a lot of driving either side with the attendant high fuel prices and no I'm not flying, no way.

One day though I will do it, my dream is to ride the Highland 550 and for that I will need to get to Crianlarich, I will find a way.

 

[chriswoody]

I think that one was on Bikepacking.com?

It was, along with an interesting article about him growing up near the border. I'm half tempted by it, but riding on the Panzerplatte is gruelling and unrelenting, I'm not sure if I could survive days of it!

https://bikepacking.com/plog/grenzerfahrungen-iron-curtain-video/

 

[HobbesOnTour]

One day though I will do it, my dream is to ride the Highland 550 and for that I will need to get to Crianlarich, I will find a way

Forgive a little thread drift......
Chris, how important would it be to you to have your own bike to do something like that?
Would you consider hiring a bike and gear? (Or just a bike and bring your own gear?)
If not why not?
If yes, what would be the most important factor(s) for you?

I appreciate that you may not want to fly so the question may be kind of moot.

Personally, I'd be reluctant to use a rented bike, especially on an "out in the wilds" type trip but you use several bikes whereas my trusty steed is my only one. I'd feel like I was cheating on him!

Thanks!

 

[chriswoody]

Chris, how important would it be to you to have your own bike to do something like that?
Would you consider hiring a bike and gear? (Or just a bike and bring your own gear?)

It is something that I have put some thought into, but then I look at the time I've invested into making my bikes work for me. The style of touring that I like is tough going on the body, especially day in day out. On the two bikes I ride, I have modified all three contact points (Saddle, Pedals, Grips) so they really fit me and provide all day comfort. My wife borrowed the Kona briefly in the summer and remarked how "Lived in" it felt, I'd never really noticed till then, but she's right, it has moulded to my body over thousands of kilometers. On a three - four week epic like the HT550 I will really need to have this level of comfort already dialled in as well as a level of trust and understanding of how the bike rides.

The issue of gear is another one, I've spent a while researching and buying bags that will fit my bikes. One of the big drawbacks of bikepacking though is needing to find specific size/shaped bags that fit your actual bike, it can be a pain and there's no guarantee that they would all fit another bike. Going for panniers is not an option, I really noticed on my Hamburg ride that my bags spread the load through the bike and hardly affected the handling, whereas my son had his weight focused on the back which upset the off-road handling a lot, not a huge issue on the Hiede, but in Scotland it would be.

It will be tricky and costly to get to Scotland, but I'm prepared to do it for my dream of riding the 550, sadly though I can't justify the time and hassle for a shorter trip and there's the rub, for I think I might just risk hiring a bike for say a 4/5 day adventure, but then I couldn't justify the environmental cost of the travel involved. So looks like I'm off to the Alps again this year and save the HT550 for 2024 or 2025, could be worse!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Thanks for the detailed reply @chriswoody
You didn't surprise me

 

[oldwheels]

Motorhomes are good for seeing Scotland, they make an excellent base for cycle exploration. There's an old dear in Dunfermline who'll let you park one on her driveway, no questions asked.

Motorhomes are now sadly a blight on our roads and countryside in general.
I have had campervans since the mid 1960's and latterly a couple of motorhomes myself and I am very familiar with them so not prejudiced but now I would no longer consider one.

 

[Sallar55]

Motorhomes in Scotland .The above points out the good days are gone. Covid made people want self contained holiday accommodation and campervans/wagons looked like a good idea. Problem was the UK never had the infrastructure to support the the boom. Result was laybys and any other parking spaces were filled, even the bothies suffered, ones close or an easy walk in from a road soon became overcrowded.

 

[Drago]

Motorhomes are now sadly a blight on our roads and countryside in general.
I have had campervans since the mid 1960's and latterly a couple of motorhomes myself and I am very familiar with them so not prejudiced but now I would no longer consider one.

I think perhaps people missed that I was being just a little tongue in cheek.

 

[Slick]

I think perhaps people missed that I was being just a little tongue in cheek.

You mean you don't know a friendly old dear in Fife?

 

[Slick]

Came across this today in the paper and I thought I'd share.
With "free" wild camping (within reason) Scotland really is a great place to explore. Of course, the weather and midgies can make it challenging

The article is about the guy from this website:
https://bikepackingscotland.com/
and I know at least one of their videos has featured here before.

(Don't be put off by the "Bikepacking" tag, the photos in the article feature all kinds of bikes and loads).

Routes also seem to include background info for arrivals/departures by train.

John Muir way is a cracking route as seen by numerous videos on YouTube. The Argyll Trail, is for experienced cyclists only, in my opinion, although our very own @Pat "5mph" will tell you differently, which I think is a clue to her experience. Finally, to throw a real belter into the mix, what about the Hebridean Way? I'm doing that later this year, just trying to work out which direction to do it in.

 

[Slick]

Go on, treat yourselves, you know you want to.

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/hebrideanway