Started in Braemar, along the road to Invercauld Bridge, up through the forest to Gelder Sheil, on over the track to the walker's path up to Meikle Pap col, branched off this on the trail which contours round ... blah, blah, blah..
Bugger it - here's a map:
And another one:
50kms, 1800m lots of brilliant riding and surprisingly little pushing/carrying.
Yeeeus Stuatie, good training for the Trans Alp.
I've done most of that loop but carried my bike up the footpath/stairs to the Meilkle Pap. There is a great bit of singletrack to the west of Loch Callater up to the Bealach and back down to Glenshee.
MC
That looks like a fantastic route Stuart. The singletrack mcmoonter mentions is great and wouldn't have been a huge addition to your route - pretty simple climb up a doubletrack to then join the road a few miles south of where you turn off for the Morrone climb.
There's so much good riding in that area though eh?
Hmmm very nice! Tried taking lochnagar by bike a few years ago and took the east approach track and ended up carrying pretty much to the top then not being able to descend much on the way down Glas alt shiel (IIRC that's what the burn to the south is). Think I need to give something along those lines a try this summer
The singletrack mcmoonter mentions is great and wouldn't have been a huge addition to your route
Oh well, looks like I'll just have to go do it again... 😀 (Another STW weekend in the making?)
Mat, if you go this way there is no more than 1/2 hour of carrying/pushing in total. The track up from Glas Allt Sheil has been recently rebuilt and is surprisingly rideable provided you can bunnyhop drainage ditches.
Jeez. Ending a day's ride with the Morven? hardcore!
Jeez. Ending a day's ride with the Morven? hardcore!
A last, desperate attempt to get some Transalp training in.
It's some climb!
I've got to have a shot of that- looks like a top day out!
I've not done the descent to Glen Callater, what was that like Stuartie? Looks like a cracking ride 😀
Lots of this kind of stuff Andy:
(One of the easier bits!)
It's a great descent - very steep and rocky in places, lots of drains but all rideable, some very tricky "trials-y" sections and some lovely fast bits as well. Hard work and best approached positively - fat tyres recommended, or at least pump up the back one!
Some more pics:
Path along the side of Little Pap.
A bit of pushing on the path up from Glas Allt Sheil (but surprising how much of this can be ridden)
Last bit of the track onto Morven (tough climb!)
A bike. Ben Avon in background.
Descent to Braemar.
One more - the long and winding road onto Morven.
Looks great - how come you missed the torrential downpours I was 'enjoying' today on my ride in and home????
This is from yesterday Matt. Got lucky with the weather for the most part.
Been pishing down in West Fife today.
Magic stuartie_c ... my old stomping ground for many years around there. Must get around it on a bike now.
Cheers Swayndo - you must!
That looks v.tasty Stuartie - looked up at it 'wonderingly' a few times from the Callater side...now is defo on the 'to do' list 😀
Stuartie - went up there and did your route (minus the Morven leg 8O) last week. Loved it, thought the descent down to Glen Callater was a peach. My wife didn't enjoy it quite as much as me, maybe something to do with the gale force winds on the summits blowing her sideways... 😀
looks very much like a ride mat above talked me out of due to lots of unridable stuff. 🙁 ill be up there to experiance it soon ....
did you see my pictures of the day i took a cyclocross bike down the bachnagairn-loch muick walkers path and lived stuart ?
Glad you enjoyed it Andy.
Terry - were these pictures in the snow? The circuit above has no more than half an hour of carrying. Honest!
nah they were just a couple weeks back. Was a tech fest of a descent - was alot slower than on my 29er !
Sounds good , will take the merida at least then the carrying will be easy 😀
Def one to do for the future.
Did a job up there on the Police mast a couple of years back. Drove a 4x4 over that last bit at 70mph not big and clever I know. Both times we were up there it was pretty foul weather(mid-July) and we invited the walkers in to the building at the base of the mast. Don't think the police would have been to happy if they had arrived to find 20 hill walkers eating sandwiches and drinking tea in there.