Back to the Highlands
Stonehaven to Pitrochry via Deeside Way, Braemar and Glen Tilt

When	10 and 11 October 2015
Cycled	170km / 106miles
Bikes	Dharma and Hayduke (cross monsters)
Equipment	Light (we slept in a hostel), Paul brought a Camelback and me a pannier, had I know the route before I'd have taken a rucksack but the pannier was ok too Lots of waterproof stuff (useless in Scotland but you have to believe in something)
Considerations	Midges are still around I really don't like mud but I'm getting addicted to the bike packing spirit When an experience mountainbiker describes a route, the word “cyclable” is translated to “no way I get on the saddle here!”

Back from the Great Divide we were eager for more adventure, but time constraints wouldn't allow for more than 2 days. We wanted to see new places and planned a route on both paved and unpaved roads, and on the second day we decided to change the route completely.

Chapter 8 – Conclusion


Sometimes (well, many times..) we cursed the route, whoever draw it, us and the bikes, but, was is worth it? YESSSSS We have lived a dream and will never regret anything about it. 

Considering the amount of miles we covered, we considered ourselves very lucky – never got sick, no injuries, no mechanical problems, no guns pointed at us, we are still talking to each other, all went so smooth that we can't hardly believe it.

Chapter 7 – West US Road Trip


After 3545km / 2200 miles of dust, dirty roads and endless uphills, on 31 August we finally reached Santa Fe and celebrated the end of the Divide!

Chapter 6 – Touching the sky in Colorado

Colorado was by far the best State we cycled through. Finally cycling was fun again! As soon as we entered it we could feel how people love sport. Bicycles everywhere, for the first time we did not feel weird. People are also extremely helpful and chilled out, the mountains stunning, and the terrain smooth and nice. Colorado we love you!

After spending 2 days off in Steamboat it took a while to get back in the cycling mode, but at least we charged up with energies for the high passes to come.

Chapter 5 – Avoiding the Divide

After the National Parks the Great Divide route leads to the Great Basin, a 135 miles stretch known as the biggest graveyard in the USA. We knew there were works along the way and some bit had been rerouted, and because the temperatures have been very high over the previous weeks and especially because we couldn’t really be bothered to spend days in a desert, we decided to follow the Trans American route for the following 4 days and rejoin the Great Divide in Rawlins.

Chapter 4 – Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks

After a stormy night we cycled an easy 82km mostly on paved road and highway to the west gate of Yellowstone. We left Montana, entered Idaho for 30km, then re-entered Montana, and finally got in Wyoming.  The plan was to (gladly) abandon the dusty roads of the Great Divide route for a week in order to explore Yellowstone and the Tetons.

Yellowstone

Chapter 3 – Great Divide Route - days 15 to 27

After some detouring in Glacier we are back on the Great Divide route and finally started to add up kilometers (still early to think in miles). Days are passing quickly and we are already at km 1206. The route is tiring and harder than we though. On a few days we did more than we could handle and the legs were starting to complain, but overall we are getting stronger and we are learning lessons. We are also getting used to the usual routine: breakfast and packing up in the morning, long day cycle, and once arrived in a place it's shower, get food, cook, set up camp, early night sleep.

Montana's landscapes are not as dramatic as Canada, but the country is beautiful, with its green and gentle hills, and maybe too many woods...most of the route has been going through forests so that the views have been obscured most of the time. But, good places, people and experiences abounded here too. We have also met a few racers and fellow cyclists, our couchsurfing and warm showers hosts have been amazingly kind to us, and people along the route friendly. The weather has been on our side too. Not a single drop of rain yet, in the early afternoon it gets very hot, around 25/30 degrees but I won't certainly complain about that! I suddenly remembered what summer feels like: going around in sandals, hanging clothes to dry outside, ice cream, fresh breeze in the evening, this is life!

Chapter 2 – Glacier National Park and Montana – days 7 to 14


After 14 days on route we are finally having our first day off in Bigfork, a nice and chilled out resort town with nothing to do.


The stats so far are:

• Days of sunshine: 14/14
  
• Km cycled: 733
  
• Mechanical problems: 0 – Considering the roads we have been through Dharma and Hayduke are doing great, the tubeless tires are working wonder which is sparing a lot of trouble.
  
• Mosquito bites: no space left
  
• Average of meals per day: 6
  
• Max days without showers: 3 (I still stink after 2 showers)
  
• Wildlife entries: mountain goat and hummingbird, soooo cute!

Canadian Chapter – Days 0 to 7

What an adventure! Hard to believe that only 7 days passed by, so many things happened and so many places we saw already.

The flight and transfer to Banff went smoothly, the bikes arrived in one piece and although Calgary welcomed us with clouds and rain (back to Scotland we thought?) we have been really lucky with the weather so far, probably too lucky.

Bikes and equipment

Bikes

Paul built both bikes, which I think are kind of the same. He has been in the process of trying out and change parts since he started building them, and if I know him well the process will never end :) However, so far we have:

Training for the Great Divide

We don't know yet to which extent the Great Divide will test our limits, but we know it's going to be challenging, both mentally and physically.

As for the mental training, we think we are very lucky to have been training in Scotland, nothing can be worst than Scottish weather right? ...or maybe not mmmhhh...

As for the fitness, we are both reasonably fit and tough. We cycle regularly to work and around town , and we cycled one of the usual+100k routes once a month over the last year, and the below trips in the last month.

The planned schedule

While Paul is in charge of the bikes, I'm on planning duties. The main resources for planning have been:

• Cycling the Great Divide - 2nd Edition, by Michael McCoy
• Adventure Cycle maps
• Advevnture Cyling webpage
  http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/great-divide-mountain-bike-route/
  
• Inspiring and useful blogs including
  

Time is ripe


I have been longing for a long haul cycling trip for years, and it never worked out. Spring would colour the Burgh and bring some hope, but it was always a false start. Autumn would follow soon and I never managed to join the migratory birds in their fly to warm places. It was just not time. To be fair up to 3 years ago I couldn't even conceive the existence of such adventures, and then I started to hear the endeavours of some crazy nomads, and there was an instant inner call, something that I had to do, to write down in the "done" list.

Nepal - Annapurna Circuit October 2014


When the mountains call, you have to go.


After putting off this trip for years, it could no longer be delayed, it was holding back all the other plans and it had to be done. Flight booked, got 3 weeks off work, packed and gone.


I originally planned to leave on 11 October, but decided to put off the trip 1 week so to run the Pentlands Skyline on 12 October, and this race may have saved my life, or at least a long trip for nothing:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Nepal_snowstorm_disaster


The news coming from Nepal were scaring, the Thorong La Pass was officially closed until the situation would get better. I didn't know if I would manage to walk all the circuit, but there was only a way to find it out, go there and see what the situation was like.

Pentlands Skyline Race 2014

12 October 2014


Described as “a 17mile hill run with no medals or T-shirts. It's a race against the terrain, the elements and most of all against yourself” this race had to be run and 2014 had to be the year.

The Pentlands have been a good training ground for the previous marathons, but I only knew part of them as my running route never passed in their Western side. I had no clue how the terrain conditions would be there, I just assumed they couldn't be very different from the other side...how wrong was I!

Cycling (hilly) day routes around Edinburgh - 2014

The following are a few long rides for when spring arrives and the days get longer. They are among my favourite rides: hilly, beautiful landscapes, and all reachable directly from Edinburgh.

Before heading off, I'd consult:

Weather forecasts – This is Scotland so that I wouldn't have many expectations, but it's always good to check out the forecasts, especially the wind...

http://www.yr.no/

National Cycling Network - To check out the cycling paths
http://www.sustrans.org.uk

Route profile – You can use this website to check the distance and the profile, it's always better to know in advance where the big hills are!
http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php

Scottish South Borders Cycling trip

11 to 14 July 2014

The memories from the West Coast trip were starting to fade away and we wanted more adventures to refresh the spirit. Paul's birthday was approaching and to celebrate it he prepared a 4 day cycling trip down the borders, which stood out for its variety and unpredictability.

Day 1 – Ayr to Galloway Forest – 32 miles + Merrick

That was a beautiful summer day, sunny and warm. Paul and myself got an early train to Ayr, while the rest of the group (Lauren and Tobias) would get a later one. The plan was to meet at the campsite in the Glentrool Camping Site in Galloway Forest.

Mont Blanc Marathon 2014  -
Passion feels no pain 

29 June 2014

The Mont Blanc Marathon came up in my mind the very moment I finished the Swiss Alpine the year before. I didn't know why but I was sure I wanted to run it, and sometimes you just have to follow your dreams.

Just to clarify, the course doesn't actually go up the Mont Blanc as many people are inclined to think. The route starts in Chamonix and goes up and down around the valley, + 2511m and -1490m, the highest point being at 2201m. Its name is probably more impressive than the route itself, but it is supposed to be one of the most panoramic marathons. For more information on the profile and the race, have a look at their website:

http://www.montblancmarathon.net/en/

Running routes in and around Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a great city for running, whichever side of the city you are you can find a park or a trail within a few miles and, plenty of hills to explore. I've always lived in the centre/south side of town so that my routes are mainly based there, this is a great site to explore more options:

http://www.walkjogrun.net/running-routes/UK/City%20of%20Edinburgh/Edinburgh/

My usual routes are:

West Coast of Scotland Cycling Trip


12 to 18 April 2014


Planning a cycling trip in the West Coast of Scotland, in April, requires a fair amount of optimism and craziness. The chances of even glance some sunshine are so tiny that not even my most enthusiastic side was actually believing it could happen. The first day was meeting all the expectations and warned us “there will be no miracles here” welcome to the West Coast!

Aviemore to Perth (NCN 7 and 77)– 88 miles


1/2 November 2013


Those have really been 2 wild days. On a stubborn decision to stick to my training plan I took the train to Aviemore for another solo trip, on the first of November. I am just so happy nobody was so crazy as to follow me in this one as I am not sure how I would have coped with the guilt of mirroring the feeling of rainy misery in someone else eyes. Since the start all the omens were not much promising: red morning sky, forecasts and even this mysterious woman in black coming from the dead world (or the Beltane Hallowing party as it turned out to be) wishing me good weather, but oh well, this is Scotland I though, if you look at the weather you go nowhere, sure it can't be that bad!

Berwick Upon Tweed to Edinburgh (NCN 1) – 82 miles

21/22 September

The Autumn solstice was meant to give an end to the 2013 cycling season. All my cycling mates were busy in other projects and since "if you wait for who is not coming you wait a long time" I decided to go for another solo trip, which I must admit was kind of good for a change. After a freezing week with temperatures of 5 degrees I was ready for the worst and head off as the Micheline man but it took only 30 min to realise it was summer again!

Mull to Glasgow via Tarbert – 166 miles


9 to 11 August


Cycling is addicting. Add a few good mates and heart opening landscapes and you find yourself planning new trips at every odd day. Laughs, fresh air, endorphins, you just want more and more.


This one was another 3 day route, from Oban to Glasgow. Sor and me got an early train on Friday morning and spent the day cycling Mull, 21 miles each way from Craignure up to Tobermory and back. 

Swiss Alpine Marathon K43


27 July 2013


Flat is boring. After running 3 city marathons, Edinburgh, Barcelona (highly recommended!) and Sevilla, I realised I needed something different: mountains! I had no clue of how to prepare for that, and what it would have involved, but I spent 7 months running as much as I could, everywhere.

Jon O' Groat to Inverness (NCN 1) – around 200 miles


21 to 23 June 2013


This was my first mini touring cycle, well, it was only 3 days but I did have fully loaded panniers so that it must qualify as such!


Every year I celebrate the Summer Solstice and this time I tried to go as much North as I could go, and that was, Jon o Groat. My cycling buddy, Mr Zazzu, proved to be a great and very entertaining company. That was his first “touring” experience too, and to be fair he never really heard what that meant, and how to prepare for it. He showed up with his Vintage road bike and a huge 13 kg rucksack. His sleeping bag was forgotten in the first train, and the rest of its content, among which stood out: 3 rolls of toilet paper, 1kg wet wipes, jeans and trainers (why??) is still a big question mark in my head. The only explanation I could find is, it's Zazzu, you need to take the full package :)

7 Hills of Edinburgh - Challenge 2013


16 June 2013


Now, that was a race! The chances of having muscle, mind, route, weather all working on your side are so slim that I can count such days in one hand. That was one of them!

If you are a runner, you like hills and you are in Edinburgh, you can't miss this. Don't worry if you don't know the route (there is none anyway..), you can just follow the one in front of you. For more information have a look at their website:


http://www.seven-hills.org.uk/

Cycling routes around Edinburgh - 2013

...ops, some updates need to be done ah? oh well, I believe the amount of happiness in one's life is inversely correlated with the amount of time spent on a computer, yeppa, it was 2 good years indeed!


I did take some notes along the way, and since I had a few people asking me for routes and ideas I finally found the time to put some order in my messy notes (Achilles Tendon injured = no running = lot of unhappiness and load of time on the computer )


So, let's go back in time to 2013, when my beautiful Kona Dew Drop was still a fresh second hand purchase and I had no clue how to use the shifters.


Below are a few easy day routes of about 100km, mainly flat. They are circular loops from Edinburgh, or requires a one way train ride to get to the starting point.