Chris Johnston is planning a ride to a bothy on Friday 22nd (Mark Cottage). It’s not a big ride apparently and there’s the option to extend on Saturday. You’ll need to pack all your gear; clothing, bedding, food, water, drink, whisky, banjos, gimp mask etc. If you have any questions about what’s involved please contact Chris or post up here or on FB.
Think of it as the opposite of a summer solstice ride (you know the sort of ride; long lazy days, light winds, dry trails, shorts & t-shirt, the smell of suncream, carefree cycling) and you’ve got the idea of what it might be like in winter. 😉
Here’s a video of what to expect from your accommodation*
. * work safe video, no gimps or bothy weirdos** present
** you really need to hear Tom Downie’s stories of bothy trips and always sharing remote, dark bothies with at least one “weirdo”. If it’s just you and Chris on this trip you can decide between yourselves who the weirdo is.
Well, the Bothy ride did take place and Tim Luke and I survived, despite our spouses scepticism. We set off for the bothy and quickly noticed the additional weight of our kit including 3kg of coal (each) as we puffed up the gentle gradient. My bike weighed 19kg and back pack another 10kg. I was also experimenting with my 1×9 set up, so I was struggling more than usual.
Once beyond the trees we were coming across patches of snow and then the patches of snow joined up. The snow had filled up the double track so it was easier to cycle across the heather. Who needs a fat bike anyway? We were just getting into our stride and we found ourselves descending down to the bothy a couple of hours later.
climb up from Bridge of Tilt
2 happy chappies
We had a quick tour of the bothy, one room with 2 platform beds, open fire and a kitchen table, the other half of the bothy was a work room and there was sleeping loft above the main room. With a couple of hours daylight we decided to head up towards Beinn Dearg. It was good to ride with out all our gear but we didn’t get very far before we were back into the snow.
We had a quick tour of the bothy, one room with 2 platform beds, open fire and a kitchen table, the other half of the bothy was a work room and there was sleeping loft above the main room. With a couple of hours daylight we decided to head up towards Beinn Dearg. It was good to ride with out all our gear but we didn’t get very far before we were back into the snow.
