McTrail Rider

I had no real intentions of racing this year if I'm honest, but I did enter the Enduro2 event in France at the last minute and really enjoyed it. That was going to be enough in my opinion, but an event caught my attention afterwards.

Well, it finally happened! James, Jack and Brian all caved and got themselves ebikes. They had always considered ebikes before, but couldn't really justify the cost. However, recently there have been some fantastic deals on bikes, and the boys couldn't ignore them anymore. This is great for me, as I am lucky enough to have regular bikes and an e-bike. There's plenty of people out there with regular bikes to go ride with, but e-bikes not so much. Truth be told, e-bikes are actually better for group rides as they can level any fitness differences and you can socialise easier on the climbs as you have more lung capacity left to talk.

Ben More and Stob Binnein, two mountains I pass all the time, and that I've wanted to explore. The only problem is that I knew one of them was largely unrideable and the other hard to get to without going over the other. Well, I had to find out for sure, and the only way to do that was to go and try for myself.

This one went very much under the radar! Quietly Cairngorm Mountain Resort has built some Mtb trails in addition to all the other attraction that they already have. I believe that they have always wished to do this, but getting planning permission has been very tough as they ares situated in a national park. Anyway, they are here now and they are very good! With more developments planned in the future. Mountain biking in Scotland has never looked so good.

Ever since I rode Ben Macdui and looked over at Braeriach, I had wanted to ride it. I had been waiting for some other people to join me for this one, but the weather was fantastic and I thought I had better just do it while I had that window open. Braeriach is the third highest mountain in the UK, and is where the river Dee begins its journey towards Aberdeen. The wells that are the source start almost at the very top of the mountain and are filtered through sand and rock, leading to what I believe to be some of the freshest water you can get in the country.

Ben More and Stob Binnein, two mountains I pass all the time, and that I've wanted to explore. The only problem is that I knew one of them was largely unrideable and the other hard to get to without going over the other. Well, I had to find out for sure, and the only way to do that was to go and try for myself.