So I’m currently working on planning my first trip. Looking at something starting from home or not too far away and just 1 night out.
I’ve got the exped gear and experience, just not with a bike.

So a few questions - a couple about routes? I live on the Ardnamurchan peninsula near a little place called Kingairloch - kinda halfway between Ardgour and Strontian.
What do you look for in a route in terms of distance and climbs?
Also anyone got any good suggestions around that area? I’d like to stay off roads as much as possible - I’ve seen how the locals drive.

My other questions are about gear.
I have a cannondale habit 5 full sus bike. I’ve also got hold of a dry bag to go on the handlebars but don’t have any other luggage bits. Do you have any suggestions about how to pack stuff without the expensive bags?

Piemonster and I did a weekend loop from Strontian. Maybe just try a bit of it as your first time out? No point in committing to a big ride while you are still sussing out gear and luggage.


http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2017/05/ ... elled.html

Do you have any suggestions about how to pack stuff without the expensive bags?

Rucksack. You shouldn't need much stuff for a simple overnighter near home, so a pack needn't be a burden.

Sounds good.
I’ll see how I get on.
I love expeds in canoes/walking so I imagine I’ll also be a fan of bike expeds.

On our first trip (long before we'd heard of the term bikepacking) we just used rucksacks and did a route that really we could have done in an afternoon but split it over two days with a stop at a bothy. The route was Corrour station to Roy Bridge and we stopped at Meanach bothy. No need to make things complicated for yourself.

Rucksacks like the OMM mountain marathon sacks are light and about 20-25 litres which is about the same volume as you are likely to get/have with all the bikepacking soft luggage so you'll get an idea of whether you've got your kit sorted. It takes a bit of time and a few trips to get things dialled but since you say you've done canoe trips you've got a head start in cutting things down

Good spot to live!
You could try the single track coast path round to glensanda Quarry and report back
Plenty easy track riding (and an MBA bothy) on Mull so maybe a good first trip option. The track up the side of loch shiel is easy and scenic (the climb out of strontian isn't!) plus Resourie Bothy is in the woods above Polloch so got to be worth a look.
Bar roll and rucksack is a good shout on a bouncer

Yeah, a kinda OK place to live I guess.

If you are already used to sleeping out. And used to the kit you’ll be sleeping out in then a short local trip will (hopefully!) be with in your comfort zone.

Of course there is several ways to ‘plan’ an outing.

1, detailed thought about ground conditions, ascent per mile, speed over those. How long you want to be out, resupply points. Shelter - bivy? Bothy? Packing from lists to accommodate food and shelter needs based on assumptions from the above.

2, put some kit that you trust in bag/s. Ride, eat, sleep etc. Then go home.

I think the thing I like most about this sort of caper is that there’s no correct answer. I’ve had such great experiences using both approaches (I do tend to go with more of option 1) but after several years of playing like this I’d say that I find sometimes the hardest part of a trip is actually commuting to getting out the front door.

Once that’s happened things tend to work out for the best.

Another question for you all.

Has anyone got any experience of bikepacking with a dog?
We have an 18 month old collie and wondering whether it would work for her to come with me

m_kittle wrote:Another question for you all.

Has anyone got any experience of bikepacking with a dog?
We have an 18 month old collie and wondering whether it would work for her to come with me

No experience bikepacking, but mountain biking in general

-My lab was able to handle about 7 miles before getting tired. This was without training. He was always knackered for a day after.
-Cutting paw pads on sharp rocks was a big problem. The sort you find on most single-track. There are shoes available but they are pricey and it's a case of whether your dog would get on with them.
-You'll have to carry the dog's food (and water depending on conditions). A bit more than he or she would usually eat.
-I cut an old multimat in half to take camping for my dog. If it's cold an old blanket(he gets muddy).
-if the dog gets injured (think sliced paw pads) it's not going to be able to walk home, can you carry/ get a lift for your dog and your bike out?
-do you have farms to go through? He'll/she'll need to be on a lead.

After several day trips mine was diagnosed with elbow displacia. So that put and end to it.

I don't mean to sound negative, there's a lot to think about. In my experience it's best kept to short MTB day trips somewhere grassy/muddy.

Cheers, some good things to think about there.
We’ve done camping with her and she’s done a few miles with the bike.
I think I’ll leave her behind for now and see how I get on by myself first.

Thanks for all the advice everyone - looking forward to getting out and putting it to good use.

It's not just farm animals that can be a problem with dogs. Ground nesting birds can also be disturbed.

What do you look for in a route in terms of distance and climbs?

Can I just say I don’t think this matters. For some it’s a trip out if it’s 5km from the pub, some will cross a continent or more!

Smiles are worth more than miles.

It's not just farm animals that can be a problem with dogs. Ground nesting birds can also be disturbed.

I’m also going through this (and yeh, buying a working stock gun dog was a brilliant idea of mine ) and assuming the Collie is in good fitness I don’t see why not at least for shorter routes. Dogs will struggle with a high average pace over an extended distance, so a (genuinely) long fast fire road descent or similar can knacker even a working dog, but slow speed techy stuff will be fine.

I’m taking our 9 month old pup down the gun dog training route, or at least principles of it in order to create the impulse control I’ll need to safely manage him around livestock and wildlife (at this stage I’ve certainly got my work cut out ). I am to be fair, more thinking of hill running with my dog, too much road involved with most of my riding to be a regular thing.