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800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 2:52 pm
by Bearbonesnorm

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:05 pm
by ScotRoutes
low traffic minor roads
I'll have a good look at the route later but I'm not expecting any surprises on the Scottish section. Most of the existing long distance routes seem to have chosen the same options.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:07 pm
by gairym
Do we know if there any consistency in trail type or is it just a mixed bag meaning that realistically you'd be best off to ride a MTB for those sections that need it and then be a bit slower on the rest?

Definitely piqued my interest.....

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:09 pm
by Taylor
Sounds/looks like a mixed bag gairy.

There's a boner in the video too,

https://youtu.be/KoCqSki-wIM

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:11 pm
by middleagedmadness
Could be some of my work leave is now occupied ,would just need to look at the logistics of either getting to Scotland or getting back from there ,other than that it looks like a great way to spend a fortnight bimbling along :-bd

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:16 pm
by gairym
Taylor wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:09 pm Sounds/looks like a mixed bag gairy.

There's a boner in the video too,

https://youtu.be/KoCqSki-wIM
Oooh, looks good.

I reckon my 'Monster Cross™' could handle everything I could see in the video :-bd

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:10 pm
by Mike
Fairplay to em, id be interested in a ride from my front door to the start of it... be a good long trip that

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:34 pm
by ScotRoutes
They've chosen a track East from the Crask Inn that I've been wondering about trying to fit into a Flow Country tour. I'll likely be trying it out next month.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 9:16 pm
by composite
When would people be thinking that this could be a goer?

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 9:25 pm
by middleagedmadness
If I can it wouldn't be till the first 2weeks in June next year mate ,but as I'm slow I'll be riding on my own anyhows :lol:

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 1:52 pm
by JoseMcTavish
ScotRoutes wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:34 pm They've chosen a track East from the Crask Inn that I've been wondering about trying to fit into a Flow Country tour. I'll likely be trying it out next month.
It wasn't too bad when I passed through in a dry summer - bit of a carry at the Bealach and probably a nice descent down to the loch from there if heading East. Was an okay climb when done in reverse. Some pics:

End of Loch Choire
Image

Loch a Bhealaich
Image

Image

Nearing the bealach
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Pushy bit
Image

Image

Crask in the distance
Image

Image

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 2:37 pm
by fatbikerbill
ace photos.

Quite a logistical or expensive nightmare to organise - unless you ride there & back !

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:29 pm
by ScotRoutes
Photos look reassuring. I was also thinking westbound. Ta.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:40 pm
by JoseMcTavish
Nae bother, should be a nice section of your ride - I love that bit of the North!

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:39 pm
by fatbikephil
JoseMcTavish wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:40 pm Nae bother, should be a nice section of your ride - I love that bit of the North!
Good effort, looks better than what I'd figured, another one to the list! The rest of the route looks pretty much as per the GB duro north of Callander with similar bits south of the Pentlands.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 8:21 pm
by Pirahna
I always fancied seeing Cape Wrath, it's only £196 on the train from London with a 60 mile ride at the end.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:06 pm
by Gregsie
Tempting because it starts not far from home.

Just getting a couple of weeks free that's the issue.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:28 am
by FLV
The bottom section is simply the pennine bridleway.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:33 am
by Bearbonesnorm
The bottom section is simply the pennine bridleway.
It's funny that (especially on fb) people have become quite excited about this 'new' route which in reality is simply sections of existing routes joined together. I realise that it took some time to connect them but anyone could have done it at any time.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:44 am
by ScotRoutes
Bearbonesnorm wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:33 am
The bottom section is simply the pennine bridleway.
It's funny that (especially on fb) people have become quite excited about this 'new' route which in reality is simply sections of existing routes joined together. I realise that it took some time to connect them but anyone could have done it at any time.
See NC500, HT550 etc etc etc.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:59 am
by whitestone
The original intention of the Pennine Bridleway was to get to the Scottish border or thereabouts but they ran out of money just short of Kirkby Stephen. I'm not sure of the proposed route north of there but it's probably not dissimilar to that taken by this route.

The PBW money wasn't just putting in gates and all weather trail surfaces but there were the costs of getting entirely new sections of bridleway agreed with landowners to link up with existing sections. So you have sections of trail right next to a quiet lane, just so that it's "off-road". Incidentally the BW that this route takes from Pendragon Castle to Kirkby Stephen is better than the PBW route going up and over Wild Boar Fell.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:40 pm
by Chew
Its a good thing that someone has started to pull something like this together, but i'd be interested to know if anyone has ridden the route yet, or if its been a desktop exercise.

Aware that the Yorkshire section follows the PBW, but it wouldnt be the route i'd follow and there are much better route options, especially the Calderdale portion

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:43 pm
by Ray Young
^^^ Not the route I'd take through the Pentland Hills either and the canal from Edinburgh to Glasgow has some very pretty bits but boy does the flat riding get tedious.

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:45 pm
by Bearbonesnorm
Does this make up the bulk of the Scottish bit from Glasgow onwards?

https://www.anturasmor.co.uk/about

Re: 800 miles, 98% off road - anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:02 pm
by fatbikephil
Bearbonesnorm wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:45 pm Does this make up the bulk of the Scottish bit from Glasgow onwards?

https://www.anturasmor.co.uk/about
Looks like it (the pic on the front page is one of the thousand puddles on the Orrin res track)
Chew wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:40 pm Its a good thing that someone has started to pull something like this together, but i'd be interested to know if anyone has ridden the route yet, or if its been a desktop exercise.

Aware that the Yorkshire section follows the PBW, but it wouldnt be the route i'd follow and there are much better route options, especially the Calderdale portion
Couple of bits of the GPX track are following whats on OS rather than on the ground so looks like its not a 'ridden' track. That said, its all been ridden so should be no bother following it.