SOMETIME EARLIER THIS YEAR, MY GOOD FRIEND MAX AND I WERE CHATTING AND PLOTTING ADVENTURES. With a penchant for hike-a-bike and steep, borderline-ridable tech, our discussion drifted north of the border, to the remote mountains of Torridon. I'd ticked off the classics here, yet always found my gaze shifting up to the lofty peaks, wondering what was hiding in the dreich Scottish mist. Max, much more familiar with the area than I was, casually mentioned the sprawling mass of the Beinn Eighe ridge. My interest was piqued.
I grabbed an OS map and things looked promising the contour lines were so densely packed in places that there was more ink than paper. Oddly, I wasn't concerned by the large section where marked paths were nonexistent. Putting the paper map to one side, I turned to the wonders of modern technology and fired up Google Earth. The 3D render confirmed just how steep the hollows flanking the ridge were, while the crude satellite overlay showed a whole heap of rock and a distinct lack of vegetation on the summit. It was too pixelated to show much detail, but a 360-degree Photo Sphere (similar to Street View, but static) taken near Kinlochewe gave a little more info, teasing what looked like a classic section of Scottish singletrack wending its way off the summit of Sgurr an Fhir Dhuibhe, alongside a stream with Scots pines scattered all around. I decided then and there that I needed to ride this trail.
Hike vs bike
The sensible way to do this would be to set out from Kinlochewe and pedal up until you can't take any more, then pick up your bike and carry it as far as you dare, before turning around to enjoy the descent. However, I have an innate distrust of out-and-back rides, preferring to either loop back to where I started or take on a point-to-point adventure, with a cunningly placed van at the finish in which to shuttle back to the start.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2022-Ausgabe von Mountain Biking UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2022-Ausgabe von Mountain Biking UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
GRIME TIME - EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE
WHEELY ANNOYING
TRAILCREW HAFOD TRAILS
We discover the delights of Wales's newest bike park, located deep in beautiful Carmarthenshire
BIKETEST ULTIMATE HIRE BIKES
We test three park-cum-DH rigs - the kind of bikes available in holiday spots like Morzine and Whistler, as well as uplift venues closer to home
SCOTT GAMBLER 910 - £4,399 A bike park-ready budget beater worth taking a chance on
This latest iteration of Scott's long-standing Gambler launched in 2019.
THE MANY FACES OF MOUNTAIN BIKING
WE HIT THE ARIZONA DESERT AS PART OF A HUGE FEMALE-LED GROUP RIDE THAT PUTS THE FOCUS ON FUN AND FRIENDSHIP
PARIS HERE WE COME!
With the 2024 Olympics in France fast coming around, we take a quick dive into the history of mountain biking at the Games, plus explain what to expect, how to watch and who to keep an eye on this year
TRANSITION SPUR XO AXS - £7,999 Can the smallest of revisions keep Transition's downcountry demon at the top of the pile?
Transition's Spur has set the benchmark for downcountry bikes since its release in 2020.
MARIN ALPINE TRAIL E2 BOSCH - £6,385 Big-battery, high-powered e-MTB for gravity fans at a (relatively) affordable price
The Alpine Trail E Bosch is Marin's first e-MTB to use a four-bar linkage suspension design and a non-Shimano motor.
PINARELLO DOGMA XC - £12,000 Designed by and for Elite racers, with a ride feel to match
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX & ONTO THE TRAILS
MBUK SUPER BIKE - #128 MATT WALKER'S SARACEN MYST
The British national downhill champ has a new ride for the 2024 race season