RECHARGED

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A PROPER MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE TO GET YOU BUZZING, NO MATTER WHAT LIFE THROWS AT YOU

- Nils Amelinckx

The Scotsman's concern about our plans startled us. According to him, riding to, or anywhere near, the 1,103m (3,619ft) summit of Beinn Ghlas was completely off the cards. Well-versed at riding in mountainous terrain and familiar with the microclimates that can be encountered, we took him at his word and reluctantly turned back. It later turned out that this local hero had helped mountain rescue teams guide two separate walking parties to safety earlier that day.

The finely-graded access path on the northern flanks of the mountain is usually perfectly pedalable, but had missed out on any direct sunshine all winter. Unseasonably warm freeze-thaw conditions had compressed the snow into thick slabs of sheet ice, causing the inexperienced hikers to take an involuntary slide down the side of the hill. They were lucky to walk away unscathed. We, meanwhile, were left deflated at having to change our carefully orchestrated plans. Retreating to our vans, we began to pore over maps, idly tracing dotted lines with our fingers, wondering if those trails might prove more ridable.

POINT NORTH FOR ADVENTURE

Much happier picking natural lines through scree-strewn bedrock than I am linking up perfectly-sculpted trail centre berms, you'd think that living on the fringes of the Lake District would provide ample mountainous riding to sate my unabating hunger for adventure. However, while the local terrain is suitably mountainous, the number of legally rideable trails is limited, and many of the bridleways are becoming rapidly 'sanitised' or simply circumnavigate the most promising riding altogether.