Just watched a few of the Dudes of Hazzard videos and think they’re truly brilliant. The one in Torridon especially just looked amazing and made me a bit peeved that I managed so little decent biking in Scotland during the 20 or so years that I lived there. The reason of course was that it was illegal to ride on all these lovely tracks and you were limited to a few there and back bridleways and fire roads. Since then (10 years ago) of course the law has changed for the better and you can ride much more. The question is, what terrible things have happened as a consequence… have lots of fluffy kittens died, has global warming increased.. can the banking crisis be blamed on the sudden increase of amazing single track that one day you weren’t allowed to ride, and the next you were.

Anyway, I digress. I was discussing this on a ride round Macclesfield Forest on Wednesday which was really really good. Previously I just didn’t “get” Macc Forest, the only rides I had done there were pretty dull and boring. It appears that the trick is to do it at night, not only do the boring bits get more interesting but most importantly the dozens of “footpath only” signs get very very hard to see, even with a decent 1000 lumen light. Very, very hard to see, especially if you have your light pointed away from the signs, or off.

So I’m thinking to myself, what is the downside to that ride? Did we meet any irate ramblers, no. Did we leave a trail of destruction in our wake, no. As far as I can see nobody suffered to counterbalance the enjoyment we got.

So I’m thinking Kinder Plateau… Wednesday night once all the ramblers have gone home. It’ll be frozen solid, pretty dry and hugely scenic. It ought to make an amazing ride.

Or am I wrong?

It’ll be frozen solid, pretty dry

Damn, it’s just started raining.

Hugely scenic in the dark?

Hugely scenic in the dark?

Depends on the moon to a large extend, but if it’s clear and you can see for miles to Manchester and all the surrounding towns and villages then I’d say it could be pretty scenic. OK, it’s not Torridon, but must be better than an evening in front of the telly.

When I climbed Kinder Downfall a few years ago at 1am on a Saturday morning it was amazingly scenic, if a little dark. A few headtorches reflecting off the ice, snowfields and drifts all over the place making the moonlight brighter etc etc.

Admittedly I wouldn’t want so much snow and ice for a bike ride, but the general principle that nights can still be scenic holds.

Crack of Dawn for that one I reckon. Could be a great ride from what I hear, hope to get it done myself at some point (love the idea of it on a frosty morning, less keen if there’s more serious snow up there).

Oh – and …
Will be a surprise to many on this forum. Access in Scotland by bike has been excellent for generations. All the LRA did was codify what was happenign in most places anyway.

Route?