My wife and I are currently pondering about spending a few months on Shetland. Is the riding good?

I’ve never been there but all I can imagine is you battling down a flat stony track into a force 10 Atlantic gale 🙂

Happy to have my mental picture shattered tho, pref with pics.

If you get the weather it can be great. We did an end to end a couple of years ago at midsummer. Quiet roads, good food and beer and watching seals surfing in the sunshine on a tombolo (look it up).

Email me if you want some pics.

Bunny-hop a pony. The Shetland ones are dead short.

Was gutted that I didn’t take my bike when I went. As the locals say though;”you get 4 seasons in a day here”……..

Some good wee roads, would happily pay a visit again with the road bike, not sure I’d bother taking the MTB, but there’s bound to be some farm tracks dotted around.

I’ve seen quite a lot of Shetland and to use words of the great General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, “Ooohhh Tally Ho!, yibbeddy dab and zing-zang spillip!”

No wait, I mean, “God, it’s a barren, featureless desert out there, isn’t it?”

No trees and very little in the way of hills. Remeniscent of the bleakest parts of the North Yorkshire Moors. Might be good on a road bike though.

didn’t find much when I was there.

(Orkney has (Old Man of)Hoy, which is quite a decent offroader if you use both ferries), also possibly IMHO [after a week on each] nicer to bimble round (more sites etc and more varied scenery, even saw some trees….).

Do Muckle Flugga, as it is the end of the world (top island, top L track) – it was quiet….

Both would be ok on a roadie, but watch out for the wind ……….

Good option to set Coast to Coast time record at Mavis Grind
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=434500&y=1168500&z=120&sv=mavis+grind&st=3&tl=Map+of+Mavis+Grind,+Shetland+Islands+&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf

By Brompton and PackRaft?

[video]http://vimeo.com/26391045[/video]

Never been myself but have always wanted to get up there. Have heard mixed reports from those who think it’s a breathtakingly beautiful place to those who think it’s a godforsaken barren wasteland.

Was planning an Orkney, Shetland, Faroes, Iceland trip when the ferries used to do those routes but alas they don’t anymore.