Danny MacAskill & Steve Peat Ride the Trotternish Ridge

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by Hannah Dobson February 22, 2024 41

A new video from Danny Mac and Peaty… probably quite good then? We note it’s subtitled. Probably needs a whole glossary to be honest. Spracheling, faffing… no, these are real words and it’s not just whisky induced gobbledegook!

Danny MacAskill is happiest when his friends are having fun. Which is why he invited Steve Peat up to the Isle of Skye, Danny’s homeland, to show him the fun that can be had on a ridgeline rollick. The Trotternish Ridge is an epic route that links together multiple summits starting at the Quiraing and finishing at the Old Man of Storr, two stunning geographical landmarks that bookend the plateau.

But, as is common with all rides with mates, much ‘spracheling occurs. Spracheling, as you’ll learn in this film, is how Danny describes the kind of time-consuming detours and incidents that delay or increase the length of a ride. Forgotten equipment, mechanicals, stops to change layers, needing ‘another’ coffee or swig from a flask, confused directions, and lost folks. It’s this kind of low level mayhem that makes a ride all the more fun with friends.

Of course, there’s a nice collection of photos to go with it. Have yourself a gallery. Images by Dave Mackison.

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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This topic has 41 replies, 35 voices, and was last updated 2 months ago by billabong987.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 41 total)

Danny MacAskill & Steve Peat Ride the Trotternish Ridge
thegeneralist
Free Member

Started watching, but stopped as the subtitles are so offensive

Posted 2 months ago

Pauly
Full Member

“ Danny MacAskill is happiest when his friends are having fun. Which is why he invited Steve Peat up to the Isle of Skye”

Does anybody believe this or is it just regurgitated marketing bollocks?

Posted 2 months ago

rascal
Free Member

Loved that!

Posted 2 months ago

richardkennerley
Full Member

Nice views and that bit couldn’t they just knock off the swearing? They must appreciate that Danny appeals to young ‘uns

Posted 2 months ago

Houns
Full Member

**** off

Posted 2 months ago

bedmaker
Full Member

Nice.
That’s on the list on the fatbike this summer, overnight in fine weather hopefully 🤞

Posted 2 months ago

martib
Full Member

You know it would be a tough day out if the likes of Danny Mac & Peaty are finding it hard work.
The Isle of Skye is a stunning place to be, in the right weather.

Posted 2 months ago

ahsat
Full Member

“Started watching, but stopped as the subtitles are so offensive”

Just don’t watch them if you don’t need them for accessibility reasons! If you run the close captioning integrated into YouTube over the top of it you’ll see it makes a total hash of picking up the Scottish words and general gibberish through the weather/helmet. I think it has just been done to make it more accessible – and why not.

Posted 2 months ago

scuttler
Full Member

V. pretty

Posted 2 months ago

Joe
Full Member

Boring. The big boys are really pushing the e-bikes.

Posted 2 months ago

chickenman
Full Member

Great video. I really like swearing, shame there wasn’t more of it!

Posted 2 months ago

scotroutes
Full Member

I’ve long entertained the notion of doing this as a 2-day backpacking expedition, though it might just work as a long day run.

Posted 2 months ago

rickon
Free Member

Are there people who ride bikes that don’t know what faffing means?!

Posted 2 months ago

davidd
Full Member

I really enjoyed that. It looked great, it made me laugh, and it made me want to ride my bike.

Posted 2 months ago

matt_outandabout
Full Member

Beautiful place

Posted 2 months ago

stevedoc
Free Member

Made me smile and didnt make me buy an ebike Made me wonder would it be doable in April when Im up there on a naturally aspirated bike.

Posted 2 months ago

FunkyDunc
Free Member

They must appreciate that Danny appeals to young ‘uns

How many ‘young uns’ do you know who can afford a Santa Cruz

Stunning scenery etc etc

Best bit was the local bag piper at the end

Found the swearing and drinking a bit of an odd marketing strategy but that’s maybe people who drive Audis like?

Posted 2 months ago

grimep
Free Member

Got bored after a few minutes, not really interested in motor bikes and can’t afford Santa Cruz

Posted 2 months ago

scuttler
Full Member

If you can’t get beyond the swearing and use of electricity, and appreciate the atmosphere of a winter day in the Highlands and Islands, well then there is no pleasing you.

Posted 2 months ago

dovebiker
Full Member

If folks are really offended by the language on this, suggest they don’t visit a kid’s playground soon 🤣

Don’t think the video really portrays the difficulty of the terrain – the cold temperatures make for frozen ground and less peat bog. Likewise, these are professional riders on well set-up bike finding descents challenging – your average STW ‘trail god’ would be mincing it.

Posted 2 months ago

elray89
Free Member

That made me want to ride my bike with my mates – mission accomplished. Cool video! I’ve walked the Trotternish ridge in parts and whilst it is absolutely breathtaking I wouldn’t ever want to take my acoustic bike along it haha. Surprised there isn’t more of an established path just through wear tbh, what with all the huge amounts of tourism Skye is having the past decade.

Also – why so much chat about the subtitles? It’s not like Danny has an impenetrable accent – surely anyone from the UK can just understand this normally? Faffing is a pretty common word…

Posted 2 months ago

hooli
Full Member

I enjoyed that, great scenery and hard not to enjoy watching 2 friends having fun on bikes.

For the comments about it being a terrible video as kids might watch it, trust me, your kids have heard far worse that F£$k and sheiiiite and seen worse than a bloke having a sip from a hipflask. For any kid whose development may have been stunted by seeing this, there will be hundreds more who are inspired to get out and see things while having fun on bikes. Doesn’t have to be ebikes or Santa Cruz ebikes either.

Posted 2 months ago

robola
Full Member

Surprised there isn’t more of an established path just through wear tbh, what with all the huge amounts of tourism Skye is having the past decade.

My experience is that once you are about 250 metres from a car park the numbers drop off dramatically.

Posted 2 months ago

HoratioHufnagel
Free Member

FINALLY!!! People from the north have subtitles.

Great to finally understand the bants.

Posted 2 months ago

tjagain
Full Member

I just found that a bit dull. Looked like they were having fun and lovely scenery but just a bit “meh”

Posted 2 months ago

oscillatewildly
Free Member

I genuinely turn off any video I see with a ebike – even if I don’t spot it at first – every time mctrailrider etc swaps to his ebike I just skip those videos

They do nothing for me, there’s no relation to what I do I might as well watch a video of someone walking the same route

Shame it’s probably a great watch with great scenery if it wasn’t on one of them

Posted 2 months ago

thegeneralist
Free Member

So… Pleasant watch. Lovely scenery and weather

But the riding looks very meh TBH. As Mac himself says it’s only really worth it on an eeb.
For huge portions of the video they weren’t actually following a line, just ploughing through frozen bogs and tussock grass.

I’m always up for a riding challenge, but it’d got you have a good micro line as well a good macro one.
Doing that on a bike just looks unpleasant.

And as for the ” great climbing challenge bit”…. what’s he on about, he’s got a motor … Not like he’s following a path or anything.

But regardless, good video, great scenery, but sooner him on his eeb than me

Posted 2 months ago

chrismac
Full Member

Ebike marketing nonesense from a stunning place

Posted 2 months ago

weeksy
Full Member

looks like an awesome trip with mates messing about having fun.. what’s not to like 😀

Posted 2 months ago

jonjones262
Free Member

amazing place, no doubt but couldn’t get past the “what setting’s your bike on?” sneaky e-bike comments

Posted 2 months ago

Marin
Free Member

Nice video, good reason to buy an ebike.

Posted 2 months ago

kayak23
Full Member

Wow. The miserableists are in full force. 😂

Absolutely stunning place and two great characters.. Must go there some day. 😍

Posted 2 months ago

kelvin
Full Member

Beautiful.

Easy to ignore all the talk of bars left and what mode are you in… just like any ride when other riders are on ebikes.

Posted 2 months ago

thegeneralist
Free Member

OS App seems to suggest 1850hm and 28km for the road to road, which seems to support the view that the riding surface is pretty grim.

Southern end seemed to have reasonable path on it though.

Posted 2 months ago

scotroutes
Full Member

Some more details here…

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye/trotternishridge.shtml

Posted 2 months ago

bedmaker
Full Member

1850hm and 28km for the road to road, which seems to support the view that the riding surface is pretty grim

Yeah, I’ve walked part of it and I think lots of it would be pretty boggy most of the time.
My plan is to wait for a dry spell and do it on the fatty, when the surface is spongy but not too soft.

LOL at the tourist comment above 🙂
Aside from the fairy pools and the old man, if you self propel yourself more than five minutes from a road you won’t see many folk looking for the perfect insta shot…
I rode out of a huge throng of Chinese tourists from Sligachan a while back, out to Sgurr nan Stri, and hardly saw another soul the rest of the day. They are mostly diving off a bus for pics of the old bridge then on to see Nessie or whatever.

Posted 2 months ago

richardkennerley
Full Member

Just to be clear, I’m not offended by the language, nor do we wrap my daughter in cotton wool and let’s not blow this out of proportion, it wasn’t meant to be taken that seriously (he says as he continues to flog the conversation….!)

But she’s 7, been watching Danny Mac videos since she was 3 or so, because they’re mostly pretty family friendly, I’m not talking about a teenage kid watching it. She was actually counting up the swears and asked “why did that one have an e on the end of it, does that make it worse?” 🤣

Posted 2 months ago

scotroutes
Full Member

“why did that one have an e on the end of it, does that make it worse?”

Yep. The extra “e” makes it worse. Just like bike and ebike.

Posted 2 months ago

anniemacaskill
Free Member

You obviously don’t know him to suggest that. This is relating to him being happiest when his friends are having fun and regurgitated marketing bollocks.

Posted 2 months ago

vlad_the_invader
Full Member

This is relating to him being happiest when his friends are having fun and regurgitated marketing bollocks.

Tell your Danny to wash his mouth out with soap as he’s a very naughty boy!😀😀😀

Posted 2 months ago

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