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[Closed] 2014 - A (Good) Year in Mountains

munrobiker · 2014-12-05T13:14:56Z

2014 is drawing to a close and now feels as good a time as any for my annual review of exciting things I've carried my bike up. The previous year's entries are here, sorry most of the pictures have gone from the old ones-http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2011-a-year-in-mountainshttp://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2013-a-quiet-year-in-mountains 2013 wasn't a successful year following a bumpy start and a loss of enthusiasm following the death of my old racing partner in an avalanche in Glencoe. Reviewing it made me realise that moping wasn't the right way to carry on and so I decided to make a real effort in 2014 to make the most of what was available instead of wasting my life sitting at home. As a result I've crammed in more big mountain rides than before and it's been a real year to remember. In spite of moving even further south to Derbyshire I've made the trips north and west more regularly than before. I've tried not to repeat old trails and so only four of the entries below cover old routes. It's been an especially good year and I really hope to repeat it next year. I've put up more photos online this year, if you click the title of each section you'll see a much bigger selection. Also, by way of thanks for fundraising for Mountain Rescue, Chris's family passed his GoPro on to me and so I've made a video of this year's efforts. I've not made a video edit before so it's not very polished but I hope you like it. If you switch it to the highest resolution it doesn't look too bad, or I’ve embedded a low-res YouTube. The year started surprisingly early. I had set out to ride in the Peak District with friends in early March but arrived 15 minutes late and they'd gone. The sun was blazing and my wife was away for the weekend and I thought, well, sod it, why not? I arrived at Llanberis at about 2pm and set off up, but as is the way with Wales the weather, which was beautiful across the rest of the country, was grim. It was cloudy lower down but as I got towards the turn off for the Ranger's path a blizzard rolled in. Being foolhardy in the mountains isn't my thing, and at this point I was still nervous of snow following last year's incident. I'd planned to have a crack at Ranger's as it's been a while since I did it and as I was solo something familiar seemed safer but the snow on the ground, snow fall and wind meant even that wasn't possible so I turned back. I'd written off the Llanberis route but it actually turned out to be pretty good fun. It's not hard by any stretch of the imagination but it'd be a great introduction to big mountains. If you're a seasoned big mountain rider though, other than a jolly day out, it doesn't offer much. [img[img[img[urlIdris[/url] I stopped in the Ranger's YHA and despite horrendous rain the next morning it seemed a shame to head home when there were mountains to be ridden. Learning from yesterday's experience I kept it simple and small and had a second crack at Cadair Idris. The rain made a real difference to this ride- the middle third is on grass and traction was minimal, making for a really exciting slip and slide down the mountain side. It seemed the perfect time to do this otherwise relatively straightforward mountain. [img[img[img[urlFast forward a few months and better weather meant it was time to head north. Dumyat was a fun introduction to what Scotland has to offer for the year. Situated on the edge of Stirling this is a hill which rides like a big mountain with exceptional views of the central belt. The climb is pretty easy while the descent is varied an interesting. It starts open and grassy with lines switching between slightly rocky ruts before a more severe central section. After more full-tilt grass the descent plunges into the woods, sliding between rhododendrons and over steep, slippy roots. Great fun and thoroughly recommended. [img[img[img[urlBan Mhor[/url] We rode this as part of a larger loop taking in Glen Feshie from Braemar. The ride from Braemar to Glen Feshie is a funny bit of the Highlands- bleak and relatively flat with little respite. Old huts and tracks hint at the former use of the area, which hides some gems like a hidden waterfall. It then descends into the rather lovely Glen Feshie, made more interesting by following the singletracks that split off the fireroad before rejoining it. Emerging from a fast and precipitous trail hugging the steep hillside to the valley floor we had lunch (including a bag of Tangfastics made up entirely of crocodiles- what're the chances?) to fuel up before taking on Carn Ban Mhor. This was a former favourite of ours but has been recently resurfaced. It did seem a shame to be going past the foot of it so we decided to have a go. The resurfacing has removed a lot of the original appeal of the trail. The upper section is as it was, and for the first time up there we had a view of the stunning surrounding area. The lower trail is now smooth and littered with waterbars, but it is fast and exciting in a twi...

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munrobiker

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Hi Wilde86, glad it's made such a difference. Even posting and writing the threads can keep me motivated when I'm not feeling too bothered by bikes, which is where I was at the start of last year. Then I wrote last year's thread, thought "those were great trails" and strove to do it more and I think it's helped contribute to one of the happiest years I've had as a proper grown up.

The memory of all the trails in Scotland earlier in the year is still very fresh in my mind, it was such good fun. We're doing it again this year.

Posted : 12/01/2015 1:22 pm

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