[Closed] Two Swedes are going MTB in Scotland. Suggestions anyone?

two female swedish mountain bikers, you say? i'm no expert on the area but allow me to volunteer to act as a "guide". 🙂

It is pretty good up here, are you looking for trail centres or a natural riding, or a mixture? Theres a few on here who can advise on natural trails (not me, not been here long enough to find them!). But if you have 2 weeks and a car you have lots of options.

Check out the breakpad www.thebreakpad.com they do bike hire and are based at Kirroughtree which in itself a trail worth riding.

Two female mountain bikers who are also Swedish.

That's pretty much ticked all my fantasy boxes...

Anyway, peurile blokishness aside, you'll find some ideas for some more adventurous bike rides [url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartie_c/sets/72157600031186467/detail/ ]here[/url]. Email in profile if you want more details on any of the routes.

It is SO VERY worth going North. Go to Golspie and Balblair and stay in Sleeperzzz in Rogart (google is your friend!).

I'd certainly offer to show you round, but unfortunately I'll be away until the end of the month, killing myself in the Transalp.

Enjoy!

Hej!

There are always threads on here about where to ride in Scotland. If you say what kind of riding you're looking for (the terrain, scenery etc...) and level (technical and physical) then you'll find plenty of suggestions all across the country, as well as the south. The best bet is to have a number of options and wait to see what happens with the weather then plan accordingly.

My girlfriend is Swedish, and when I took here for her first biking and climbing trip round Scotland I designed a trip that I thought would convince her that Scotland was better than Moder Svea. That included riding in some of my favourite places in Perthshire, the Cairngorms, Torridon, Applecross, Skye and the Glencoe area, including a mixture of forest, mountain, and coastal/beach riding at a level that was fun for both of us. If we had had longer than 10 days and more money I would also have included Harris and the Borders, but as it was, (I think) it helped to convert her a little. Since then we've been other places, including the south (and Glentress/Innerliethen- which is definitely fun, and my other Nordisk kompisar have all loved it).

The areas above make a nice tour of the Eastern Highlands and the West Coast, in some of the more spectacular but accessible mountain areas, and you could easily stay longer on one side or the other, depending on the weather. We camped all the time, but you could use hostels or B&Bs in most areas.

We're having a few days off in a couple of weeks, so if you'd like some company for a day somewhere, we might be able to show you somewhere interesting. I'm trying to plan the reverse at the moment, a cykeltur in the fjällhöga nord, so maybe we could exchange some tips?

Anyway, hålla tummarna för vädret, och lycka till med planering. Om ni har frågor eller behöver hjalp med nåt mejla mig (i profil)!

Yup, need to know what type of riding you want. You must get up north and away from the trail centres to experience real Scottish mountain biking and the best of the scenery. A really good base would be Aviemore - more biking of all kinds around the Cairngorms than you could do in 2 weeks, and you are really central to get almost anywhere for day rides

Glentress and Innerleithen are both very good trail centres. If possible try and get over to Dumfries and Galloway area, the rest of the 7 Stanes trail centres are mostly round there and Kirroughtree is definitely worth a visit.

Natural stuff - you're spoilt for choice in Scotland! Aviemore/Cairngorms both excellent. Remember to pack the midge repellent!

Hi Maria (waves). Me and my friend SimonFBarnes will be in Glasgow on the day you land and by coincidence we also would like to participate in a great deal of riding in Scotland. We would be more than glad to assist you and help you ride alot.

I would suggest heading straight for Kirroughtree as you are arriving on that side of the country. Overnight at the Breakpad.

Then over to Glentress/Innerleithen for a couple of days, staying in Peebles.

After that head North for some natural riding or up to Golspie and the other Moray trails if you have the time. You could also stop in at Laggan on the way.

Bike hire from the Breakpad, The Hub at Glentress, Alpine bikes at Innerleithen and also at Laggan.

There is a link at the top of this page for the Singletrack Trail Guide with lots of good info.

Just some ideas.

You can rent bikes at Glentress. I think you can also rent bikes at bothy bikes near avimore but I am not sure.

If you are going to be in Scotland for a week only I would suggest a couple of days in the Glentress area, and the rest further north. Perhaps two areas i the north - around Avimore and around fort william.

to advise on routes I need to know what sort of routes you want. Many of the classic scottish "natural" routes involve a bit of walking with your bike. How many KM in a day and how difficult for the routes?

I'm not that well travelled, but Innerleithen is brilliant, well worth the trip from glentress seeing as how it's about 5 miles away 🙂

Oh Maria, worth remembering (if you don't know) that 5 miles (UK) is 0,5 mil (SE (typ)). Road signs are in miles, maps measure in km. We are that progressive.

i'm in NE Scotland............

loads and loads of opportunities here.

Is this thread a windup? It's just that I remember on another forum someone got banned, then came back as a woman and duped the assembled geeks for a long while.

If not, you might be cheaper hiring a bike for a fortnight as opposed to hiring several times in different places.

I have two FS bikes for hire, www.cosybike.co.uk/bicyclehire.html

Could do a deal for two weeks.

I have two mean Hombres for you. Batteries not required 8)

I wonder if Miss Stumpjumper is actually a bricklayer from Birmingham?

[img] [/img]

Hej!

First of all, yes we [b]are female MTBers. There are quite a few of them here. 🙂

Thanks to all of you for GREAT tips! (And for guiding offers.) It helps a lot. We've actually been talking about the area around Glencoe/Fort William and Aviemore, because we heard there was epic biking there. So maybe we will start in Glentress/Innerleithen, then continue north? That is, if there is enough time and if we manage to drive on the wrong side of the road... Thinking of how many opportunities there are, I guess I'll have to return to Scotland many times for MTBing.

Oh, we're mainly looking for singletracks. We don't mind some technical challenges (not too much though) and prefer tracks that are quite physically demanding, so that you deserve a beer at the pub at night. 😉

Crouch potato: your girlfriend is very lucky! Sounds like she got the perfect introduction to Scothish biking and climbing. Moder Svea offers some really nice biking as well. F ex, two weeks ago we went to Säfsen in Dalarna. Try that out when you're here. Also, you can go to Funäsdalen or Åre. They're both in Norrland and I've only been there in the winter, but biking there is supposed to be great. For downhill there is another place in Dalarna named Gesunda. Sälen offers biking as well... and so on... There are several places all around Sweden. When are you going to fjällhöga nord? Where about in Scotland do yo live? We will be in Scotland 23-30 July (too short...). We learnt at school that 1 mile = 1,609 km. I did not know that maps were in km though. Maybe time to make a decision? 😉

//Maria

There is a line in that last post suggests that you are not swedish.

Maria (femle biker here too), I can recommend the Northern trail centres, as others above have said.
Fort William-Witches trail,
Moray monster trails,
Learnie red rock,
Kyle of Carbisdale,
Golspie,
Laggan-wolftrax.
These are all signposted and have varying degrees of difficulty.

Have fun.

Thanks Bunnyhop!

Smee, for one of the few times in my life I find myself agreeing with you. ALways happy to be proven wrong, mind.

mcmoonter - Member

I wonder if Miss Stumpjumper is actually a bricklayer from Birmingham?

I was actually thinking of a small, dark-skinned chap from Londinium

What can I do to prove that I AM a Swede from Gothenburg and not a bricklayer from Birmingham?

I was actually thinking of a small, dark-skinned chap from Londinium

Nah - he's coming back as "Todd Unctuous"

The crounch potato can confirm my origin. Or his girlfriend. Eller hur!?

Sounds like Brummie to me, gleaned from Swedish cinema.

Miss Stumpjumper - Member

What can I do to prove that I AM a Swede from Gothenburg and not a bricklayer from Birmingham?

When did they move Christmas to July?

What's the name of the museum in Stockholm based around a sunk ship?

[i]What's the name of the museum in Stockholm based around a sunk ship? [/i]

Anyone who's been to Stockholm knows that and besides it's all of 30 seconds work on Google to find it!
Trust me on this, she's genuine. 😉

Jimmy: don't really get what you mean? Christmas = jul in Swedish or what?
Stuartie_c: Easy peasy: Wasamuséet or the Wasa Museum, well worth a visit!crazy-legs: Thanks, you're my hero. 🙂

Hi!

In two weeks we (Maria and Jennie) are going MTB in Scotland

May I be the first to ask for pics please 🙂
Email in profile 😉

Miss Stumpjumper,

Pics please ...

😛

Maria aka Miss Stumpjumper has also posted on the Swedish equivalent of STW asking for info about riding in Scotland.

http://happymtb.org/forum/read.php/1/1179834

Why do people think its a guy pretending to be a women?

BTW, I'm in Göteborg, so I can check to verify gender if need be 😉

seems like Glentress will be overrun in a few weeks then 😯

ms Stumpjumper - please ignore the testosterone exuding from some on here.

I would suggest a mix of trail centres and "natural trails"

want some further route advice - e mail me - jeremyDOTpascoeATbtinternetDOTcom ( change the capitals to the obvious)

On a serious note...
Kirroughtree and/or Drumlanrig will do the job.

..."want some further route advice - e mail me - jeremy ..."

LOL! @ email ...

😈

chewk - why so funny? I am a middleaged man content in my life and relationships

just trying to help folk out and avoid the reek of testosterone on this thread

if you're flying into Prestwick, I would recommend missing out Glentress and drive up the West Coast to Glencoe/Fort William. I think you can hire bikes in Alpine Bikes in Glasgow- if not you will be able to hire them in Off-Beat bikes in Fort William.

Fantastic riding up there with a good mixture of natural and man made trails which easliy beats anything Glentress has to offer. From there up to Torridon for a couple of days and then over to Aviemore.

Aviemore has reasonable bike shops and the folks will be able to advise of good routes.

Kenny Wilson's book Mountain Bike Scotland is a good starting point. (although I've found some of the routes to be painful MXCT)

It's worth posting on here when you've got a rough idea of where you're going to visit.

PS Get some midgie protection.

[i]PS Get some midgie protection. [/i]

And disguise yourselves as Brummie bricklayers if you want a peaceful trip.
Hejdor!

Vad heter den starkrest björn i välden och hans fiende så ni kan prova ni är svensk? Jag bara skoja ocj hoppas min svenska är inte så dålig. Hoppas ni har en bra tid men aktar sig för scotta som inte se så många kvinnor. Lika till.

From Prestiwck airport, I would second the recommendation not to head straight for Glentress - if you want trail centres, head south to Kirroughtree (near Newton Stewart) or prefreably, head north to Fort William and the more northerly trail centres and natural riding

I have just spend a week in Scotland and can't recommend it enough.
I stayed in Aviemore. Good advice can be asked at bothy bikes. I have the maps they sell and could probably post them to you if you promise either to post them back, or to post them to someone else on here that may need them.
I think Laggan is worth a trip too as they rent bikes as well and it's not too far from Aviemore.
Drop me a line if you want me to post you the map. As jeremy said, keeping an eye open on the forum for Scottish rides might be worth it.

But again Scotland is very good. Need more switchback though 😉

aktar sig för scotta som inte se så många kvinnor

If you are looking to hire bikes, the trail centres in the south have local shops, and typically will cost around £20-30 per day for a hardtail. In the Higlands there are fewer towns and less options, but there are good shops (t.ex) in Aviemore and Fort William (the Scottish equivalents of sälen and åre- Fort William also has a gondola (kabinban) and 2 good downhill tracks), and one in Strathpuffer if you go that far north (good for the other trail centres (ie designed for bikes) that Bunnyhop mentioned. I'm not sure if it is cheaper to pick up a bike for the week at the first place you visit, rather than travel round and hyring a new one each day though...

Your plan of riding in the south (7 Stanes), Mid-West (Glencoe/Lochaber/Fort William) and Cairngorm areas seems live it gives plenty of variety and options for just over a week's riding. I'd still recommend somewhere further north or on one of the islands if you have the chance, but for a short trip it might be tricky. Still you can always come back.

Try here:

[url] http://www.scottishmountainbike.com/ [/url]

This gives you a map and list of the man made trail centres.

If I was doing a Scotland Trip I would probably plan around the man made trail centres and then plan some wild natural routes from there (best source of info for natural routes is the local bike shop). The trail centres tend to be mostly in forest, so on wet and windy days they are sheltered, they are also sign posted, so no need for map reading.

Fort William/Glencoe is definitely worth visiting.
[url] http://www.nevisrange.co.uk/ [/url]

Maria,
what did I tell you? See us men are weak and predictable. Have fun, I'm off to Gothenburg this weekend

En andra röst för Fort William här! 'The Witches Trail' är jätte god, tycker jag.

@ couch_potato - [i]"Men de som interessera sig så jattemycket av den har thread ar ju typiska engelskmannen eller hur?"[/i] Precis!

Lycka till!

Yes Zarquon, you were so right! Very entertaining. 😆 Everyone else: it was Zarquon that recommended me to try this site, and this is what he wrote on the Swedish equivalent (happymtb.org), where I first published a thread: "If you speak English try the folks on here www.singletrackworld.com who will be falling all over themselves to help you, particularly if they find out you are female and Swedish." Hahaha!

Anywho, in addition to a big laugh I have received great tips and information from a lot of people, and we now have a really good idea of where to go. Thanks again everybody. 🙂

//Maria aka Miss S aka The Bricklayer

Bricklayer, if you post up your route and timetable, you may find folks on here going in the same direction that could offer you a lift.

Hi Miss Stumpjumper, hope you have a great time. I've been thinking about going to Sweden, If you have any tips for riding (single track), or web sites.Only found Are so far, but enjoy hols first.
Cheer baa

Thanks mcmoonter, but we're renting a car. I'm just about to renting it, just going to decide what car company to rent from and what car to rent. So keep an eye for a car with driving problems - you drive on the wrong side of the road, the steering wheel is on the wrong side as is the gear lever... Where is this roadtrip going to end???

baa: Åre is great (I used to work at a ski resort there!) and they have a so called mayhem festival, I think, which is all about mountainbiking. BUT it's quite far up north... I've already recommended Säfsen, where I went two weeks ago: http://www.safsen.se/info.asp/id/4030 It was great!
Or check out Sälen: http://www.salen.se/In_summer.asp (boring website)
Or Funäsdalen: http://www.funasdalen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=497&Itemid=371 (boring website)
Or any of these places: http://www.langloppscupen.com/ (website only in Swedish I'm afraid)
Or simply just post a thread on www.happymtb.org and you will get great help.

Good luck and enjoy your vacation. 8)

//Maria

Cheers for the links
baa

Maria, don't go to Glentress, you won't be able to move for the hoards of male STW forum dwellers desperate to guide you round! 😉

Perfect! That means we won't have to bother about getting lost in Glentress then. 😉

Did anyone see any pics yet?! 🙄