How do folks.

I’m going to be based in Aberlour for a few days next week and wondered if anyone knew of any must-do road rides up in the highlands? I’ll only have room for the road bike and will have maybe 3 days riding in total, but will have the car so am not tied down to one spot. Loops of around 50-60 miles would be ideal.

So, any tips? Cheers!

Roads are roads.. just remember to ride your chosen loops anticlockwise so as not to have to stop at any annoying junctions 😉

Drive to the Lecht. Ride south for as far as you want, turn around and ride back. That should see you right. 😉

Strava heatmap might help.
http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#12/-3.23134/57.47104/blue/bike

swavis to the forum…

FWIW the back road down to Glenlivet / Tomintoul is a nice – if relaitively exposed / windy at this time of year – road. Not too much traffic – can mix with a tour round by Dufftown / Mulben (though the A95 is busy with whisky lorries / farm traffic).

Back road to Grantown definitely, B9102, can then mix with return through Glenlivet as above. Or head over towards Forres, loop round the coast, then in back road from Elgin / Fochabers.

Spoilt for choice TBH.

http://www.komsportive.co.uk/100-km.html

You’re not that far from Loch Ness.

An anticlockwise loop from Inverness keeps you on the loch side. That’s a nice ride at this time of year before the tourist traffic gets high. (Not so nice on North side when it’s busy).

A wee bit of a climb out of Fort Augustus, but not a real problem. Then you can decide whether to descend back down to the Loch (you’ll enjoy the descent 🙂 ) or take the high road back to Inverness.

Park at the Bught near the canal and come back over the pedestrian bridges at the Islands.

I don’t recommend the A82 at any time of year. There are lots of nice quiet roads on the south of Loch Ness to explore, including the one past Farr Windfall (if it’s not blocked by snow).

[url=https://flic.kr/p/moMERa]Untitled[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr
That was last March

Over the Lecht and back is a good call. Also The Struie.

Be aware that it’s spring on the coast and still winter in the mountains 🙂

There’s a lovely Inverness route in here you can download the GPX’s only but then my kids don’t eat 🙁

Use the train to get to Mallaig. Ride to Glenuig and back to corran ferry. Or the other way round.

Further afield, the circuit from Lochinver clockwise around the coast through Drumbeg, main road to Loch Assynt and back to Lochinver.