Where the wild things aren’t – A Cairngorm bikepacking adventure

Charged with having an adventure, Sanny and Kev take young Toby on his first ever big summit ride in the heart of the Cairngorms. Will he love it or w …

By sanny

Get the full story on our front page at:

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/where-the-wild-things-arent-a-cairngorm-bikepacking-adventure/

Support us from less than £0.06/day and help us keep the content flowing by becoming a full member.

I couldn’t see a link to the route? Is there one?

I couldn’t see photos of the tent/bivvy kit. Was there any?

Oy oy!

No link to the route @ampthill but if you look at the OS map, the route is very obvious. Up Tilt, Land Rover track to the summit of Carn a Chlamain then ride down the stalkers path. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

@scotroutes

Ha! Ha! I’m all about the “Day Bivy” as pioneered by Iona Evans. No camping kit. Just ride then have a mid ride nap in the outdoors. Less kit, less faff……

Cheers

Sanny

@scotroutes

Typing in your user name auto corrected to scroteroutes! I have no idea what that says about me……..

Cheers

Sanny

Nice one!

Toby’s at least got the Cheng Shin tyres in common with a young Kev Dangerous and Sanny.

@sillyoldman

My old Maverick is bang on trend – wide rims, super short stem, riser bars, centre ridge gravel tyres…….I was sooooo ahead of my time!

Cheers

Sanny

bikepacking

🤔

I have just realised that 99% of the rides I’ve done on 30 years of riding mountain bikes have been named wrong.

Sorry Sanny, it’s marketing BS and nothing more.

Nice ride and pics though. 👌

🤣

@matt_outandabout

I totally agree but then biking is filled with marketing terms and buzzwords these days. I mean, downcountry….seriously? Who came up with that guff? I just think of my biking as being in the outdoors and having fun. I can happily leave the marketing to others to come up with.

Glad you liked the ride and the pics. Always lovely to get feedback like that and it is very much appreciated. Have you been up that way? If not, go. It is cracking.

As for the seat pack, obviously I was commissioned to do the piece but I have to say that even if I hadn’t been, I would be buying one of these bags with my own money having used it a lot since it arrived. The lack of sway and the ease of taking it off make it arguably the nicest bag I have used and it is right up there with Revelate’s Terrapin. I used it all last week riding the cobbles and bergs in Flanders and it was absolutely rock solid. No sway whatsoever even when out of the saddle cranking up the steep climbs. My mate was running an Apidura and it was swinging about like nobody’s business.

Cheers

Sanny

Great write up Sanny that’s another one for me to have a go at. I have a cycle in mind from Linn of Dee down Glen Tilt soon. We will then go over the Gaick pass to Aviemore and back over the Lairig Laoig back to Linn of Dee. Don’t think I will have time on that ride but hopefully get a day to try it this summer.

I did this a few years ago. My wife left her bike at the bottom and did it on foot. I did it on the bike…had a lovely long snooze at the bottom while she walked down! Glen Tilt is very lovely.

darn you @Sanny – I’ve just gone and ordered one of those bags.. 🙂

Brilliant route and riders, good read, otherwise MOAA has it, no need to perpetuate the marketing BS

I honestly had to scroll through the article a few times wondering where I’d missed the “bikepacking” part 😂

Apart from the rather odd use of the word “bikepacking”, great article.

Cam I ask what date you rode?
Sounds like it was during the lovely weather just before I headed up last week 29 March…
I wanted to do this hill but it was just too snowy by then.

Inspiring stuff.

@thegeneralist

Glad you liked it. We rode it the second last Sunday in March and as you can see, the conditions were really good.

@iainc

It is a cracking bag. Nils at Lyon will need to hunt me down to get it back!

Cheers

Sanny