cycling in scotland

[proffz]

i will spend 15 days in scotland next summer, most of the time in the northern part.
i need help and suggestions . is it possible to rent a road bike in edinburgh or inverness?
can you suggest me some itineraries for rides or books , websites?

i like hills and climbs and I am well trained.
thank you in advance for your answers.

 

[del1962]

Be prepared to get very wet

Seriouely you could look at the Scottish section in Simon Warren's books 100 and another 100 climbs for some suggestions of climbs (not routes)

Not sure about bike hire

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

Be prepared to get very wet

Seriouely you could look at the Scottish section in Simon Warren's books 100 and another 100 climbs for some suggestions of climbs (not routes)

Not sure about bike hire

Not much in there unfortunately.

If you are up North then the Belach Na Ba route is the one to do, the closest you'll get to an Alpine climb in the UK. It's on my list for this summer. Otherwise you'll find that the roads are very quiet as you head North and great for riding, where exactly are you going? If you're in Inverness then head west for Applecross and the Belach Na Ba road, Isle of Skye and Ullapool. The road from Ullapool to Durness is fantastic. Make sure you have a working phone and emergency food with you, there can be long stretches with no-one around. If you're around Glasgow let me know, those are my training roads. Over to the east you'll find the Cairngorms with a few nice roads, Aviemore to Elgin is good.

As del says, be prepared for the weather. It's humid so a light rain shell of even just a gilet will probably be fine if you feel the cold, but make sure you have something.

You can certainly rent bikes at the Tiso outdoor adventure centre in Glasgow so I'm sure you must be able to elsewhere. If you let me know where you will be I can give a couple of places a ring for you.

 

[doxter]

i will spend 15 days in scotland next summer, most of the time in the northern part.
i need help and suggestions . is it possible to rent a road bike in edinburgh or inverness?
can you suggest me some itineraries for rides or books , websites?

i like hills and climbs and I am well trained.
thank you in advance for your answers.

Perthshire , which is in central scotland and not far from edinburgh is very nice and has some lovely riding - check the maps around the loch Tay area , being inland it's generally advantaged in terms of weather .The west coast is brilliant , and brilliant for riding , long tough windy stretches but fantastic lands .

You will get a rental bike in edinburgh or glasgow for sure , I'd guess in Stirling or aberdeen too but not sure about Inverness sorry .

feel free to ask for more information , happy to advise where possible

 

[proffz]

thank you very much doxter and king boonen
very useful feed back from you.
i am finalizing the plane tickets in these days than i will decide the itinerary.
i will be moving around with a minivan , especially in the north and north west around ullapool , , torridon , skye andfport williams.
my plan is to ride early in the morning and spent the rest of the day touring with my family
obviously i would prefer to ride all day long, but my wife ....

 

[ferryman]

Re:

thank you very much doxter and king boonen
very useful feed back from you.
i am finalizing the plane tickets in these days than i will decide the itinerary.
i will be moving around with a minivan , especially in the north and north west around ullapool , , torridon , skye andfport williams.
my plan is to ride early in the morning and spent the rest of the day touring with my family
obviously i would prefer to ride all day long, but my wife ....

If you post your final itinerary, I'll try and add some pointers. I'm an Edinburgh boy and I know Skye pretty well. In the Skye area, if you want a Scottish 'alpine' experience, the climb from the mainland up and down into Glenelg is fantastic. It would be best done as a day ride though. But, you can also get a small car ferry over from the Skye side for a nice pub lunch and a visit to the Brochs...If you like seafood, would also recommend a visit to the picturesque Plockton (of Hamish MacBeth fame) which has a couple of very nice hotels that do lunch/dinner with freshly caught produce..
It also has palm trees would you believe!! Oh, and make sure you bring midge repellant!!

Also, maybe consider hiring a mountain bike rather than a roady? Would probably be easier to find..

 

[ferryman]

Re: Re:

Be prepared to get very wet

Seriouely you could look at the Scottish section in Simon Warren's books 100 and another 100 climbs for some suggestions of climbs (not routes)

Not sure about bike hire

Not much in there unfortunately.

If you are up North then the Belach Na Ba route is the one to do, the closest you'll get to an Alpine climb in the UK. It's on my list for this summer. Otherwise you'll find that the roads are very quiet as you head North and great for riding, where exactly are you going? If you're in Inverness then head west for Applecross and the Belach Na Ba road, Isle of Skye and Ullapool. The road from Ullapool to Durness is fantastic. Make sure you have a working phone and emergency food with you, there can be long stretches with no-one around. If you're around Glasgow let me know, those are my training roads. Over to the east you'll find the Cairngorms with a few nice roads, Aviemore to Elgin is good.

As del says, be prepared for the weather. It's humid so a light rain shell of even just a gilet will probably be fine if you feel the cold, but make sure you have something.

You can certainly rent bikes at the Tiso outdoor adventure centre in Glasgow so I'm sure you must be able to elsewhere. If you let me know where you will be I can give a couple of places a ring for you.

Hi KB. If you're heading up to ride the Belach pass try and factor in a day for Glenelg. I don't think you would be disappointed..stunning..

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Be prepared to get very wet

Seriouely you could look at the Scottish section in Simon Warren's books 100 and another 100 climbs for some suggestions of climbs (not routes)

Not sure about bike hire

Not much in there unfortunately.

If you are up North then the Belach Na Ba route is the one to do, the closest you'll get to an Alpine climb in the UK. It's on my list for this summer. Otherwise you'll find that the roads are very quiet as you head North and great for riding, where exactly are you going? If you're in Inverness then head west for Applecross and the Belach Na Ba road, Isle of Skye and Ullapool. The road from Ullapool to Durness is fantastic. Make sure you have a working phone and emergency food with you, there can be long stretches with no-one around. If you're around Glasgow let me know, those are my training roads. Over to the east you'll find the Cairngorms with a few nice roads, Aviemore to Elgin is good.

As del says, be prepared for the weather. It's humid so a light rain shell of even just a gilet will probably be fine if you feel the cold, but make sure you have something.

You can certainly rent bikes at the Tiso outdoor adventure centre in Glasgow so I'm sure you must be able to elsewhere. If you let me know where you will be I can give a couple of places a ring for you.

Hi KB. If you're heading up to ride the Belach pass try and factor in a day for Glenelg. I don't think you would be disappointed..stunning..

Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping to make a long weekend of it so will have the time to do it. Singlespeed run up to Drymen today over Queens View, great fun!