Offroad Rides

This section is dedicated to offroad rides both 1 day and multi day. To aid navigation I have split them up by country.

Scotland

Wales

Australia

New Zealand

Scotland

Scotland is where I have done most of my mountain biking and for me is the home of the epic ride, certainly in the UK. Old drovers roads and military roads, forestry fire roads, estate land rover tracks and footpaths provide mountain bikers with an adundance of routes. In addition the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes a statutory right of responsible access to almost all land and water so there are none of the frustrating access issues that occur South of the border.

Single Day		Multi Day
	Mount Keen The only Munro that you can cycle (well push partly) to the top. A 60km epic from Glen Tanar, over Mount Keen, into Tarfside and back via the Fungle road.		Braemar-Aviemore-Braemar A two day circualar tour round the Cairngorms passing through some of Scotland's grandest scenery.
	Loch Muick A long tough ride over Carn O'Mounth into Glen Clova rewarded with a big downhill to Loch Muick.		Highland Coast to Coast A 5 day monster from Kyle of Lochalsh to Aberdeen via the Corrieyairack Pass and the Cairngorm Mountains.
	Firmounth and Fungle Starting and ending in Aboyne, this ride combines the Firmounth and Fungle roads in a big day out on the hills ending with the excellent Fungle singletrack.		Cairngorm Tour 3 days of off roading in the Cairngorm mountains, only touching civilisation at the ends of each long day.
	Arrochar Peninsula Loop Technically a fairly straight forward ride, mainly on fire roads and well sign posted but some big climbs and stunning views.		Bike/Hike Culra Lodge Bothy A weekend where we biked from Dalwhinnie into Culra Lodge Bothy, ditched the bikes and bagged ourselves a couple Munros is some pretty terrible weather.
	Glen Ample and Glen Finglas A long loop from Callander in the Trossachs up Glen Ample and returning the wrong way down Glen Finglas with a good pub stop for lunch.		CTC^2 Coast to coast to coast across the Highlands of Scotland inlcuding the Great Glen, the Cairngorms and the Speyside Way
	Birse Castle A half day ride from Aboyne out to Birse Castle and back along the Fungle and Glen Tanar.
	5 Hills A route from Aberdeen linking the 5 small hills that surround the city into a day's varied biking.
	Burma Road, Aviemore A big day out in the Scottish Highlands taking in the Burma Road, Ryvoan Pass and Rothiemurcus Forest.

Wales

Like Scotland, there are no shortage of superb hills in Wales. Whilst it might not be as remote the mountain biking tends to be on bridle ways and RUPPs, which are often steeper and more techincal presenting their own challenges.

Single Day		Multi Day
	Black Mountains Killer Loop Tough, technical ride (and push) in South Wales		Machynlleth to Abergavenny Two day tour through Mid Wales from the bottom of Snowdonia to the Black Mountains
	Gap Track, Brecon Beacons A long way of cycling the Gap Track including the Brinord Tramroad
	Mach 3, Machynlleth Way marked cross country route including the tricky Chute descent

Australia

Hopefully this section will grow over the next year with my imminent move to Perth. I will be taking my bike and I have lots planned.

Single Day		Multi Day
	Perth Hills, WA 50km route, mainly on former railway lines, on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia.		Munda Biddi Trail Excellent 4 day, 330km, all offroad, technical trail in WA staying in campsites and carrying our gear in panniers.

New Zealand

In late 2006 I spent 2 months in New Zealand sampling the world class mountain biking on offer. Some of the longer rides undertaken are described below. Everything I rode plus much more is described in the excellent book, Classic New Zealand Mountain Bike Rides by the Kennett brothers. This book is available from Ground Effect.

Single Day		Multi Day
	Great Barrier Island Only 4 hours by ferry from busy Auckland, Great Barrier Island has lots of quiet, dirt roads and mountain bik tracks to explore.		Queen Charlotte Track Over 70kms of continous coastal singletrack with great accommodation, a water taxi to cart my stuff about and views to die for. Sweet as.
	42nd Traverse A mainly downhill ride in the Tongariro National Park. Local tour companies can arrange transport or you can cycle in and out from National Park, like I did. In the rain.		Otago Central Rail Trail This dis-used railway in barren, remote Otago may not be technical but offers zero traffic, out there scenery and a perfectly graded surface.
	Big River 25kms of solid climbing on a 4WD track up to an adandoned gold mining town at Big River. Very interesting and a great descent back to Reefton.		Kaikora Coastal Track Two days of great biking on private farmland just south of the snow capped Kaikora mountains. Wonderful hosts, stunning views and top facilities.
	Moke Loop From Queenstown an interesting route taking in the Moonlight Track, if I could've found it. An unintended epic.
	Mount Dewar With a high point over 1300m and a continuous descent of 800m this is a short but tough ride which also takes in Skippers Road.
	Port Hills Just South of Christchurch oodles of primo singletrack run from the Sign of the Kiwi cafe to Godley Head on the coast. NZ biking at its best.

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Last updated: 08/01/07