Offroad Touring

My two great cycling passions are touring and mountain biking. When I can combine the two into an offroad tour there is no-one happier. It can be tough to find suitable routes, where there is good mountain biking but also suitable logistics. By this I mean transport to and from the ride, accommodation be it camping or hotels and not too much pushing.

The offroad tours that I have undertaken are listed below, sorted by country. Use the menu to jump to the country you are interested in.

Scotland

Wales

Australia

New Zealand

Scotland

I defy you to find somewhere better for offroad touring than Scotland. Miles of old drovers roads, 4WD tracks, military roads and plenty of great singletrack are a good start. When you add free access to the countryside and that the place is pretty empty save loads of ace mountains you are onto a winner.

	Braemar-Aviemore-Braemar A two day circualar tour round the Cairngorms passing through some of Scotland's grandest scenery.
	Highland Coast to Coast A 5 day monster from Kyle of Lochalsh to Aberdeen via the Corrieyairack Pass and the Cairngorm Mountains.
	Cairngorm Tour 3 days of off roading in the Cairngorm mountains, only touching civilisation at the ends of each long day.
	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.
	CTC^2 Coast to coast to coast across the Highlands of Scotland inlcuding the Great Glen, the Cairngorms and the Speyside Way.

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.

Machynlleth to Abergavenny Two day tour through Mid Wales from the bottom of Snowdonia to the Black Mountains.

Australia

Australia is an empty country with lots of great bush and dirt roads. The possibilities for offroad touring are there. Big place though.

	Munda Biddi Trail Excellent 4 day, 330km, all offroad, technical trail in WA staying in campsites and carrying our own gear.
	Mawson Trail Starting just north of Adelaide and travelling to the Outback town of Blinman in the Flinders Ranges, the Mawson Trail is a mountain bike journey through South Australia’s remote rural areas.

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.

	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.
	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.
	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.

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