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There's always the hills.
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Dear <<First Name>>
I have been following Cameron McNeish for a while, and drawn a lot of inspiration from his adventures in the Scottish Hills. If he would have not been busy with filming for Roads Less Travelled on the BBC, we would have enjoyed the last days of my round the world trip together, but instead I bumped into his best mate Hamish at Port Ellen when I returned from cycling the world on a singlespeed bike.
I was thrilled when I received a copy of his autobiography 'There's Always the Hills' on Saturday, and couldn't put it down ever since. There's plenty of inspiration in there, while Cameron takes you on a journey not only through his life, but also through an ever-changing Scotland.
My journey around the world has taken me to many places, and I am really looking forward to head up to Braemar in 1.5 weeks for the Braemar Mountain Festival, to speak about a trip that has not only taken me to some amazing corners of the world, but also inspired to start Bikepacking Scotland. And what would fit better than using the opportunity to travel from Braemar to Glasgow on the Surly Straggler to speak at the Scottish Cycling, Running and Outdoor Pursuits Show on the Sunday about the Wild About Argyll Trail.
But there's plenty more inspiration for you in this newsletter from Jenny Tough, Dave Barter and Jeff Price, and I also cannot wait to meet the Trippin Fellaz, Aneela and Andy from Go-Where Scotland and Lynne from Air Maiden in Braemar.
If you are at one of the events, please come around and say hi, and enjoy whatever adventures you have planned for the upcoming weekend. Remember, there's always the hills ...
Happy riding,
Markus
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Jenny's February adventure takes her to the Outer Hebrides, mountain biking the Hebridean Way south to north. Jenny has chosen the walking route, for more information about the route go here. And if you are interested in Jenny's adventures, she'll be speaking as part of the Kendal Mountain Festival 2018 Tour in Edinburgh on 18 April and on 19 April in Banchory, where Bikepacking Scotland founder Markus will be joining her. Check out www.kendalmountaintour.com for more. |
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The Highland Trail 550 in Winter. A first attempt. We don't give more away, read Dave Barter's inspiring story here. |
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We met Jeff at the Fat Forth a few years ago, and it is great to see him back in Scotland for his latest video, riding in the Galloway National Park for three days in February on his Salsa Mukluk. Enjoy the film.
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We are in very good company at the second Braemar Mountain Festival!
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Watch the Braemar Mountain Festival Trailer and join us on 2 & 3 March in the beautiful village in the Cairngorms.
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We are thrilled to be running a bikepacking workshop and a guided ride at this year’s Braemar Mountain Festival in the beautiful Cairngorms from Thursday 1 March to Sunday 4 March. And we are event more thrilled that adventure cycling is one of the major focuses of the event in its second year, with a great selection of more guided rides, skills sessions, talks, workshops and film screenings on offer.
In the first event on Friday 2 March at 9.00am Joe Flanagan, a Pro Ride coach, will share his enthusiasm and knowledge in an half day ride out incorporating skill sessions. Joe Flanagan is one of the three Trippin Fellaz, together with his brother Sam Flanagan and Ali Parkin, who love to combine their favourite pastimes of travel, climbing and riding to produce amazing image and video content. At 9.30am Aneela McKenna from Go-Where Scotland and Lynne Armstrong from Air Maiden will be sampling the incredible riding of Deeside in a half day guided ride for women, from ribbons of sweet single track to ancient drove roads and long forgotten tracks, finishing with tea and cake back in Braemar.
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Aneela and Lynne are back on Friday afternoon at 3.00pm with a talk to celebrate the legacy of ‘bicycling for ladies’. They will take the festival audience on a journey of bikes and their role in women’s emancipation. In the spirit of the suffragette movement and penny farthings, they share sisterhood giggles, personal stories and their passion for the simple act of riding bikes. The day finishes at 7.30pm with an inspiring talk by Bikepacking Scotland’s founder Markus Stitz, who in 2016 became the first person to cycle the world on a singlespeed bike with bikepacking bags.
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Around the world singlespeed - Fri 2 Mar 7.30pm at the Braemar Mountain Festival.
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Saturday starts again at 9.00am with another MTB skills session, this time specifically aimed at 14 – 18 year olds and delivered by Joe Flanagan. Next up at 9.30am is our bikepacking workshop with Markus and Jay. Both will share their bikepacking secrets in this 2-hour workshop. Those who want to experience bikepacking first hand, can join Jay and Markus at 1.30pm on a half day guided ride around Braemar.
At 3.00pm the Flanagan brothers, Joe and Sam, will be talking about taking mountain bikes to the biggest mountain in the UK, the mighty Ben Nevis, and finding not only the funniest way down, but also the most exciting way up. Later in the afternoon at 5.00pm Go-Where Scotland’s Andy McKenna tells his story of his pharmacy-free face-off with Multiple Sclerosis and his quest for a holistic path to health. ‘This Way Up’, a moving and inspiring film on how MS impacted his life and his riding, will be screened as part of the session.
Tickets for all events can be bought online at www.braemarmountainfestival.com. Prices range from £10 for talks, £15 for the workshop and £35 for guided rides and skills sessions.
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A story that rarely feature on timelines, in tweets or Instagram feeds - This Way Up is a 'broken' man’s journey by bike through his homeland. Scotland. Andy McKenna, mountain biker since the 1980’s and a professional mountain bike guide making his living from running mountain bike adventures in Scotland was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2007. Although he didn’t know it then, far from being the end of his mountain bike career and his life, this (apparently) incurable degenerative neurological disease was the start of a different kind of mountain bike journey. Finding the connection between the realities of life and how we deal with them - when coping from behind handlebars is the primary tactic - and will hopefully strike a chord with many whether they ride or not. Biking helps to cope, to escape and to keep Andy sane. The film, and through raising awareness of alternative ways of living with this disease, Andy wants to raise money for the two unsung heroes of MS; two charities that have made a massive impact on his life and that of many others challenged by MS: Overcoming MS, and The Swank MS Foundation. Join his campaign here: https://igg.me/at/2t55aH8dX-M and watch the full film at the Braemar Mountain Festival after Andy's talk! |
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Wild About Argyll Trail Updates
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We are pleased that Wild About Argyll is now our most successful video on YouTube with almost 10k views. Thanks heaps for watching! If you want to know more, you can listen to Markus who was on BBC Radio Scotland's Out for the Weekend talking to Pennie Latin about the route. It is available on iPlayer here (starts at ca. 1:30 in).
And you can pick up a printed version of our flyer at the Scottish Cycling, Running and Outdoor Pursuits Show on Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 March in Glasgow. Markus will be on stage and on the Wild About Argyll Stand on Sunday with his fully packed Surly Straggler to answer any of your questions in person.
And don't forget, if you are in Germany, pick up a copy of Bike Adventure, with 10 pages of insight information on our new bikepacking route.
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