Sunday Biking

With a cracking Sunday forecast Romain and I headed out for a blast on the mountain bikes. Starting at Crathes carpark, we headed up through Balmoral towards the lochnagar coll. The temps were on the brass monkey end of the scale low down and substantially warmer feeling by the point the track up to the meikle col breaks away from the main landy track.

Beinn a' Bhuird

We got great views of the main corrie on the way up, which was depressingly black over the buttresses, but looked like Raeburns and Black spout might be complete. Very little else though!

Lochnagar

Anyway, despite quite a few icy sections, the hurl down the landy track to glenmuick was as good as we'd hoped walking off in the past - we even successfully degotiated the burn with dry feet!

From Glenmuick we headed up the capel mounth over towards Glen Clova - the drag up the hill was as painful as always, but the descent well worth the effort. Slightly icy for the descent so we had to pushed sections (well this was our excuse). Clova was lovely in the winter sunshine, though unforunately the ice on the track up Bachnagairn

Glen Clova, Bachnagairn

forced us to start pushing a bit earlier. the carry back up to the plateau was again a grind, but at least the plateau was warmer than the Glen!

The track back down was a little icy, but not bad and the zigzags fairly fun if a little dicer than usual.

Dubh Loch

Our chosen route back was picked as having the minimum uphill. Luckily this was possibly the best landrover track in the cairngorms, well built and virtually no uphill! Even better, it ends at a distillery!!

Stu