The Diary of a mountain bike guide, route researcher and guidebook writer – Part 2
The magic of Torridon
I think I have the best job in the world. If I’m not riding my bike, playing with my bike, or messing about with maps, planning where to ride my bike; then I’m writing about the places I’m lucky enough to have ridden.
And every now and then, I get a unique opportunity to share with others some of the amazing places I am lucky enough to ride. Last week was one such opportunity, and I was fortunate enough to guide a great group on some of the UK’s best trails, as we took what I think was the road trip of a lifetime across the Scottish Highlands.
Gimmee shelter before a big descent!
We started in the east, enjoying the best of Aviemore’s singletrack before venturing out into the remote Glen Tilt, where we experienced the wilds of the Highlands at their best, including sightings of red deer and golden eagles,
We then headed west, where we mixed epic rides in Torridon and Skye with a lovely crossing of the Applecross Peninsula. The riding was absolutely awesome – a word that’s often overused but in this case spot-on – and the scenery quite breathtaking.
Skye Singletrack
We also enjoyed some exquisite local ales.
This kind of trip has the potential to be difficult to guide, but the group was amazing, all pulling together, no matter how tough the going got – a massive thanks to Nik, Paul, Jon, Jeroen, Mark, Becky, Fiona and Anne. And I was also lucky enough to have a great assistant in Jay Mulvey of MudTrek Mountain Bike Breaks, who deputised perfectly for me when needed; plus a superb driver in Graham Draper of Bike Bus Adventures.
Formation riding on Skye
The pictures shown here give a small taste of what the trip was all about. Many thanks to pro-snapper Jon Sparks for letting me use them.
My only problem now is coming up with something even better for next year!
Will post the details on www.tomhuttonmtb.co.uk
Yours truly approaching Sligachan on the final day
