Saturday 28 May 2022

Cycling around Glenmore; Ryvoan Pass to Nethy Bridge


With the Cromarty Firth Bikepacking loop done we loaded the bikes into the van and drove south on the A9 to Aviemore and up to Glenmore Campsite and with the larger tent in the van for more space pitched we enjoyed the views of Cairngorm and a big meal along with excellent campsite amenities allowing washing machines etc, and we sorted the bikes for day rides.
We were up early next morning on what would be the only wet day in 5 days camping here and layered up with waterproofs we set for for a cycle across The Ryvoan Pass, an historic pass noted for its stunning scenery through ancient Calidonian Pine forest, the whole area north of Cairngorm is a blanket of stunning Scots Pine trees ancient and young and through it as you will see over next 5 posts are stunning scenic tracks and it is a blessing that this area was not hit by Storm Arwen that flattened so many trees along the Scottish East Coast back home.

Well signed start takes you up past the Green Loch and a short climb up onto the Ryoan Pass as it passes the small Ryoan Bothy...






More climbing on loose tracks was easy work for the 29+ wheels with their 3' wide tyres aired down again to 13psi rear 12psi front, now the bikes were not laden with camp gear they were also a lot easier to handle...



Again we rode through more stunning forest that the rain tried but did not dampen our enjoyment...




Check out that roller smooth surface!, we would see a lot of this surface this week around Glenmore...


We rolled into Nethy Bridge, and shaking the water off the jackets went to a lovely cafe for a well earned feed....


I don't go to cafes back home anymore when out cycling, they are just far too expensive, but on holiday its nice to enjoyed a prepared feed once a day as we did at Cromarty, and cafes are a lot cheaper up here, and we enjoyed a massive cheese sandwich - my favourite!

Our loop would continue to Boat of Garten next then along the Speyside Way to Aviemore, where we would return to Glenmore on the Waggon Road trail, there for the next posts,


Here is film of the famous Ryvoan Pass, We absolutely loved this cycle...

Some Scottish music too!, `Whacko King Hako` then `Fear Eile` by Peatbog Faeries


More soon...

1 comment:

  1. always wanted to ride some of the trails up there, maybe one day .

    ReplyDelete