[urbaindk]

My wife and I have been talking about going to Scotland for a week or so next spring. We were thinking about going to the Fort William area. I'd ride downhill for a day or two while my wife explores, rides xc, or what ever. Then we were thinking we'd ride from Fort William to Inverness which a hundred or so miles away through the highlands and past Loch Ness.

Anybody done a similar trip? Have any recommendations? We've gone as far as ordering some cycling related tourist brochures and a Lonely Planet Guide.

 

[narlus]

you planning on riding xc bikes or road bikes from Ft Bill to Inverness? and are you gonna rent a DH bike?

there are a few UK-based forums like this you could check out for advice (singletrackworld.co.uk i believe is one).

 

[Ciaran]

Don't eat Haggis
Don't look under the kilt!
Don't tell the large Scotsman that he has a nice skirt on.
The sheep are not safe.

That's about all I know.

 

[urbaindk]

you planning on riding xc bikes or road bikes from Ft Bill to Inverness? and are you gonna rent a DH bike?

there are a few UK-based forums like this you could check out for advice (singletrackworld.co.uk i believe is one).

We would be doing rentals all the way around. One of the things we have to do is find out how much all this is going to cost us. For instance, how much will renting a DH bike and protective gear cost for a day or two?

From what I read, they recommend xc bikes on the Ft Bill to Inverness route so that is probably what we would do. I think a lot of it is canal tow paths.

 

[SkaredShtles]

My wife & I spent about a week in Scotland during our 4 mo. European holiday back in '99. We visited Edinburgh, Inverness, the Isle of Skye, and the borderlands near Northumberland.

I would highly recommend the Isle of Skye. The Cuillen(sp?) Hills are spectacular. So much so that I named my third boy after them.

Two bits of advice: beware the midges and the ticks.

Food wasn't spectacular, but the people in Scotland were the friendliest we met in all of Europe.

Go, my good man, and have fun!

 

[macko]

I spent about a month in Scotland a few years ago and it's a really great place to visit! My roommate is from Edinburgh so we spent a lot of time there, checking out the castles, Loch Ness, etc. I'll see if I can dig up my notes from that trip and get some more specifics from the roomie.

 

[BillT]

Check out the the 7 Stanes - http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ - it is a series of mountain bike trails in the southern part of Scotland. I was going to check out one of them when I was there last year, but didn't have the chance.

 

[urbaindk]

Check out the the 7 Stanes - http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ - it is a series of mountain bike trails in the southern part of Scotland. I was going to check out one of them when I was there last year, but didn't have the chance.

Yeah, we got them to send us some literature. It looks like Scotland really lays out the red carpet for cyclists of all sorts.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Yeah, we got them to send us some literature. It looks like Scotland really lays out the red carpet for cyclists of all sorts.

I think they're nice to everybody. We ran into the nicest old couple on one of the munroes (>3000ft peaks) in the Highlands who wanted to know all about our experience in Scotland. Nicest people ever.