I review many outdoor books that focus on Scotland and sometimes it’s difficult to believe there is another “best of” that will be better than the others. Of course, “best” or “great” is subjective and each author will have their own top lists. In among these, there are usually a collection of well-known but acclaimed routes, as well as a few gems that are much less familiar.
Great Scottish Bike Rides includes 25 classic road cycling routes, from southern Scotland to the far north, as chosen by self-confessed obsessive cyclist Dave Barter.
I enjoyed his introduction because, in the first couple of paragraphs, he states that “Scotland is my favourite place in the world”. I wholeheartedly agree!
Scotland is also Dave’s favourite place to ride in the world and, as he states, “It offers the perfect combination of challenge, beauty, seclusion, character and variety to cyclists of all genres.”
I took a closer look at the routes he’s chosen to showcase and the details included in the book, which is published as part of the growing stable of Adventure Books by Vertebrate Publishing.
Great Scottish Bike Rides: The details
25 routes, from 43km to 104km
An introduction, including a note from the author, basics about fitness, nutrition, clothing etc
Route grades: Moderate, challenging and epic
Each route: Overview, distance, ascent, start/finish, profile and map
GPX downloads of each route
Price: £25
Buy from: Adventure Books (I receive a small commissioner books sold through this website).
My thoughts: Great Scottish Bike Rides by Dave Barter
When I receive a new book, I like to flick through to look at the photographs. This book has plenty of great photography, much of which showcases beautiful Scotland.
One thing, though, while I know this is a book written by a man, how about including a few photos of women, too? I like to see women like me riding their bikes, as well as the guys.
Next, I like to check to see what routes I have done before. There’s Lowther Hills & the Mennock Pass in southern Scotland; the Isle of Arran; Loch Katrine & the Duke’s Pass in central Scotland; the Great Glen; Glen Lochay and Glen Lyon; Loch Rannoch & Rannoch Station; the Angus Glens; and Applecross in the Highlands.
All these routes bring back memories and while I am not familiar with the exact routes, I know they are great places to ride a bike.
My next step is to look at routes I might like to ride. They include the Isle of Mull; the Isle of Bute; Benderloch; Ardour & Loch Linnhe; the Aird & Strathglass; Tomatin & Glen Kyllachy; Dornoch & Strathcarron; and Altnaharra & the Kyle of Tongue.
There are even more routes described in the book but you get the idea!
I like the overview description of the routes and the easy-to-digest information about distance, ascent, profile etc. I would download the GPX route on to a Garmin device for easier following of the routes when actually cycling.
The maps are quite large and easy to read. But it seems odd that on some maps, details such as the name of a mountain are missed out. One example is Altnaharra & the Kyle of Tongue, which tells the rider all about great views of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal, yet these mountains are not named on the map. Another example is Loch Katrine & the Duke’s Pass, where riders are told to look out for Ben Venue and Ben Lomond, but oddly these are not marked on the map. The smaller hills are named but not the larger and arguably more iconic peaks.
I also like the list of routes at the back of the book, including distance in kilometres and miles, ascent in metres and feet, and also a box so you can tick it off when you’ve done it.
In conclusion, this is another of those books that is a great gift for the favourite cyclist in your life, or for you. It will sit on my book shelf among the other “best ofs” and “great” lists of road rides, mountain bikes routes, hikes and trails runs and offer inspiration for years to come.