- 7 months ago
Cycling Weekly set out on the hunt for the best gravel riding we could find and found ourselves in Aberfoyle, just north of Glasgow and we weren't disappointed. With lochs, mountain views and mile after mile of traffic free gravel roads, they thought they found heaven!
In association with Komoot.
In association with Komoot.
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00:25It's safe to say that the last year and a half has been, well, empty of
00:29much in the way of exploration.
00:32Riding has been local, and if you're like me, mostly the same roads and trails over and
00:37over and over and over and over again.
00:39So when Camus asked myself and Catherine Moore if we'd like to ride one of the UK's ultimate
00:43gravel riding destinations, naturally we leapt at the chance.
00:48Bags and bikes packed, we headed a long way north to Aberfoyle, otherwise known as Gravel
00:54Foil.
00:54Now all we needed was a guide, so we met it was Kerry McPhee, a local shredder was an
01:00encyclopedic knowledge of the gravel roads and the trails on offer.
01:04So Gravel Foil has 200km of gravel trails and Aberfoyle is right in the centre of it, so
01:11you can loop the north side and you can loop the south side, you can bale halfway, you can
01:17eat your lunch and go down the south side and there's loads of different types of gravel
01:22as well.
01:22You've got fat gravel, you've got fast gravel, you've got single track, you've got tech,
01:26so this is an ideal place for anyone to come and try.
01:30You can do a massive loop like we're going to do or you can do a tiny little one, so
01:33you're
01:33spoilt for options and spoilt for terrain.
01:36Feeling a little apprehensive to be honest, like I'm really excited about this route, it
01:41looks absolutely incredible what you've put together for us.
01:44But it is going to be a big day and a ride of two halves by the looks of it,
01:48like the
01:49Three Locks Drive and that area that I think we're going to do first looks stunning.
01:53We've seen a little bit about what's in store there, but very accessible from Aberfoyle, whereas
01:57the second half looks properly wild and a bit of the West Highland Way, like really a bit
02:03more remote, so I think that will be really stunning.
02:05It's pretty tough, but it's a good loop.
02:08Pretty tough for you or pretty tough for them?
02:10Pretty tough for them, because they don't know what's coming.
02:16Our route has something of a rude awakening, climbing for the first five kilometres out
02:21of Aberfoyle before winding through the beautiful Trossocks forest roads up to Loch Vinnaker.
02:26We'll ride the southern shore before striking across to Loch Acre before heading south and back
02:32towards Aberfoyle, but not before taking in the sights of Loch Drunky.
02:36But our ride doesn't end there, instead we head out the other side of Aberfoyle and into
02:41the true wilderness of the Trossocks, winding a path between Ben Lomond and Ben Du, it's
02:46here where our ride is at its most isolated.
02:49A steep hairpin descent takes us down to the iconic West Highland Way on the shores of Loch
02:54Lomond and a chance for a break at the Inversnade Hotel.
02:57A short, steep climb takes us up to Loch Arklut, before a long ride in a much needed gradual
03:03descent along the banks of Loch On back to Aberfoyle.
03:07You can of course find all the route details on Cycling Weekly's Komoot account and at the
03:11link in the description.
03:13We're off!
03:15Where are we Kerry?
03:16We have just hit the Jigs Pass, so if you were doing the Jigs Weekendren event this would
03:21be the start line of the Hill Clown.
03:23It is a hill!
03:24It is a hill!
03:26We've started on a hill.
03:27So it won't be long before we pick a ride onto the gravel.
03:31So this looks like this is kind of some of the only tarmac.
03:34We don't do much tarmac on this ride.
03:36Pretty much!
03:36I think this is maybe like 200-400 metres of tarmac and then we'll do gravel after that.
03:41Music to my ears!
03:43Woohoo!
04:26Look at this!
04:29It's very cloudy, very atmospheric, although I think it's going to burn off.
04:35I think we might get better weather this afternoon, which is nice, but these gravel roads are so
04:40cool.
04:40I just don't have anything like this where I ride at home.
04:45None of these like wide open rides that are just no traffic.
04:51You can ride like free abreast.
04:55I carry myself and Catherine able just to ride along and chat.
04:58It's such a refreshing way to ride.
05:34You know when you make crashes, and for a split second, you really want to laugh?
05:40But you shouldn't laugh because you need to make sure that they're okay first.
05:43Once that was all clear, it was just so funny.
05:45It was just like a real slow-mo tumble.
05:48Very embarrassing.
05:50It's just funny when somebody crashes.
06:02Fifteen kilometres into our ride, after climbing out of Aberfoyle and stretching out along rocky
06:08tracks and winding our way along the southern shores of Loch Venneker, we reach Acre Farm,
06:13the perfect place for an ice cream break.
06:22I was glad to reach Acre Farm because Kerry had told us a lot about the delicious ice cream,
06:27which I can confirm was really delicious.
06:30I think the elderflower one I had had been foraged from the village like two days ago,
06:35which is super cool.
06:36And there's loads of animals here, which I'm really excited about.
06:39But back to the route, yeah, fab so far.
06:43If I said gravel foil, what does that mean to you?
06:47Gravel foil is Aberfoyle.
06:49It's the mecca for gravel in the UK at the moment, I think.
06:55Have you seen an increase in cyclists?
06:57Yeah, very much so.
06:59I mean, lockdown was amazing here.
07:01The number of people who came out of their homes and could enjoy the roads and the tracks
07:07for maybe the first time in a long time.
07:10And the number of casual, recreational and kind of semi-pro racers kind of whizzing around the woods here
07:16is phenomenal these days.
07:18When we came to the farm, we knew there was the Great Trussox Path running through it
07:22and the Felix Weiss Drive adjacent.
07:24So setting up a business that would cater to sustainable travel,
07:28people out, recreational, cycling and walking was key to our business.
07:32And people do.
07:33People stop.
07:33People in cars don't stop.
07:35Everyone on a bike or walking around the loch sees the benefits,
07:41sees the slower pace and can stop and enjoy it.
07:45That's what we're here for, to give them that experience.
07:47Now, I hope you enjoyed everything.
07:48Thanks.
08:03Next week.
08:04I'll see you soon.
08:48Kerry McPhee, you've done a lot of plotting on Khmut, haven't you?
08:52Yeah, I love using Khmut for my plots.
08:55How many kilometres of trails do you think you've worked out on Khmut?
09:01Oh, honours, that's a good Scottish word.
09:03Honours, honours, hundreds of trails on Khmut.
09:07Hundreds of trails.
09:09I have got a Khmut collection of my gravel foil routes and it goes as far as lots of parts
09:14of the West Helen Way and then there's South Gravel Foil, North Gravel Foil, it's massive.
09:18And there's stuff that I haven't done yet.
09:19Definitely goes without saying that you should check out Kerry's Khmut collections
09:24and all the things we'll post on the Cycling Weekly Khmut profile if you want to dig out
09:28and plot some great routes because Kerry, you know them all.
09:31Yeah, I was greedy when I was trying to plot something out for you guys.
09:35We're going in on epic today because I just want you to see it all and feel it all.
09:39Yeah.
09:39Awesome.
09:40Well, let's crack on because we have a long way to go.
09:58This is a classic gravel foil section of trail.
10:02We've just done the switchbacks up to the aqueduct.
10:04So where does this aqueduct go?
10:06So I think this aqueduct comes from Glen Fingless Reservoir, which used to be a little settlement
10:13and they flooded it so that they could provide water to Glasgow during, I think there was
10:17a cholera outbreak or something and they needed some fresh water pumped into the city and they
10:23came to Abraffal because it's so lovely.
10:25Of course.
10:26So we've just gone beneath the aqueduct, which whenever you reference gravel foil,
10:32you always see a picture of that.
11:06So Koma was incredible.
11:08You come round to the top of this amazing balcony gravel road around the corner and it
11:14just opens up to these spectacular views of Loch Lomond and all the pleasure boats going up
11:18and down and it was pretty steep as well.
11:39Following 15 kilometres of climbing out of Abraffal was close to 300 metres of elevation, we reach the summit of
11:45the Koma Climb, which is followed by a formidable descent down to the shores of Loch Lomond.
11:53It's wicked, isn't it? What a day we've got.
11:55It's all right.
11:57You see it all the time.
11:59So what's up next, Kerry? We've got some descent. The commute profile is showing a pretty steep downhill.
12:06Yeah, so we've kind of climbed like that and now we're going to go like that.
12:10Well, we're going down to water level, aren't we, basically?
12:13Yeah, we are. We're dropping quite a lot, actually.
12:14So it's a big descent.
12:16Yeah.
12:16It's like a thousand feet or something.
12:18Yeah.
12:18A thousand feet.
12:19Boiling day.
12:20And there's Loch Lomond and you're like trying to take in the view, but you can't because you've got to
12:24hold on to your brakes.
12:26Absolutely amazing.
12:43I think anyone could do the Koma route, definitely. And the Koma descent, although it's gnarly, it does have switchbacks.
12:52So you can do one little section and then stop and rest and then do the next section and stop
12:56and rest.
12:57I wouldn't recommend it in reverse, though, because it is a stinker of a climb the other way.
13:02And if you stop and rest, it means you get to also appreciate the views of Loch Lomond as you
13:06descend.
13:06So yeah, I'd say it's probably an epic sort of loop, but it has a bit of everything.
13:42Tell me about that descent, Katherine.
13:44That was tricky. I had to walk a couple of meters there.
13:49So steep, wasn't it?
13:50It was like rocky, bouldery, sort of washed out background.
13:56Like if you don't pick your line, you're just in so much trouble.
14:00Yeah.
14:01And then Kerry went, yeah, it's pretty gnarly with just one brake.
14:07Kerry's front brake doesn't work.
14:10Although just three kilometers in lengths, the stretch along the banks of Bonnie Loch Lomond features some of the most
14:16unforgiving terrain we've encountered.
14:18With stream crossings and rocky scrambles, this was true hike-a-bike territory.
14:37We were just walking along and from behind us both, we just heard this massive crunch and we look round
14:45and Rupert had had quite an accident.
14:48So we're just currently trying to work out what we're going to do next because Rupert does no longer have
14:54a rear mech.
14:55Oh, that's not ideal.
14:56So it's not the hanger that snaps?
14:58Um, it is. The hanger is, yeah, the hanger is blown.
15:02Wow.
15:03You're lucky we're on the hike-a-bike.
15:05Yeah, totally.
15:06Yeah, we're walking anyway.
15:20The West Hallingway is quite hike-a-bike anyway, but he literally had to hike the bike the whole way
15:27along.
15:27Um, so yeah, for Rupert.
15:31It was funny, but now that I realise we're kind of quite far away from Amber Foyle, I'm a little
15:38bit filled with a bit more pity for him.
15:46It's only been about half an hour and we've been waiting.
15:54So I bent my rear mech in the crash and then I snapped it off on the West Highland Way
15:57and now I need to find a solution so I can do the rest of the ride.
16:03And I think that solution is going to be stealing our drone pilot Ruben's bike.
16:10Um, so sorry Ruben, but I'm commandeering your mountain bike.
16:23After a steep 10% climb out of Inversnaid, we wound our way along the gorgeous shores of Loch Arklot
16:29and then down to Loch Arn before a welcome gradual descent.
16:32And then into Aberfoyle.
16:33The gravel roads here are what dreams are made of, wide open and super fast, we couldn't stop grinning the
16:39whole way home.
17:00So I'm on Ruben's mountain bike and it's great, so comfortable compared to the gravel bike.
17:08But it's a little bit slow and I have now been dropped by Catherine and Kerry.
17:17That puff of dust going up over the crest of the hill is Catherine and Kerry.
17:21So, it's a tough ride.
17:48So, it's a tough ride.
17:51The ride had really featured a little bit of everything.
17:54From wide open, remote mountain vistas, epic hiker biking and fast gravel roads, we'd been
17:59blown away by the riding on offer and the community that it had fostered.
18:23It's definitely a whole day route that isn't it?
18:27Full on.
18:28Full on.
18:29So worth it.
18:29I did worry that was a bit greedy with wanting to show you everything but I think it was worth
18:33it.
18:34We asked you for the most epic ride you could put together in Aberfoyle and you did it.
18:39I think it's safe to say.
18:41We had it all, honestly.
18:42I completed the brief and we made it back even if we were one bike down.
18:47But thanks to drone pilot Ruben's generosity.
18:51He walked home.
18:53Well, three of us have made it back.
18:55Yeah.
18:56Goes without saying that if you want to see the route that we've ridden today,
18:59it will be in the description of the video below.
19:01And for everything else, Aberfoyle gravel riding, check out Kerry's collections
19:05because she's done so much work putting it all together.
19:08Putting Aberfoyle on the map.
19:10Yeah, the true queen of Aberfoyle.
19:12Always happy to share my knowledge.
19:13There's so much good stuff on there.
19:16Definitely to earth taking the time before you come up to have a look
19:19and find some absolute belters of rides and trails.
19:22If you have enjoyed this video, then please do give us a thumbs up
19:25and subscribe to Cycling Weekly YouTube channel.
19:28And leave us a comment in the comment section below telling us what you loved
19:31and whether you'd come and ride in the amazing place that is Aberfoyle.
19:35Now we'll be back soon with some more great adventure content and we'll see you then.