I'm stoked to finally feel like I can ride and train regularly. The last couple of weeks have been great. I've managed to ride frequently, get off road and into the mountains. One of my favourite places in Scotland is the Trossachs and the last two Sundays I've travelled north to Aberfoyle to ride with Stu Thomson - ex downhill racer and founder of Cut Media. Last week I collected my Stigmata from Carl at Bike Love. He'd repaired and prepped the bike after my accident a few weeks ago and it was running sweet!
Stu is one of the driving forces behind the Dukes Weekender cycling festival happening this September in Aberfoyle. The festival includes a closed road hill climb of the Dukes Pass and Gravel Enduro race, which takes in the abundant gravel roads and trails found in the area.
The original plan for Sunday was to tackle the West Highland Way, however due to Stu's busy week and my lack of miles we decided to call a rain check on that one! Instead we kept things more local and rode some of the roads and trails to be used in the Dukes Weekender. We both jumped on our Santa Cruz Stigmatas and Stu took me on a route which was 95% off road and traffic free. It was such an awesome ride! The scenery was just amazing, the routes were endless and we finished the ride by swimming in the stunning Loch Ard. Needless to say after 78km of gravel grinding, and 1700m of climbing, my body was feeling it. A dip in the fresh water seemed to rejuvenate me though! You can check out our ride on Strava.
I'm so stoked on riding just now and I want to keep the rhythm going. I've set some goals and I'm focussed on getting back to race fitness. I hope that now I have the right balance of motivation and work/travel schedule I can train and still ride for fun too. I'll post another blog to explain my training plans and goals soon. Remember to follow my Facebook, Instagram and Strava to see what I'm up to as well!
Over and out
Rab
#ridebikesandgetoutside #trossachs #lochlomond #westhighlandway #gravelbike