Pedal power boost for Aberfoyle area
Launch of Dukes Weekender cycling festival
Three cycle enthusiasts have chosen Aberfoyle for an event expected to boost visitor numbers to the area.
Rob Friel, Stu Thomson and Frazer Coupland are launching the first Dukes Weekender cycling festival which is to take place on September 8 and 9 in Aberfoyle and surrounding Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The programme includes a 60-kilometre Gravel Enduro, road hillclimb up the Dukes Pass, social cycling events, talks from some stars of the cycling world and several supporting family-based activities including a children’s enduro.
Headlining the weekend will be gravel enduro, which will showcase gravel riding, the latest trend in cycling.
Billed as a “social-orientated event”, it will see competitors take a stunning 60 kilometre ride along loch shorelines and the mountains of the Trossachs.
While en route, riders will compete against the clock on several timed stages on gravel tracks and cycle trails.
The hill climb event on the Dukes Pass will also double as the prologue for the gravel enduro. It will take place on the evening of September 8 and the organisers hope it will prove a spectacle for both riders and spectators.
Rob Friel, the 2016 Scottish mountain bike champion who recently set a record in the Scottish team pursuit track championships, said: “The cycling routes that Aberfoyle and the surrounding area has to offer is what brought me to live in this village.
“It’s our desire to show the world what an incredible location this is to enjoy on your bike. Gravel riding as a discipline is about to explode and for me there is absolutely no doubt that this is the best venue in the country for this style of riding.”
Fort William-based Frazer Coupland runs No Fuss Events, while Stu Thomson, also an Aberfoyle area resident, is founder of video agency Cut Media and the filmmaker behind the well known Danny Macaskill films such as The Ridge.
He added: “I’m so excited by the potential of the Dukes Weekender. The route is phenomenal, steeped in Scottish history and incredibly beautiful. We’re excited to bring an event that is accessible to riders of all ages and abilities to the national park.”
Trossachs and Teith councillor Martin Earl said: “I am delighted to hear about this exciting event and congratulate the organisers for bringing it to Aberfoyle.
“The area has some of the best cycling in the country and this will hopefully lead to many more large scale, well organised, events coming to the area, attracting lots of visitors.
“Economically Aberfoyle has not enjoyed the best fortunes in recent years but there are many people working to raise its profile as one of the iconic visitor locations in Scotland.”
More details about the event will be released in the coming weeks and months. For more information and be the first to know when entries go live please visit www. dukesweekender.com.