School holidays make outing a family affair to Cairngorms

My most recent cycle ride was a family affair and it ended up with more hiking than biking. The first part of the summer holidays had seen me working away from home and looking on jealously as friends posted pictures on social media of their family adventures.

My two kids were also getting in on the act, on Scout camps, climbing courses and a host of other activities; I just wasn’t there to enjoy the fun too.

What was more frustrating was that the weather was fantastic and I was itching to get out and about back home.

Once home I got the kids’ bikes out of the shed and we started with a few short road rides, building up to the end of a week that culminated in a big mountain ride into the Cairngorms. We had planned an early start, but anyone with children will realise that this was a big ask.

You would think that getting them out of bed, dressed and breakfasted would get easier as they grow older and (theoretically) more independent. There then followed a faff-supreme of loading bikes on the back of the car, packing backpacks, applying sun cream, making packed lunches, then realising that the dogs still had to get in the car boot which meant taking the bikes off again.

Arriving at Glenmore, by Loch Morlich, we quickly got on our bikes and started riding. The hot weather meant that the beach area around Loch Morlich was busy with people and we were keen to get up into the hills for solitude.

The climb up to Rothiemurchus Lodge was straightforward. Passing through the ancient Caledonian forest the smell of pine from the trees wafted through the hot air. As we passed the lodge the route became a single track climbing up onto the ridge – for most of its length it was unrideable, so we jumped off and pushed and carried our bikes upwards.

We stopped at the summit and the views back down to Strathspey were stunning, but the cool waters of Loch Morlich taunted us as we breathed in the dry air. Our anticipation of a fantastic descent was shortlived as the next section was very rocky and again necessitated a lot of lifting bikes over boulder fields.

Eventually, we gained a more rideable track and the fun of several miles of descent on swooping paths lay ahead of us. We stopped at several points to admire the view and top up our water bottles from mountain streams, which our dogs also enjoyed, languorously submerging themselves. It wasn’t long before we had arrived back at Loch Morlich where we had decided we would stop for a post-ride swim.

The whole ride was only 12km, but we were all dog-tired by the end of it. In the car going home, munching on wellearned bags of chips, we were already planning the next trip. The school holidays are coming to an end soon, but I hope to squeeze in a few more adventures before lessons start again.

Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/ BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier

Down at Loch Morlich. Picture: Scot Tares.