THE NORTH LOOP

DISTANCE: 130KM CLIMBING: 1,638M

Igrew up in Milngavie and cycled most of these roads following the rear wheel of someone much bigger in front of me. I followed them all over the country with the kind of mindless mindfulness only available to children. The blessing of youth is to have never Googled the phrase ‘productivity hack’ and not question spending your Sunday riding a bike, in the rain, behind your dad.

This route is the epic of our collection and it starts at Mugdock Country Park. To make it even more epic you can warm up with reps of the nearby Khyber Pass while you wait on any stragglers. Colloquially named because of its construction coinciding with that of the Khyber Pass Railway Line in Pakistan, it turns out this climb is actually on ‘Craigallian Road’. I’ve been riding it for 16 years and I only learnt that yesterday when I couldn’t find ‘Khyber Pass’ on a map in Scotland.

When I was too young for the epic we drove to Aberfoyle and rode from there, but having ridden to that point you’ll be warm enough to properly tackle the Duke’s Pass climb out of town. It’s a lovely ascent that can be enjoyed at a tootle just as much as at a gallop. (Aberfoyle’s alter-ego is a collection of waymarked routes known as Gravelfoyle. If gravel’s your fancy, then definitely check it out.)

Over the other side of the Duke’s, and at the farthest point of this route, you follow a singletrack road around Loch Katrine in total peace. The soundtrack for this section would be some kind of piano sonata. Then, once you start heading south, you’ll be gifted 20km of fast moving roads to boost morale. The soundtrack for this section would be ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. My ambition is that you arrive back at Mugdock tired and happy, but there’s always the park’s adventure trail to tackle if you need a top-up on either feeling.