Cycling UK Forum

I live in Newtonmmore and this part of the route is actually much improved of late, the highways authority must have taken on board some of the complaints as a lot of the debris, windfall etc has been removed. Yes the surface leaves a lot to be desired in places but I ride it regularly on a lightwei...

It's all about the wind direction.

I presume this route is normally going with the prevailing wind in that area. If so I can't see any difficulty even for a "novice".

If he got a constant headwind, no chance.

I'd be quite happy with amber wall tyres.

JOGLE doesn't seem to be a popular option ......... goodness knows why. There's a popular (and usually wrong) opinion that doing LEJOG is with the prevailing wind whereas doing JOGLE is against it. It's complete rubbish but it's been repeated so often that it's become "accepted". Pressure...

The organised rides point is a good one - we have a friend who is attempting E2E this year but has never done any cycle touring and doesn't have the confidence to do a self supported trip. The popular route does go through Glenshee and I have to admit I think it's a better way to go unless time is o...

We run a hostel in the Highlands on Route 7, been here four years now and in that time we've noticed a gradual falling off in trade from touring cyclists generally but E2E riders in particular. It doesn't affect us financially but I would like to understand what is going on - we're lifelong cyclists...

As long as I've been cycling I have lusted after a Silverlight, I just think they are the most beautiful machines, and I've seen frames come and go for extraordinary amounts over the years so clearly I'm not the only one. It's not often I call someone out on an internet forum, but the guy who descri...

We run an independent hostel in the Highlands and June is already pretty well booked, esp at weekends. It is probably the most popular month for cycle tourists. So for hostels I would certainly not leave it to chance, definitely pre book though you would still be able to find B/B cheap hotel acc on ...

The reply I received from Sustrans does admit that there have been far more complaints about NCN route 7 in 2012 than ever before, which they found "surprising" in view of the improvements that have been carried out to the route recently. It seems pretty obvious to me though that there's n...

To the vast majority Sustrans is shorthand for the NCN and at some point there has to be some accountability if as an organisation you are promoting a cycle route that simply isn't safe. Ironically we had two Sustrans employees staying with us last summer, remarkably unconcerned about the state of t...

The declassified bits of the old A9 are ok and as they don't grit this road in the winter it's actually stood up better than a lot of A roads, and of course there is hardly any traffic. But they are interspersed with these ancient bits of truncated road and purpose built paths which are the problem....

It's getting to the stage when no doubt folks are planning their E2E rides this summer, and as we run an independent hostel just off the A9 in the Highlands we get a fair few staying with us. Most get here via Sustrans Route 7 which takes cyclists off the main A9 along sections of the old road and n...

Geoff D It appears that we all have a wariness, or a negative experience, of cattle grids. Particularly uphill, with poor traction conditions. The thought of coming off is beginning to give me the shivers. Getting a limb down between the bars, at any speed, doesn't bear thinking about. When Le Tour...

I would definitely report this to the highways authority and I would stress the potential for a serious accident, that should do the trick. I've never seen anything that bad on a public road. Ironically "cattle grids" are rarely used nowadays to restrain bovines, you normally find them in ...

Not quite the most Northerly tadpole rider but perhaps the highest altitude at 800? (Come on Buxton...)

The Black Widow lives in Newtonmore within the Cairngorms National Park.