Gravel routes to Fort William | Adventure gravel cycling in Scotland

[@92redferrari]

Lovely drone shots down the glens. You can see your talent for film and production shining through. Thanks Merry Christmas

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thank you - it's fairly hard to take a bad shot in such great scenery.

[@garyfoston5831]

Honestly these vids are like a public service. You’re like an advanced party checking out possible rides. This trip I’m like “road section - done, always love it; 1st gravel section - mmm hello, on the list it goes; 2nd gravel section - ehhh, nope.. thank goodness Simon tried it first !,😂”. Keep up the great work and thank you.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

What a fantastic analysis! Thanks Gary, but that last section is more fun than it looks.

[@russharris670]

Great rides, super informative! You live a charmed life, Mate!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I feel very fortunate Russ

[@ricklawley3756]

Thanks for all the great content. Watching your rides has been one of the things that have got me through 2020!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thank you SO much for taking the time to write that Rick. All the best for 2021.

[@chuto4826]

Nice exploration day. I live in a little island so we have not too mucho secret spots. Enjoy Simon 👌🏼

[@georgemills2302]

Another great video. You should organise some guided rides. I’m sure you’d get a lot of interest!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

You think? Maybe something to work on for 2021. Or 2022!

[@sinclairp1]

Love it - one day, I hope, one day. I've been to Fort William a couple of times, but never by bike. Thanks for putting these together.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Some more are planned for the Spring which will give you a reason for a special biking visit.

[@sureshchinnappa2290]

Loved it Si. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas kind sir and a happy new year. I love Scotland and your video tells me why. Be safe.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks Suresh - Merry Christmas to you and yours too, and a vaccinated 2021.

[@chuckcuthbert6942]

Fantastic. I'm enjoying these films!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Glad you like them!

[@RohanTheBT]

Our favourite walk in Inchree! And I recognised the fast downhill gravel bit

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I thought about you and Ro when I was riding there

[@smoore5540]

Great vid mate👍🚴‍♀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Glad you enjoyed it Stephen

[@HughDWallace]

Another excellent video! I am so envious of where you live, Simon.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thank Hugh. I never take it for granted, I know I'm lucky to live here, although it took some doing over many years to make it work.

[@adams2583]

Another cracking video showing The Highlands at their finest!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Cheers Adam.

[@edmccall390]

Another wonderful adventure! Thank you for this one.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

My pleasure Ed.

[@chriszacaroli5683]

Stunning. We have nothing to compare here in the middle of England although I’m close enough to the Cotswolds and that’s beautiful. I use the road bike for my rides there and back.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

We're lucky to live where we do, but there are great rides in all corners of the UK - the Cotswolds are fantastic too. (Maybe not quite as nice as here...)

[@chriszacaroli5683]

@@alwaysanotheradventure looking forward to more uploads in the New Year and whilst I’m here, Merry Christmas!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

@@chriszacaroli5683 Thanks Chris. merry Christmas too to you and yours, and here's to a vaccinated 2021 !

[@davidvestey6014]

Love it. Would it be better on a hard tail though?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I saw some full sus whizz past me at one stage. Different bikes would suit different stages better, so any choice is a compromise. I've gone for the gravel bike because my MTB is old and a bit rubbish!

[@stevenblomify9093]

I rode the WHW section earlier this year, and thought it was just about a perfect ride for a gravel bike, almost 100% rideable (with low enough gears and fat enough tyres). Would be easier on an MTB certainly, but then the road sections to link it all up would be a slog - on a gravel bike, they're all part of the fun.

[@syncrosimon]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing 🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Glad you enjoyed it Simon - is that Border Terrier yours? (In the video) We have one too.

[@alphalau3243]

Great video and very inspiring content. Keep it going. Thanks.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thank you! Will do!

[@RHJ-29-6]

Love it. Have you considered going east from Mamord Lodge towards Loch Eilde Mor?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I’ve run up that way but don’t know what it’s like beyond Luibeilt. More to explore!

[@RHJ-29-6]

@@alwaysanotheradventure Thanks. I’m keen to explore it and take a rod. Maybe hire an e--bike in FW.

[@andygolborne5747]

@@alwaysanotheradventure did you get up that way on the bike? Was looking at exploring that and making it a loop back round in to Glen Nevis next time I'm up there. No idea what the track is like from Luibelt on the map, swinging round west following Abhairn Rath to "Tom an Eite" and then Water of Nevis. Presumably rocky and damp... 🙂

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

@@andygolborne5747 I walked that a long time ago and it was so wet I got trench foot and lost toenails 😮. If you go NNW from Luibeilt, between the two Mealls, you'll be on the route of the Tour of Ben Nevis MTB race, dropping to Lairig Leacach bothy. Or there's this one I did at the start of this winter kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3uVlnuYj7eNZ6ecttps://kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3uVlnuYj7eNZ6c The video turned out really well, and a map is linked in the description.

[@peterroberts6380]

Another fantastic video thank you. When you are bored in the new year could you consider a video on the merits of a gravel bike compared to a road bike for a cyclist who just enjoys cycling and isn’t looking to win anything but just take part in some 50m plus rides. Good luck on the Rapha 500 and happy Xmas!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks for the suggestion Peter. Just checking you've seen these two: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kF62doRqg7x7oqc and kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5jKqnh3nJJoirM I get the impression 'gravel' is sub-dividing. There's the tough, off-road versions like mine that can bash through MTB terrain, and there's the faster, more road-like versions which are lighter but perhaps more fragile and less suited to being bashed from below by 'baby-head' rocks. The latter would be more suited to someone who wanted a road bike that could go off-road. The former more suited to someone who wanted to tackle exploratory routes with a bit of road riding. So I need o get hold of one of the latter type to try and play with. Thanks for the idea - sorry for the long reply too - but I'll see what we can do. It's a very interesting idea.

[@bikenbeers]

Another great video. I really enjoy watching these scenic outdoor rides. So different to Australia.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I bet it is! Glad you enjoy it though.

[@johnmoss2582]

Bloody fantastic

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Well that's nice, thank you John.

[@aafridi284]

Fantastic video as always, i have question for you, i got terra orro gravel bike 2015 full 105, the only problem is the tyre clearnce is only 32c, what tyre would recommend for offroad? Do i have to upgrade to another bike to enjoy gravel off road routes? Thank u very much

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I'd be tempted to ask in my local bike shop and see what they can come up with, but there are good 32 gravel tryes like the Panaracer Gravel King SK.

[@johnferris764]

Supper job thanks

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks John

[@markbutcher4100]

I don’t get the gravel bike thing. Why not a hard tail mountain bike?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

If that’s the bike you prefer then go for it.

[@therealdelboy]

I for one am waiting for a video where Simon uses his wonderful hybrid Scots-Geordie accent for the entire duration. “Wey-aye man, this gravel route is an absolute belter, by the way”

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Might have to wait a while there Del...

[@eliterunning]

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@davidvestey6014]

I don’t think you said how far the route is?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Sorry David, although there is a link to the route mapping in the description. It's 28.2ml with 1575ft of ascent.

[@ivarbrouwer197]

The lodge looks like the Fawlty towers estate...

[@stevia13]

Is there any way you could just add the basic gpx file into your route descriptions, as well as Komoot; there are a lot of people who don't subscribe to that service. Thanks.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Do you happen to know could I do that please Stephen? I'd have to have it hosted somewhere, a website or storage platform, from which it could be downloaded. Ride with GPS, Strava, MapMyRide are all just alternatives to Komoot and require free memberships. I think GoogleDrive also needs folk to sign in. Komoot have kindly given us a premium account so we can put rides into useful collections. If you can think of a free hosting site for GPX files from which it can be directly downloaded then I'll gladly look into it for future rides.

[@stevia13]

@@alwaysanotheradventure Thanks for getting back. Well - I think you can upload your gpx file from your to Trailforks, and then post the link in the description. I follow McTrail Rider on KZbin, and he does that (as well as Komoot I think). Still enjoying all your VLOGS 👍

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

@@stevia13 Glad you're enjoying them. I hadn't heard of Trailforks, but after a quick look it seems to be like Komoot - you have to create a free account to download the GPX. The site says, "You must be logged into Trailforks before you can download a trails gps data".

[@stevia13]

@@alwaysanotheradventure Yes, but Traiforks will let you download the gpx file straight to your Garmin. Can you do the same with a free / non subscription Komoot account?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

@@stevia13 Yes you can (I had a free account for ages). There's a Download to GPS Device button on the ride page and that's a link to a downloadable GPX file. Komoot has the added advantage that, once the route is copied to your account, it immediately shows up on the Komoot App in your phone and from there you can sync it to a Garmin as a Course - all wireless. I'm pretty sure Komoot supports Wahoo too.

[@edinburghwalks9137]

very nice dear.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks a lot

[@geoff0054]

Another good video. Sections look more like mounting bike than gravel to me. I think I will pass on this one.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

That's what happens when I venture onto routes that I don't know can be ridden! All part of the fun, but you're right, an MTB would probably be easier except for the road section.

[@bigsambig]

What glasses are those?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Hi Sam - they're by Sunwise and the model is Austin. It's a question I get asked so often I made a video about them kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipSxZIZsbM6dgKc

[@peterbedford2610]

YT algo brought me here. Good stuff

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I'm glad it's working in our favour - eventually 😁

[@andyslater5248]

Lovely shots - I did the gravel section from Bunree up into the forestry land where the path disappears and becomes a bog. Some great views and an overall pleasant ride. If a hardpack proper path could be established linking up to the WHW then it would be a cracking loop. Terrible shame what has become of the Mamore lodge, stayed there a number of times and the views were spectacular. Keep up the good work on the videos, inspiring & entertaining.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

It would be great to have a ‘back way’ for the Caledonia Way from Inchree, you’re right Andy