UK Bikepacking - The Badger Divide (Amazing Route!)

[@colinwellman9480]

Without doubt that is beautiful countryside. The bicycle in all its guises, road, gravel, mtb even ebikes is one of the greatest inventions. Faster than walking but still slow enough to see everything, just perfect.👍 For me no matter what life throws at me, getting out on the bike into the countryside lifts my mood even for a few hours. Thank you for sharing a lovely trip and your thoughts on doing it.

[@onemorecyclist]

Couldn't agree more with that, Colin. Thanks for watching and happy cycling!

[@sfinnera1]

Mate I’m on my way to do it now on the train with a fatbike. I’ve been a little nervous about it but feeling better after your video. Thanks for sharing 😮 wish me luck. I’ll try filming it too ☺️

[@onemorecyclist]

No way! Have a fantastic trip and let me know if you get a film together so I can check it out - it's always fun seeing how other people record places you've also ridden. Stay safe and thanks for the comment!

[@frankducett9]

Martin, If I were to be limited to only one cycling channel, this would be it. Your coverage is superb, music is spot on, and I don't know how a windy and rainy place with so few trees could be so desirable. Please keep at it. Frank

[@onemorecyclist]

Great to know there's people out there enjoying the videos, including from outside this little windy and rainy isle!. Thanks, Frank! Scheming for a couple more little trips at the moment and hopefully I'll get back up to Scotland before the year is out! Happy cycling!🙂

[@yorkshiretink3188]

What an amazing adventure... Well done to both of you 💪💪🍻🍻

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, YT. Always an adventure up there in the highlands! Happy cycling!

[@fazzini3868]

"cmon legs, cmon" I know that conversation well 😂 just discovered your channel. Great video. Love the honesty!

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, appreciate you checking out the video and channel. Glad I'm not the only one who gives himself a pep-talk on the hills! 🙂

[@fazzini3868]

@@onemorecyclist Oh! It's not just the hills for me 😳

[@onemorecyclist]

😂👍

[@Jimbo_LB]

Awesome yet again. Many thanks for an enjoyable watch.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, appreciate you watching and happy cycling!

[@clippingin1593]

Epic adventure riding. The Highlands delivering an abundance of scale and scope as usual and overall the weather looked quite favourable. It was interesting to see you ride through fatigued spells & hearing your voice change, seeing energy levels ebb & flow. All part of the multi-day magic - you'll cherish memories of this trip forever. At the end I wondered if you were waiting for the tattoo parlour to open for a suitable commemorative inking.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Gordon. I wonder if anyone's ever stumbled into that tattoo place and asked for a commemorative 'badger on a bicycle'! 😂 Funny you mention the energy levels ebb and flow and it's so true on the multi-day rides (or long day rides). I was quite shocked when I got home looking at the clips just how knackered I looked/sounded in many of them ... a true reflection though of a busy period work and family wise leading up to setting off for the trip, long journey up to the start and of course some tough riding en route. Some of those views up there really are like a shot in the arm though and keep you peddling along with a grin! 🙂

[@jonosmalls883]

This looks absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for a very relaxed video to drink my morning coffee with. You've actually inspired me to get of me arse and go for a ride

[@onemorecyclist]

So cool to read this comment, Jono! Enjoy getting out for a ride and thanks for checking out the video. Everything's better with coffee, too! 🙂

[@dalj4362]

Well done mate, it looked awesome. Enjoyed the video. Ian definitely had the better set up :)

[@onemorecyclist]

He really did! Thanks for the comment and happy cycling!

[@zopEnglandzip]

Absolutely magic mate, cracking vid.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, appreciate the nice feedback!🙂

[@edbackes2234]

Great video mate No coverage of the great Glen way?? One of my favourite bits. Completed yesterday

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks and congrats on completing it! Did the GGW bit as part of the Loch Ness 360 the year before (video elsewhere on the channel). Jaw dropping scenery for sure and I can't wait to get back up that way again. 🙂

[@Biking360]

This looks like such a cool route and brings back fond memories of when I briefly passed through a couple of years ago when riding the LEJOG. Some great filming and you have definitely put The Badger Divide into my ever-growing bucket list. Incidentally, I think Scotland is the absolute best place in the UK for cycling. Take care. Jay

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Jay. I'll never get through my bucket list of routes but glad to have ticked off the Badger this year, it's a cracking route. I remember enjoying watching the Scottish sections of your LEJOG trip and I think you're probably right Scotland is hard to beat for cycling in the UK - maybe the Yorkshire Dales has it by a hairs length ... but of course I would say that! 😉

[@marktownend3782]

Crikey this looks hard.......but beautiful. I saw a video of a couple doing it on a tandem.....really ! I won't spoil it 4u if not seen it. I'm 2 old for camping, daft question but do u think it's possible 2 do with accommodation ?

[@onemorecyclist]

@@marktownend3782 cheers, Mark. Definitely one of the tougher tours I've done but it gets you out into some pretty amazing landscapes. I'd say very possible with accommodation booked well in advance, perhaps Corrour to Killin might be the longest stretch without many/any options. I can imagine a very different kind of ride experience without the fully-loaded setup. Happy cycling!

[@jameswatson5380]

Just a note on the saddle sores. I found if I had a hip bag or backpack, I got them within 2 days. Taken off I was fine. Nice video.

[@onemorecyclist]

Funny you mention the backpack - first time switching from my usual 1 litre bladder to a 2 litre, so a bit of extra weight on the saddle might have contributed. Thanks for the comment!

[@kevindean9613]

Great advice , I'm going to be starting with the Cantii way after a long illness ,. It's one of the flattest tours in the UK , I'll work my up to this one .

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Kevin. Just googled the Cantii way - that looks like a lovely route! Good for logistics too, being a circular one. Happy cycling!

[@brianridley1102]

I did the Rebellion Way after a major operation. Thoroughly recommend it, it's not totally flat I think I averaged around 2000 ISH feet of climbing per day. A nice one after your Cantii way

[@kevindean9613]

@@brianridley1102 That's what I have planned. ,I'm glad you enjoyed it .

[@kennyness8881]

Wonderful video. I wish you needed an American friend to tag along.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Kenny. Riding in the USA is a bit of a pipe dream at the moment. One day, perhaps!

[@fionnandrory1]

Lovely route this and another one into the ideas bank. I notice that some days you’re wearing a helmet and others not, is there any particular reason for this or is it just whatever takes your fancy? The terrain/traffic appears consistent throughout and I’m interested in what may influence your choice. Keep up the good work👍

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Sean. Without wishing to shamelessly plug another of my videos I had a go at describing my approach to helmet wearing in a video last year. It's a personal thing, obviously (while the law here still permits choice etc.) and if any beginner cyclist ever asked me if they should use a lid I'd say yes. In a nutshell though I don't personally subscribe to the view that a bike is so inherently dangerous that you simply can't get on one without a helmet; but also if I'm ever not 100% comfortable that I'm riding well within my own bike handling skills (sometimes due to terrain, or speed, or weather etc.) or non-concerning volumes of traffic, I'll have the lid on. I think in the video there's sections where I have a lid on and the riding is super easy (like sans lid) but I'd maybe just been over some rougher stuff (but not filmed it etc.). Thanks for watching and happy cycling!

[@koendomus]

For the record I did south to nord on a gravel bike 40mm tires( tubeless). You need to know that the climbs are a lot steeper in that direction. It was my first trip on a gravel bike, but i'm an experienced mountainbiker. If you are well trained a gravel bike is not a problem (gear range ) i only had to hike 2,5 km along Loch Ness (impossilbe packed). I have to be honest, i had no rain at all, dry underground so lots of grip. Downhill a mountainbike would have been more fun, I had to be careful all the time. To most people i recommend N-S route.

[@onemorecyclist]

Kudos on your own ride and thanks for sharing a few details. Yes, Ian had a blast on the downhill sections with his MTB and setup. Funnily enough we were chatting en route about how you sometimes descend something and think 'blimey, I wouldn't want to cycle up that the other way' (my thoughts going down from the top of the Corrieyairack pass, for sure) but it's often not quite as bad as you imagine when you do it. Appreciate the comment and happy cycling!

[@horriflying]

Done south to north too. IMHO, the better direction, and not convinced it’s a harder direction. Scenery gets better each day too. Prevailing winds usually on your back.

[@koendomus]

@@horriflying i had headwinds all the time, forcast said the oposit but the reward was sunshine the whole trip

[@Trekon2]

Hi Martin, That was a lovely relaxing video of you and friend exerting yourselves in among lovely scenery, hope you slept well? This talk about the amount of miles and it might not be sounding impressive really doesn't matter unless you set your goals to high, and no body should do that especially with to much weight like you were carrying and I'm not quite understanding why you carry a pack on your back, did you use everything you carried with you ? Travel as light as possible if possible. Great video and thanks for sharing 👏👌🏻👋

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks for the nice feedback, much appreciated. My backpack is mainly just to carry a water bladder (usually 1L but I took a 2L for this trip to try and minimise time spent filtering etc.) and I find it useful for anything I want to strip off the bike and keep on my person when going into shops etc. I could have used a much lighter mat and sleeping bag as it was a lot warmer than expected and in a bit of a moment of madness I took an extra camera and a ton of spare batteries (and an extra power bank! - don't know what possessed me to do any of that as I'm usually quite ruthless about leaving unnecessary stuff behind). Few other bits I didn't use and it all adds up. I don't really mind carrying more or heavier gear than the 'fast and light brigade' and quite enjoy the slower pace of multi day rides fully loaded and comfort off the bike, but I usually try not to take anything that won't get used. Hopefully this tour was just a blip in that approach. 🙂

[@Trekon2]

Hi Martin, thanks for replying and thanks for the explanation especially the part about the camera gear which is easily forgotten about viewing from the armchair, the water bladder I haven't come across that one before because I'm old school i suspect, great music by the way take care 👏👋

[@pauledgerton1759]

Enjoyed your video. What did you take that, with hindsight, you don’t think you needed?

[@onemorecyclist]

Cheers, Paul. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It was far warmer and drier than I expected - we'd prepared to be soaked all day on the 3rd day and have a rather cold/wet camp that eve but it never happened - so I'd definitely have taken a smaller (when packed) and much lighter mat and sleeping bag. I took a load of electricals that I didn't need (spare camera and batteries/power bank for example), spare fuel and things like a down jacket that never got used. Nothing heavy in itself but it all adds up etc. Perhaps if the trip had gone differently some or all of that would have come in handy, hard to tell. There's a danger with tours of setting off on a new trip just focussing on solving the issues you had on the last one and I'll have to be careful not to fall into that mindset when preparing for the next off! Happy cycling!

[@alexmorgan3435]

Apparently it is only the female midge that does the biting. In 2014 I had to make a hasty retreat when on a cycling holiday on Skye because the swarms of midge. It was like something out of an old Hitchcock movie. I got bit in places I didn't even know I had. I swore back then never again and I have not been back since. Still nice scenery on this Badger Divide route. Well done.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Alex. Yeah, coming up to a week since finishing and all the bites are still itching! I've done a few summer Scottish tours over the years so at least know what to expect. Not sure it came across in the video but the last camp spot was in quite long grass (full of all manner of beasties) and whenever the breeze dropped it was pretty Hitchcockian! Very quick dinner and no getting up in the night and popping outside for a tinkle that night! 🙂

[@andypendred8973]

Great film, thankyou. Out of interest what sort of overall weight is your bike and kit ?

[@onemorecyclist]

Cheers, Andy. That's a good question and I don't know tbh. I was carrying more weight on this one than I've probably ever carried. The bike is I think probably 15kg on its own (with the rack), so it could have easily been mid to high 20s overall with kit and water etc. If I did this one again (or do a similar type ride in the future), I'll aim to go lighter with the kit for sure. Happy cycling!

[@brianridley1102]

Be maybe nice to do a video on the logistics of that route, Water, food availability, gearing on your bike would you go bigger rings etc

[@onemorecyclist]

In many ways just riding your bike all day is the easy part with these kinds of trips, isn't it? A lot goes into the planning and logistics side, including 'rolling logistics' each day, and I'm usually just solo touring so this one was even more complicated to sort out. Keep Smiling Adventures does a 'Before you ride the Badger Divide' video which I think is a great resource for planning this one.

[@brianridley1102]

@@onemorecyclist must have missed that one!

[@phillee4459]

whats the music

[@onemorecyclist]

I use Soundstripe, different artists. Tracks by Cody Martin and Emorie are the first couple of tunes in this one, if I remember right.

[@frankducett9]

Now, if you bought a singlespeed, something like a Wabi Thunder, your saddle soreness would be far less. Why? Because you'll be out of the saddle half the day.

[@onemorecyclist]

I'll bet someone's had a go at that route on a single speed. 🙂