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gravel rides cairngorms & perthshire; 15 gravel bike adventures in the heart of scotland - markus stitz. vertebrate publishing paperback. 122pp illus. £15.95
a matter of a few days past, i was moved to pen a monologue on the fashionistas who seem to have adopted the gravel bike as their contemporary plaything. in truth, i blame the uci for creating a gravel world championship, attracting the likes of mathieu van der poel to the podium, a man whose gravellous encounters seem always to result in his finishing with a pristine white world championship jersey. the connotations of gravel, in similar fashion to that of the mountain bike, for me at least, conjures images considerably less than pristine, punctuated only by the incongruity of the occasionally attendant bikepacking bags.
so while the aesthetes deliberate over which wireless groupset to affix to their sveltitude (not sure if that's a real word), real gravel cyclists like edinburgh-based markus stitz, are inadvertently revealing the superficiality of the fashionable end of the genre. this is the third of markus stitz' forays into print, having previously penned bikepacking scotland, and edited great british gravel rides. to that extent, he has devoted his career to demonstrating the joys of riding on what passes for gravel in the uk. he's also an accomplished film-maker, an example of which will be shown at islay's machrie hotel in august this year at the islay book festival. viewing of the film will follow an interview with markus by yours truly. if you find yourself in the neighbourhood on the last weekend of august, make the effort to join us. there's even a bike ride with markus along the three distilleries path near port ellen, leading from laphroaig distillery, past lagavulin distillery, all the way to ardbeg.
however, this time round, markus has concentrated his skills on scotland's eastern side, taking in the cairngorm national park and perthshire. my targeted cynicism aimed at a distinct section of the gravel world harbours suspicions that many, while keen entrants in carefully curated gravel events, remain apart from the more rustic determination of those who may adhere to the epithet 'ride until you no longer recognise your surroundings'. taken literally, that may seem a recipe for disaster, particularly if venturing forth into the cairngorms, but, armed with this book in particular, a lack of topographical recognition might not be the concern it at first seems.
i am very much in favour of markus' philosophy that the best gravel bike for you is the one you already own. so even if that's an elderly, yet mechanically sound bicycle with capable tyres you can undoubtedly have as much fun as those on the state-of-the-art. it should go without saying, but markus says it anyway, that whatever bike you have chosen for your gravellating experience, ought to be capable of lasting until the end without recourse to calling out mountain rescue.
the book is helpfully divided into sections, commencing with easy routes, encompassing four short excursions, the shortest of which is a mere 14.7km. compare this with the challenging routes, where the longest exceeds 77km. it strikes me that the straightforward routes section will be the most thumbed. and thumbed is not a euphemism; this compact and bijou volume comfortable fits in a jersey pocket, though it may prove more practical if placed under the clear window of a handlebar bag. all the routes are clearly marked on ordnance survey maps, all downloadable as gpx files. advice from mountain rescue would advise that you also carry suitable scale paper maps; the cairngorms are not necessarily renowned for wall to wall phone coverage.
each ride is copiously annotated, with turn by turn directions, a route profile, the aforementioned maps, quality photographs, and food and bike stops. there's a decent list of bike shops, accommodation and local transportation options in the index at the back of the book. however, markus has had the good sense to keep it brief and resist the temptation to remove any possibility of discovery by eager participants.
whichever strain of the gravel genre you find is to your liking, should the wanderlust gene infiltrate, i would prejudicially suggest that scotland is the best part of the united kingdom in which to satisfy that velocipedinal inquisitiveness. but don't do it without this book.
gravel rides cairngorms & perthshire
tuesday 13 may 2025
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