Oykel to Ullapool – a touring bike don’t (oh and mum don’t read this, just look at the photos)

Yesterday I completed one of my typically silly days of outdoors adventure, honestly I’d put it in the same league as my Naas Valley fire trail weekend but I should vet to the point. I decided to ride from Oykel Bridge to Ullapool via the dirt roads and bern at Loch an Daim. With my fully loaded touring bike. In summary – anyone with a touring bike should NOT do this, even if the guys in the pub at Oykel tell you it is easy and they drove it DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!!!

Anyway, the back story. I have put in a few big days recently riding from John O Groats to Bettyhill (83km, 900m ascent) and Bettyhill to Lairg (76km) and was looking forward to getting into Ullapool for a rest day. To make the day interesting I noticed a marking on the Sustrans Map stating there was a mountain bike route from Oykel to Ullapool, and after talking to locals and people in bike shops I decided to give it a go.

The 10 miles of dirt roads up the Strath Mulzie is spectacular and has to be some of my favorite riding of the trip so far. The road is a bit rocky, generally pretty flat and feels like genuine wilderness which I absolutely loved! It is the first place I have not been able to see houses or sealed roads and it is just spectacular.

The downside of this ride is the 2+ miles of goat track connecting the two dirt roads. This track is tough, and although I did manage to push through the track with my 50kg of bike I would bot recommend it to anyone. The only reason I made it is that it hasn’t rained for nearly a week and the track and bog had dried sufficiently to be safe. In the rain I would definitely have turned back scared.

Once through I must admit that I was supremely happy to have made it, extremely hot and sweaty, and very very excited to ride my bike!