Cycling Weekly set out on the hunt for the best gravel riding we could find and found ourselves in Aberfoyle, just north of Glasgow and we weren't disappointed. With lochs, mountain views and mile after mile of traffic free gravel roads, they thought they found heaven!
In association with Komoot.
In association with Komoot.
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00:00It's safe to say that the last year and a half has been, well, empty of
00:29much in the way of exploration.
00:32Riding has been local, and if you're like me, mostly the same roads and trails over
00:36and over and over and over again.
00:39So when Kamut asked myself and Catherine Moore if we'd like to ride one of the UK's ultimate
00:43gravel riding destinations, naturally we leapt at the chance.
00:48Bags and bikes packed, we headed a long way north to Aberfoyle, otherwise known as Gravelfoyle.
00:55Now all we needed was a guide, so we met up with Kerry McPhee, a local shredder who was
00:59an encyclopaedic knowledge of the gravel roads and the trails on offer.
01:04So Gravelfoyle has 200km of gravel trails, and Aberfoyle is right in the centre of it,
01:11so you can loop the north side and you can loop the south side, you can bail half way,
01:16you can eat your lunch and go down the south side, and there's loads of different types
01:21of gravel as well.
01:22You've got fat gravel, you've got fast gravel, you've got single track, you've got tech,
01:27so this is an ideal place for anyone to come and try.
01:30You can do a massive loop like we're going to do, or you can do a tiny little one.
01:33So you're spoilt for options and spoilt for terrain.
01:36Feeling a little apprehensive to be honest, like I'm really excited about this route,
01:41it looks absolutely incredible what Kerry's put together for us, but it is going to be
01:45a big day and I've ridden two halves by the looks of it, like the Three Locks Drive and
01:50that area that I think we're going to do first looks stunning, we've seen a little bit about
01:54what's in store there, but very accessible from Aberfoyle, whereas the second half looks
01:58properly wild and a bit of the West Highland Way, like really a bit more remote, so I think
02:04that will be really stunning.
02:06It's pretty tough, but it's a good loop.
02:08Pretty tough for you or pretty tough for them?
02:11Pretty tough for them, because they don't know what's coming.
02:16Our route has something of a rude awakening, climbing for the first 5km out of Aberfoyle
02:22before winding through the beautiful Trossachs Forest Roads up to Loch Venica.
02:26We'll ride the Southern Shore before striking across to Loch Acre, before heading south
02:31and back towards Aberfoyle, but not before taking in the sights of Loch Drunke.
02:35But our ride doesn't end there, instead we head out the other side of Aberfoyle and into
02:41the true wilderness of the Trossachs, winding a path between Ben Lomond and Bendoo, it's
02:46here where our ride is at it's most isolated.
02:49A steep hairpin descent takes us down to the iconic West Highland Way on the shores
02:54of Loch Lomond and a chance for a break at the Inver Snaid Hotel.
02:58A short steep climb takes us up to Loch Arklat, before a long ride and a much needed gradual
03:03descent along the banks of Loch Onn back to Aberfoyle.
03:07You can of course find all the route details on Cycling Weekly's Komoot account and at
03:11the link in the description.
03:14We're off!
03:15Where are we Kerry?
03:16We have just hit the Jigs Pass, so if you were doing the Jigs weekend at an event, this
03:21would be the start line of the hill climb.
03:23It is a hill!
03:26We've started on a hill.
03:27So it won't be long before we take a ride onto the gravel.
03:31So this looks like this is kind of some of the only tarmac, you don't touch much tarmac
03:35on this ride.
03:36Very much!
03:37I think this is maybe 300-400 metres of tarmac and then it's just pure gravel after that.
03:41Music to my ears!
03:46Music to my ears!
04:16Music to my ears!
04:26Look at this!
04:29Very cloudy, very atmospheric, although I think it's going to burn off.
04:34I think we might get better weather this afternoon, which is nice.
04:38But these gravel roads are so cool.
04:40I just don't have anything like this where I ride at home.
04:46None of these wide open rides that are just no traffic.
04:51You can ride free abreast, so Kerry, myself and Catherine are able just to ride along
04:58and chat.
04:59It's such a refreshing way to ride.
05:16Woo!
05:18Not that one!
05:20Not war on us!
05:22Rupert had a comedy crash!
05:32You know when your mate crashes, and for a split second, you really want to laugh, but
05:37you shouldn't laugh because you need to make sure that they're OK first.
05:40Once that was all clear, it was just so funny.
05:43Once that was all clear, it was just so funny.
05:45It was just like a real slow-mo tumble.
05:48Very embarrassing.
05:50It's just funny when somebody crashes.
06:0215km into our ride, after climbing out of Aberfoyle and stretching out along rocky tracks
06:09and winding our way along the southern shores of Loch Venica, we reach Ackray Farm, the
06:14perfect place for an ice cream break.
06:23I was glad to reach Ackray Farm because Kerry had told us a lot about the delicious ice
06:27cream, which I can confirm was really delicious.
06:30I think the elderflower one that I had, had been foraged from the village like two days
06:35ago, which is super cool, and there's loads of animals here which I'm really excited about.
06:39But back to the route, yeah, fab so far.
06:43If I said gravel foil, what does that mean to you?
06:47Gravel foil is Aberfoyle.
06:49It's the mecca for gravel in the UK at the moment, I think.
06:55Have you seen an increase in cyclists?
06:57Yeah, very much so.
07:00I mean, lockdown was amazing here.
07:02The number of people who came out of their homes and could enjoy the roads and the tracks
07:07for maybe the first time in a long time, and the number of casual recreational and semi-pro
07:14racers kind of whizzing around the woods here is phenomenal these days.
07:19When we came to the farm, we knew there was the Great Trossachs Path running through it
07:22and the Felox Quife Drive adjacent, so setting up a business that would cater to sustainable
07:28travel, people out recreational cycling and walking was key to our business.
07:32And people do. People stop. People in cars don't stop.
07:35Everyone on a bike or walking around the lot sees the benefits, sees the slower pace and
07:43can stop and enjoy it. That's what we're here for, to give them that experience.
07:58The Great Trossachs Path
08:28The Great Trossachs Path
08:48Kerry McPhee, you've done a lot of plotting on Komoot, haven't you?
08:52Yeah, I love using Komoot for my plots.
08:54How many kilometres of trails do you think you've worked out on Komoot?
09:00Oh, honours. That's a good Scottish word. Honours!
09:03Honours! Honours!
09:05Hundreds of trails on Komoot.
09:07Hundreds of trails. I have got a Komoot collection of my gravel foiled routes and it goes as
09:11far as lots of parts of the West Highland Way and then there's South Gravel Foil, North
09:16Gravel Foil. It's massive. And there's stuff that I haven't done yet.
09:20It definitely goes without saying that you should check out Kerry's Komoot collections
09:24and all the things we'll post on the Cycling Weekly Komoot profile if you want to dig out
09:28some great routes because Kerry, you know them all.
09:31Yeah, I was greedy when I was trying to plot something out for you guys. We're going in
09:35on epic today because I just want you to see it all and feel it all.
09:39Awesome. Well, let's crack on because we have a long way to go.
09:50This is a classic gravel foil section of trail. We've just done the switchbacks up to the aqueduct.
10:04So, where does this aqueduct go?
10:07So, I think this aqueduct comes from Glen Finglas Reservoir which used to be a little
10:12settlement and they flooded it so that they could provide water to Glasgow during, I think
10:17there was a cholera outbreak or something and they needed some fresh water pumped into
10:21the city and they came to Aberfoy because it's so lovely.
10:24Of course.
10:25So, we've just gone beneath the aqueduct which, whenever you reference gravel foil, you always
10:31see a picture of that.
10:47So, Comer was incredible. You come round to the top of this amazing balcony gravel road
11:12around the corner and it just opens up to these spectacular views of Loch Lomond and
11:17all the pleasure boats going up and down and it was pretty steep as well.
11:39Following 15km of climbing out of Aberfoy, with close to 300m of elevation, we reached
11:45the summit of the Comer Climb which is followed by a formidable descent down to the shores
11:49of Loch Lomond.
11:53It's wicked, isn't it? What a day we've got.
11:55It's alright.
11:57You see it all the time.
11:59So, what's up next, Kerry? We've got some descent. The commute profile is showing a
12:04pretty steep downhill.
12:06Yeah, so we've kind of climbed like that and now we're going to go like that.
12:10Well, we're going down to water level, aren't we, basically?
12:12Yeah, we are. We're dropping quite a lot, actually.
12:15So, it's a big descent.
12:17Like a thousand feet or something.
12:19Thousand feet. Boiling day.
12:21And there's Loch Lomond and you're trying to take in the view but you can't because
12:24you've got to hold on to your brakes.
12:26Absolutely amazing.
12:28I think anyone could do the Comer route, definitely.
12:47And the Comer descent, although it's gnarly, it does have switchbacks.
12:52So, you can do one little section and then stop and rest and then do the next section
12:57and then stop and rest.
12:58I wouldn't recommend it in reverse, though, because it is a stinker of a climb the other way.
13:02And if you stop and rest, it means you get to also appreciate the views of Loch Lomond
13:06as you descend.
13:07So, yeah, I'd say it's probably an epic sort of loop, but it has a bit of everything.
13:27Nearly.
13:43Tell me about that descent, Catherine.
13:45That was tricky.
13:47I had to walk a couple of metres there.
13:49So steep, wasn't it?
13:51It was rocky, bouldery, sort of washed out background.
13:57If you don't pick your line, you're just in so much trouble.
14:00Yeah.
14:01And then Kerry went, yeah, it's pretty gnarly with just one brake.
14:07Kerry's front brake doesn't work.
14:10Although just three kilometres in length, the stretch along the banks of Bonny Loch
14:14Lomond features some of the most unforgiving terrain we've encountered.
14:18With stream crossings and rocky scrambles, this was true hiker bike territory.
14:37We were just walking along and from behind us both, we just heard this massive crunch
14:45and we looked round and Rupert had had quite an accident.
14:48So we're just currently trying to work out what we're going to do next,
14:52because Rupert does no longer have a rear mech.
14:55Oh, that's not ideal.
14:57So it's not the hanger that snaps?
14:59It is.
15:00The hanger is, yeah, the hanger is blown.
15:03You're lucky we're on the hiker bike.
15:05Yeah, totally.
15:06We're walking anyway.
15:15The West Highland Way is quite hiker bike anyway,
15:19but he literally had to hike the bike the whole way along.
15:23So yeah, poor Rupert.
15:26It was funny, but now that I realise we're kind of quite far away from Arbor Foil,
15:32I'm a little bit filled with a bit more pity for him.
15:36It's only been about half an hour and we've been waiting.
15:44So I bent my rear mech in the crash and then I snapped it off on the West Highland Way
15:48and now I need to find a solution so I can do the rest of the ride.
15:53And I think that solution is going to be stealing Rupert's bike.
15:58So I'm going to try and find a solution.
16:02After a steep 10% climb out of Inversnade,
16:05we wound our way along the gorgeous shores of Loch Arklat
16:08and then down to Loch Arn before a welcome ground
16:11for the rest of the ride.
16:13And I think that solution is going to be stealing our drone pilot Ruben's bike.
16:21So sorry Ruben, but I'm commandeering your mountain bike.
16:32After a gradual descent into Arbor Foil,
16:34the gravel roads here are what dreams are made of.
16:37Wide open and super fast, we couldn't stop grinning the whole way home.
16:41So I'm on Ruben's mountain bike and it's great.
17:05So comfortable compared to the gravel bike,
17:09but it's a little bit slow.
17:12And I have now been dropped by Catherine and Kerry.
17:16That puff of dust going up over the crest of the hill is Catherine and Kerry.
17:22So, it's a tough ride.
17:39With 85km ticked off, we rolled into Arbor Foil,
17:42caked in dust and baked by the sun.
17:45As promised, the ride had really featured a little bit of everything.
17:48From wide open, remote mountain vistas,
17:51epic hiker biking and fast gravel roads,
17:54we'd been blown away by the riding on offer
17:57and the community that it had fostered.
18:00Pretty cool.
18:10We made it!
18:12Wow, that was a big day.
18:14Was a big day.
18:16It's definitely a whole day route that, isn't it?
18:19Full on. So worth it.
18:22No, I'm exhausted.
18:24I'm absolutely exhausted.
18:26I can't believe we've spent the night here.
18:29worth it. I did worry that was a bit greedy with wanting to show you everything but I think it was worth it.
18:34We asked you for the most epic ride you could put together in Aberfoyle and you
18:39did it. I think it's safe to say. We had it all, honestly. I completed the brief and we made it back, even if we were one bike down.
18:46Yeah, we were one bike down but thanks to drone pilot Ruben's generosity, he walked
18:52home. Well, three of us have made it back. Goes without saying, if you want to see
18:57the route that we've ridden today, it will be in the description of the video below.
19:01And for everything else, Aberfoyle gravel riding, check out Kerry's collections because
19:06she's done so much work putting it all together. Putting Aberfoyle on the map.
19:10Yeah, the true queen of Aberfoyle. Always happy to share my knowledge.
19:14There's so much good stuff on there, definitely worth taking the time before you come up
19:18to have a look and find some absolute belters of rides and trails. If you have enjoyed this
19:23video then please do give us a thumbs up and subscribe to Cycling Weekly YouTube channel
19:27and leave us a comment in the comment section below telling us what you loved and whether
19:32you'd come and ride in the amazing place that is Aberfoyle.
19:35Now we'll be back soon with some more great adventure content and we'll see you then.