From the first look on the map this route looked like it was going to promise a great ride. Ben Alder is itself a shapely mountain and circumnavigating it was going to be really interesting.
The route makes a leisurely starts in Dalwhinnie following the shoreline of Loch Ericht on good forest track to the impressively grand Ben Alder Lodge. From here the climb began, never to steep to a plateau at Loch Pattack with a big view looking up to Ben Alder itself.
Having already racked up a decent number of kms it feels marvellously remote, the approach had been made and it was time to bite into the committing part. Leaving the track onto a cool singletrack section that traversed the plateaux to the Culra bothy. From here the next section looks like an improbable ride. The valley sides steepen into a headwall with no apparent route through.
Still on singletrack the route weaved its way up deviously through the boulders, twisting and turning it was all surprisingly rideable and delicious riding at that. Passing a couple of guys working on the path the final climb to the pass was indeed too steep to ride, it was an easy push to the top.
The view opened up to the west. Revealing a fun downhill section that would eventually sweep south east into the Bealach Cumhann and yet more downhill all the way to Bennalder cottage, giving around 400 metres of descent of 7km.
The fun ended abruptly at the cottage there was no more down, and as a famous song of the 90’s said, the only was is up!
And it was a lot of up as well, an unrelenting 2km, 500m carry up steep grassy hillside. Placed out of context and it hadn’t been for the descent I had just done this would not have made any sense at all. The climb was steep and my front wheel kept brushing against the slope.To ease the carry i removed my wheels and lashed them to my frame. Now the bike was better balanced and slightly easier to carry, I had to think of it as a cumbersome rucksack.
The climb did ease off slightly at the top, but it did feel pretty endless. The guidebook promised a great view and another 7km of descent, perhaps the best of its kind in the country, I wasn’t disappointed.
Taking a few moments to get my strength back i built my bike back up. Then with sweaty palms I dropped down into the descent..
I tried not to get tunnel vision, i wanted to take it all in but Concentrating on the track ahead the impressive craggy walls of Ben Alder passed by in a blur out of the corner of my eyes. This was good stuff.
All too soon i was back at the bothy, my track made an impressive line, i had ridden that and hopefully will do so again! It was actually one of those rare rides when you don’t feel there was more uphill than downhill.
iO 32/17 53km