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!
04:16Look at this!
04:26Look at this!
04:29It's very 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,
06:13the perfect 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 cream,
06:27which I can confirm was really delicious.
06:30I think the elderflower one that I had, had been foraged from the village
06:34like two days ago which is super cool.
06:36And 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. It'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.
06:59I 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,
07:10and the number of casual recreational and semi-pro racers
07:15kind 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,
07:24so setting up a business that would cater to sustainable travel,
07:28people 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,
07:41sees the slower pace and can stop and enjoy it.
07:45That's what we're here for, to give them that experience.
07:58The Great Trossachs Path
08:00The Great Trossachs Path
08:02The Great Trossachs Path
08:04The Great Trossachs Path
08:06The Great Trossachs Path
08:08The Great Trossachs Path
08:10The Great Trossachs Path
08:12The Great Trossachs Path
08:14The Great Trossachs Path
08:16The Great Trossachs Path
08:18The Great Trossachs Path
08:20The Great Trossachs Path
08:22The Great Trossachs Path
08:24The Great Trossachs Path
08:26The Great Trossachs Path
08:28The Great Trossachs Path
08:30The Great Trossachs Path
08:32The Great Trossachs Path
08:34The Great Trossachs Path
08:36The Great Trossachs Path
08:38The Great Trossachs Path
08:40The Great Trossachs Path
08:42The Great Trossachs Path
08:44The Great Trossachs Path
08:46The Great Trossachs Path
08:48The Great Trossachs Path
08:50The Great Trossachs Path
08:52The Great Trossachs Path
08:55How many kilometres of trails do you think you've worked out on Komoot?
09:00Oh! Hunners. That's a good Scottish word. Hunners!
09:03Hunners! Hunners!
09:05Hundreds of trails on Komoot
09:07Hundreds of trails. I have got a Komoot collection of my gravelfoil routes
09:11and it goes as far as
09:13lots of parts of the West Highland Way
09:15and then there's South Gravelfoil, North Gravelfoil
09:17It's massive! And there's stuff that I haven't done yet
09:19It definitely goes without saying that
09:21you should check out Kerry's Komoot collections
09:23and all the things we'll post on the Cycling Weekly Komoot profile
09:26if you want to dig out some great routes
09:29because Kerry, you know them all
09:31Yeah! I was greedy when I was trying to plot something out for you guys
09:34We're going in on epic today
09:36because I just want you to see it all and feel it all
09:38Awesome! Well let's crack on
09:40because we have a long way to go
09:54This is a classic gravelfoil section of trail
09:57We've just done the switchbacks up to the aqueduct
10:00So where does this aqueduct go?
10:02So I think this aqueduct comes from
10:04Glenfinglas Reservoir
10:06which used to be a little settlement
10:08and they flooded it
10:10so that they could provide water to Glasgow
10:12during, I think there was a cholera outbreak or something
10:14and they needed some fresh water
10:16pumped into the city
10:18and they came to Africa
10:20So we've just gone beneath the aqueduct
10:22which, whenever you reference gravelfoil
10:24you always see a picture of that
10:50So Koma was incredible
11:07You come round to the top of this amazing
11:09balcony gravel road
11:11round the corner
11:13and it just opens up to these spectacular views
11:15of Loch Lomond and all the pleasure boats
11:17going up and down
11:19It was pretty steep as well
11:39Following 15km of climbing out of Aberfoyle
11:41with close to 300m of elevation
11:43we reach the summit of the Koma Climb
11:45which is followed by a formidable descent
11:47down to the shores of Loch Lomond
11:51It's wicked isn't it?
11:53What a day we've got
11:55It's alright
11:57You see it all the time
11:59So what's up next Kerry?
12:01We've got some descent
12:03The Komoot profile is showing a pretty steep downhill
12:05Yeah, so we've kind of climbed like that
12:07and now we're going to go like that
12:09Well we're going down to water level
12:11aren't we basically
12:13Yeah we are, we're dropping quite a lot actually
12:15Like 1000ft or something
12:171000ft, boiling day
12:19And there's Loch Lomond
12:21and you're trying to take in the view
12:23but you can't because you've got to hold on to your brakes
12:25Absolutely amazing
12:27The Komoot descent
12:43I think anyone could do the Komoot route
12:45definitely
12:47and the Komoot descent
12:49although it's gnarly, it does have switchbacks
12:51so you can do one little section
12:53and then stop and rest
12:55I wouldn't recommend it in reverse though
12:57because it is a stinker of a climb the other way
12:59and if you stop and rest
13:01it means you get to also appreciate
13:03the views of Loch Lomond as you descend
13:05So yeah, I'd say it's probably an epic
13:07sort of loop
13:09but it has a bit of everything
13:25The Komoot descent
13:41Nearly!
13:43Tell me about that descent Catherine
13:45That was tricky
13:47I had to walk a couple of metres there
13:49It was so steep wasn't it
13:51It was like rocky, bouldery
13:53I got washed out
13:57If you don't pick your line
13:59you're just in so much trouble
14:01and then Kerry went
14:03yeah it's pretty gnarly with just one brake
14:07Kerry's front brake doesn't work
14:09Although just 3km in length
14:11the stretch along the banks
14:13of Bonny Loch Lomond features
14:15some of the most unforgiving terrain
14:17we've encountered
14:19With stream crossings and rocky scrambles
14:21it's like we're in hiker bike territory
14:37We were just walking along
14:39and from behind us both
14:41we just heard this massive crunch
14:43and we looked round
14:45and Rupert had had quite an accident
14:47so we're just currently
14:49trying to work out what we're going to do next
14:51because Rupert does no longer have
14:53a rear mech
14:55Oh that's not ideal
14:57So it's not the hanger that snaps
14:59It is there
15:01The hanger is blown
15:03You're lucky we're on the hiker bike
15:05We could have been walking anyway
15:19The worst handling way
15:21is quite hiker bike anyway
15:23but he literally had to
15:25hike the bike the whole way along
15:27So yeah, poor Rupert
15:29It was funny
15:31but now that I realise
15:33we're kind of
15:35quite far away from Arbor Foil
15:37I'm a little bit filled with a bit more
15:39pity for him
15:45It's only been about half an hour
15:47and we're waiting
15:53So I bent my rear mech in the crash
15:55and then I snapped it off on the West Highland Way
15:57and now
15:59I need to find a solution so I can do the rest
16:01of the ride
16:03and I think that solution is going to be stealing
16:05our drone pilot
16:07Ruben's bike
16:09So sorry Ruben
16:11but I'm commandeering your mountain bike
16:17After a steep 10%
16:19climb out of Inversnaid
16:21we wound our way along the gorgeous
16:23shores of Loch Arklat
16:25and then down to Loch Arn
16:27before a welcome gradual descent
16:29into Arbor Foil
16:31The gravel roads here are what dreams are made of
16:33Wide open and super fast
16:35we couldn't stop grinning the whole way home
16:47So I'm on Ruben's mountain bike
16:49and it's great
16:51so comfortable compared
16:53to the gravel bike
16:55but it's a little bit slow
16:57and I have now been dropped
16:59by Katherine and Kerry
17:01so
17:03I'm going to go and get my bike
17:05and I'm going to get my bike
17:07and I'm going to get my bike
17:09and I'm going to get my bike
17:11and I'm going to get my bike
17:13and I'm going to get my bike
17:15and that
17:17puff of dust going up over the crest of the hill
17:19is Katherine and Kerry
17:21so
17:23it's a tough ride
17:25Music
17:43With 85km ticked off
17:45we rolled into Arbor Foil
17:47caked in dust and baked by the sun
17:49As promised, the ride had really
17:51featured a little bit of everything
17:53From wide open, remote mountain vistas
17:55epic hiker biking
17:57and fast gravel roads
17:59we'd been blown away by the riding on offer
18:01and the community that it had fostered
18:03Music
18:05Music
18:17We made it!
18:19We made it!
18:21That was a big day
18:23It's definitely a whole day
18:25route that isn't it
18:27Full on, so worth it
18:29I did worry that was a bit giddy
18:31with wanting to show you everything but I think it was worth it
18:33We asked you for the most epic
18:35ride you could put together in Arbor Foil
18:37and you did it
18:39I think it's safe to say
18:41I completed the brief
18:43and we made it back
18:45We were one bike down but thanks to
18:47drone pilot Ruben's
18:49generosity
18:51he walked home
18:53three of us have made it back
18:55Goes without saying, if you want to see
18:57the route that we've ridden today, it will be in the description
18:59of the video below and for everything else
19:01Arbor Foil gravel riding
19:03check out Kerry's collections
19:05because she's done so much work putting it all together
19:07Putting Arbor Foil on the map
19:09The true queen of Arbor Foil
19:11Always happy to share my knowledge
19:13There's so much good stuff on there
19:15definitely worth taking the time before you come up
19:17to have a look and find some
19:19absolute belters of rides and trails
19:21If you have enjoyed this video then please
19:23do give us a thumbs up and subscribe
19:25to Cycling Weekly YouTube channel
19:27and leave us a comment in the comment section below
19:29telling us what you loved and whether
19:31you'd come and ride in the amazing
19:33place that is Arbor Foil
19:35Now we'll be back soon with some more great adventure content
19:37and we'll see you then