Soaked but stoked
It would be fair to say this 'summer' trip started very wet, but super atmospheric as we arrived in a misty Cairngorms, set up camp and went for a ride in the rain. We returned to basecamp completely soaked and immediately occupied the whole drying line with five sets of riding kit, helmets and even shoes with puddles in them! Thankfully our basecamp site has hot showers and washing facilities so we were clean, warm and refreshed in no time. A group decision was made to cook dinner another evening and instead we would head into Aviemore for a meal indoors. STOKED!
Next season, err day!
Hot, hot, hot! Finally sunny and we head over to Laggan Wolftrax to take on the new and original trials, as well as the world famous Airs Rock! Here we can see the group discussing who's going down first, turns out our guide Craig was nominated to demo...
and again!
Soon after, everyone got up the courage to ride this feature and then again and again as it's really fun! Some great photo and video opportunities on this for sure.
What's for dinner?
A key part to our Adventure Trips away is the riders have the opportunity to work together to shop, prepare and cook meals (and clean up!). Sometimes it's the first time our riders have prepared meals from scratch, and outdoors too!
what you mean epic?
Day three is our epic 35km scenic loop through the Rothiemurcus forest. The route involves a mix of terrain, rooty, muddy, rocky sections and even river crossings! A real adventure day out, but never too far from civilisation (there's a hidden ice cream shop en-route) which didn't stay hidden long!
Time to lead
The special part of this route is each rider gets the chance to take the lead and guide the group, navigating with a map and making sure everyone together and enjoying the ride. Our guide Craig is with them the whole time if the riders require some guidance. By the end of the day, everyone has had a chance to lead, learned new skills and built up their confidence.
You were only supposed to cross once!
The riders had to work out 'the best' way to cross the river, so since it was a warm summers day, they decided to test (almost) every technique and route possible, crossing back and forward seven times. We say 'almost' because just out of shot is a footbridge! ...but that's no fun.
Prepared for Adventure
Each rider carries their own backpack which has their personal medication, tools, spare parts such as chain links, their lunch, snacks and water, but most importantly for kids, lots of spare clothes! ...after getting dried and changed, there was another river crossing around the corner which our riders had to jump in, apparently!
This tastes sooo good!
Whether it's the long days outdoors, riding bikes, cooking outdoors, or just the fact the meals are prepared by the riders themselves, the main comments were how nice the food tasted! Aldi for the win!
Plenty to do
Riding is our thing but we also have so much extra activities, whether crossing the famous duck pond rings, swimming pool, local view points or even more rivers, we're active and busy all day. what even is TikTok?
Evening rides
Can we go riding again, pleeeeeeese. yeah, that's what we're here for! There's nothing better than going for another ride in summer evenings until sunsets after 10pm. it's THE BEST.
Best Friends Forever
Although we have some riders who know each other from their clubs, school or previous trips and others who don't know anyone at the start, there's nothing like traveling, riding and working together during a residential trip to make life long memories together. You'll return home with new friends and looking forward to meeting up again for our next adventure!