Exploring my new area.

Having moved nearly 400 miles northwards to the north coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland, I have a whole new area to explore. I rode my Boardman mountain bike a few days ago and was rather disappointed with the coastal trail to the West of our village. The ground was strewn with rocks washed up from the sea, which made progress hard work. Additionally, it was just no fun. Today, I decided to explore a woodland, Montcoffer Woods, which I knew from research had trails within it. There isn’t much variation in height once in the woods but I needed to climb from near sea level to a high point at 283 feet. Because I didn’t know what I’d be faced with I chose to ride my Trek with electrical assistance.

I rode along the coast path, which is tarmac, to the port of Banff, which gave its name to the much larger town in Canada. From here I cut through the Deveron whisky distillery and climbed the dirt road past the north end of the woods. There were 2 fallen trees to find my way around after last weeks storm, with its high wind speeds. I cut into the woods just before the northeastern corner but struggled to lift the hefty E bike over a stile. The trail was fairly flat, with just a hint of elevation gain, and twisted through the trees. On a lighter, conventional bike, it would be even more fun, trying to maintain speed and momentum through the twists. I stopped to take the picture above and just after that point the trail turned northwards then eastwards. With a bit of downwards gradient it was good riding. A few more fallen trees had to be navigated around and occasionally the gaps between trees were a little tight for my 760 mm handlebars.

I reached a point on the northern edge where I could have possibly completed a circuit under tree cover or exited the woods. I had thought from my research that I’d be able to reach the Bridge of Alvah across the River Deveron. I began on a dirt road which took me at speed downhill. I passed a couple of farms before meeting up with 2 anglers, setting up their gear. We chatted and they pointed out that I couldn’t get any further. I had to turn back and climb the long route back to Montcoffer Woods. If was easy enough by E bike.

I started on my return journey, dropping down to the distillery on a different dirt road. From here I was soon back through Banff and on the coastal trail where I used the one single-track downhill which I’ve discovered. It’s only short but is a thrill for a brief period. It was a good ride and will encourage me to explore Moncoffer Woods some more, probably by conventional bike.