MoreDirt Epic's - River Rat Jimmy Going Solo in Sutherland

A solo ride in 1 of the most remote places in Europe might not be everyones idea of paradise check out RiverRatJimmy's story from his solo trip to Sutherland!

With only 13,000 people living in an area covering 2,300 square miles, Sutherland is one of the most remote places in Europe, and with a further 6 hour drive from Glasgow and Edinburgh it isn't on everyone's list as a mountain bike destination.

However the area is littered with ancient trails amongst the mountains and moors making this little piece of Scotland ideal for some real wilderness riding.

The family and I booked a cottage in the small village of Tongue and in between watching the wildlife and sand castle building on the fabulous beaches I planned a couple of rides. With Ben Tongue overlooking the cottage and a landrover track all the way to the top, I set out for the 302m hill on the first evening. It was worth the climb just for the views. The sun was setting and the shadows of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal were lurking over the vast moorland, they looked like two sentinels guarding what seemed to be the entrance to the unknown. With the light fading I headed back down on the ten minute, rocky, technical descent back to the cottage.

The next morning I was up early and headed out towards the two giants. Following the road along the Kyle of Tongue towards Kinloch Lodge at the head of the Kyle. I took a track south climbing into the hills surrounding Ben Hope with fantastic views of Ben Loyal and back down the Kyle, the hard packed trail soon turned to singletrack and wound its way up to about 400m. From here the trail became less defined, so I turned around and headed back down the way I came, making it back to the cottage in time for breakfast.

From the little taster of what Sutherland had to off, I pondered the maps, planning a circular route around the famous hills of Arkle and Foinaven.

As I was alone and riding in some of the remotest mountains in Britain, I made sure I had food and supplies to be self sufficient in case of an emergency, packing a bivy bag alongside my usual riding tools and equipment for a bit more security.

The forecast was good for the next few days, so leaving a detailed description of my route as well as an expected return time behind, I set off for the short drive down the shore of Loch Hope.

There wasn't a car seen down the singletrack road, emphasising the remoteness of the area once again.

After parking up at the head of the trail and one more final check over the bike and equipment I set off towards Glen Golly.

It was only a few kilometres to the small farm at Gobernuisgach lodge on a fast landrover track through a thick pine forest. After the lodge, I turned north west up Glen Golly itself, the track quality remained far after the farm and good progress was made up the glen. The remoteness started to creep in, when the track became less maintained and the hills loomed up around me.

I climbed up the ridge line of Creag Dubh with little pushing. The size of the views deserved more time to soak them up and the rest would do anyone good after 450m of ascent.

The trail dropped down slowly on some nice singletrack, speed had to be restrained as the peat hags created big drops.

Crossing a small stream at the bottom I joined a good stalkers track leading up from Loch Dionard which took me on another steep climb to the top of Bealach Horn.

Arkle was in fine form showing its shattered, quartzite curving ridge.

The descent down to Loch Stack was fast and quite technical in places, I covered the 6km drop in what seemed like seconds, with the dramatic Ben Stack drawing nearer every time I took my eye from the trail ahead.

The drainage curbs along the trail, added optional jumps but caution had to be taken with the remote location. A mechanical would mean a long return walk.

It was now just a question of heading back to the van, all that stood in the way was another 450m climb. Again the track was good and all of it climbable, if you are fit enough that is.

I didn't waste anytime and headed straight for the high point, especially with the prospect of the descent on the other side. From the top, singletrack threaded its way down the glen and into the tree line a good few kilometres in the distance. This turned out to be the descent of the day, steep rock features at the top lead to sweeping singletrack once in the trees. The brakes were off and hardly a pedal was turned. Back down at Gobernuisgach the farmer was the only face I saw in a full day of riding and judging by the lack of tyre tracks, I was probably the first mountain biker he'd seen in a while.

Back at the van the clouds slowly rolled in while packing away. On the drive back on the winding roads, I reflected on what had been one of the best routes and day out in the mountains I`ve ever had.

Going solo on a route as remote as this, requires a bit more planning than the usual trail centre jaunt and with no café at the end, plenty of food is needed to stay fuelled. It is always a good idea to let someone know your exact route plus possible escape plans as well as an estimated return time. If you haven't anyone to leave this information with, then the local mountain rescue or police station will keep a record of your details. Just be sure to ring them when the route is finished, the volunteer rescue team wont take too kindly to been called out in the middle of the night for a missing biker, only for him to be found tucked up in bed with a Horlicks.

Map, compass and the knowledge to use them is essential, as well as basic trail side repairs should you need to adjust gears or fix a puncture. A bivy/survival bag or emergency shelter are valuable pieces of kit in the event of an emergency, plus an extra layer and waterproof. And of course a mobile phone, even if you have no reception it is worth giving the emergency numbers a try, as they use any of the mobile providers masts. Its worth noting that a text message requires much less data and reception coverage, but to send a text direct to the emergency services, the phone been used needs to be registered. This takes seconds to do and could turn out to be literally a life saver. More details can be found at emergencysms.org.uk.

Also ride within your capabilities, breaking your bike or body could mean a long walk or worse. Its a lot easier to prevent and accident than it is to deal with one.

Riding with friends is obviously safer and more fun, but with a bit of planning and preparation going solo can be very rewarding.

You can keep track of all of RiverRatJimmy's Adventures here on his blog... www.allmountainriding.blogspot.co.uk and check out more pictures from his solo trip in the album here...