"Wilderness is not a luxury but necessity of the human spirit" Edward Abbey

Overview

2 day self-supported bikepacking gravel ride on the Badger Divide route which masterfully links several existing routes with one another to create a direct line, >90% off-road and rideable on adventure/gravel bikes, down the heart of Scotland from Inverness to Glasgow, cutting glen after remote glen.  5 timed segments over the 2 days.

#scotduro23 runs on the first weekend in September:
​​Key points:
  • The route is 340km long with 5,300m of ascent, mostly off-road (>90% of the distance), to be ridden in two days.
  • You will most likely ride some of this route in the dark so front and rear lights are obligatory
  • This route is rough so at least 40mm tyres are recommended but of course you can do whatever you want.
  • There are 5 timed segments over the 2 days designed to test riders' strength, bike handling, and determination on a variety of surfaces over mixed terrain

Logistics

  • Loch Ossian Youth Hostel are only offering private whole-hostel bookings this year. Unless you're lucky enough to have booked it, please plan to camp responsibly well away from the hostel. Rannoch Moor is pretty big, we're sure you'll find somewhere nice.
  • There is little to no food available between Fort Augustus and Killin, so be sure of your meal plans before leaving town.

Route
The route uses Stu Allan's #thebadgerdivide route which links together a number of existing routes (The Great Glen Way, Corrieyairack Pass, West Highland Way, etc) to create a direct line from Inverness to Glasgow.  Prior to 2022 the route we used missed out a couple of the rougher sections of Stu's mainline route but this caused issues with FKTs.
Download to your GPS device prior to the event
Segments, please favourite them on Strava (see instructions):
  • XDS-1 - section of the Great Glen way; winner will be the best bikehandler
  • XDS-2 - climb to Corrieyairack Pass; winner will be the best climber
  • XDS-3 - fast and slick climb to Loch Ossian; one for the gravel rouleurs
  • XDS-4 - road climb and technical descent followed by fast flat section; rewards Spartacus wannabes
  • XDS-5 - who has anything left in the tank!?

Bonus segment before XDS-4 to honour the late Mike Hall, on a suitably gritty section of the route he would have excelled on - XDS-#bemoreMike

​You are advised to record on multiple GPS devices in case a segment isn't picked up on your primary GPS.

Entry

  1. Fill in the Trials Contact Form - link available on the Trials page (same form for all standard TRC trials; no signup, no results)
  2. Join our club on Strava if not already a member and click “I’m in” on the ​Strava Event - ​​here
  3. Download the GPX track to your GPS and star each segment so they appear in Strava
  4. Book your train (including bike reservation)
  5. ​Invite your mates and share on social media using #scotduro23

Results

Rider XDS-1 XDS-2 XDS-3 XDS-4 XDS-5 Total