Aberdeenshire’s "Heartbreak Ridge” trail in Ballater is certainly a contender for the best UK trail (in our humble opinion) and an absolute “MUST RIDE” for any mountain biker.
We have obviously not ridden every trail in the UK, but we have sampled our fair share along with "some" of Europe and Canada’s finest and the feeling you get from riding this beautiful piece of Scottish tech is equal to any experience we have had on a bike, anywhere!
You get a lot of descending “bang” for you climbing “buck” and you finish feeling incredibly satisfied by the incredibly varied and long feeling descent!
It’s only 12 miles in length, which means you can squeeze it in before a potentially long journey home or you can continue the fun by riding some other treats in the area or do it all again.
If you love a good slab then you will love this trail as the middle section is basically one giant lump of granite with expertly placed rocks preserving precious momentum, enhancing the flow state!
Its ease of access is part of its charm, it feels like a proper adventure ride without any of the exposure and while its not an easy trail, if your prepared to push a few sections then its a great aspirational trail for intermediate riders.
Garmin GPX route here: connect.garmin.com/modern/act...
This was the last ride in our Aberdeenshire showcase and again we can’t stress enough that it is one of the best places in the UK to ride a mountain bike.
Make it a weekend to remember by adding the following:
A marvellous tech fest in Aboyne: • Aboyne MTB - Juicy tec...
The best flow tracks in the UK at Tarland trails: • Tarland Trails - The b...
Heck, why not make it long weekend and do all 3!!
This for us is now an annual pilgrimage, a year without a loop of heartbreak ridge would be sacrilege.
00:00 Intro
00:14 Welcome to Ballater
01:13 Lets get rolling
03:43 Top of the moor'ning
05:10 a moment of reflection
05:45 Heartbreak Ridge Top
08:54 Heartbreak Ridge slabs
12:19 Lindsey's Nemesis - The slab of doom
15:39 Heartbreak Ridge Lower
18:35 Storm Descent
21:21 Re-united with Hugo & our thoughts
And once again thank you to The Rodians for the fantastic track “Melt” featured throughout the edit.
check them out now using the following links:
Bandcamp: therodians.bandcamp.com/album...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/1nTlr...
Insta: / therodians
#mtb #adventure #mtblife #mtblifestyle #mountainbike #mountainbiking #ukmtb #mtblove #mtbiking #outdoors #outsideisfree #enduromtb #downhill #santacruzbikes #vanlife #traildog #vizsla
#mentalhealthawareness #anxietyrelief #mentalwellness
12 июл 2024
