Adventure Archives

As the elected most organised packer of the Bike the UK for MS team, I am going to talk through my must haves for our trips as a route leader. It can certainly be difficult packing for your first trip, but after having a few goes this Summer I have found the best way that works for me, and may help you.

Camping Gear

You don’t need the most expensive and most definitely don’t need the biggest tent for our trips. A two-person, double skinned tent is perfect. Your tents go separately in the van so you don’t need to worry about your box space when it comes to the compactness of your tent when packed up and now would be a great time to look for any summer sales for a bargain if you don’t have one already. Make sure you have tent pegs packed with them, as this mistake has been made in the past!

A sleeping mat or air mattress is personal preference; we’ve even had camping beds used on our trips but remember that it does go in your box. Personally, I have a roll mat for ease and no risk of ending up on the floor halfway through the night, but that’s something Felix could tell you more about. In conclusion – check your air mattresses keep their air before bringing it on the trip! A camping pillow is a great comfort to have especially on a sleeping mat. Once again this is personal preference. Takeaways, cafes and meal deals get me through my trips; however, a gas stove or jet boil is a good item to have for a healthier diet than me! I do make sure I bring cutlery though, which is an easy item to forget and always comes in handy.

Clothes

As route leaders you will be in and out of the vans all day. It is important to wear things that are comfortable as well as all-weather appropriate. Alongside the obvious underwear and clothes needs, there are a few must haves when route leading a trip as you will be outside when camping and at rest stops. Waterproofs – a waterproof rain jacket is essential, and I would recommend waterproof trousers. Nothing fancy and expensive, some basic over trouser waterproof have put me in good stead, especially on the Lon Las Cymru trip this year!

There has not been a single trip this year where I haven’t worn my jumper. As route leaders you may be waiting out of the van at rest stops for an extended period so something to keep you warm, even in the dryer weather is needed. Layers are your best friends, and long sleeve layers are even better when fighting against the midges in Scotland. Something that can be easily forgotten are pyjamas; some accommodation is shared in halls so some form of pyjama is required.

A few things that are nice to have is evening wear and a form of slip-on shoe. Once you’ve reached camp and showered its nice to spend some time in camp at dinner, some comfortable clean evening wear is nice to have. Having shoes like sliders and flip flops are great to have especially when heading to the showers or to the toilets during the night at camps. I like to be optimistic and pack one pair of shorts, you’ll find trousers will be a go-to the majority of the time. My first trip I was too optimistic with the shorts to trouser ratio!

Toiletries

Along with the usual toiletries you would pack for any kind of overnight stay, you must also remember any kind of items required for camping. Personally, I have some hand wash leaves and hand sanitiser just in case there isn’t any at rest stops or camping sites. I also have face and body wipes for similar reasons. The most forgotten toiletry items are toothbrushes, towels and sun cream.
Smidge spray and midge nets are an absolute essential on the North Coast trip unless you are an absolute warrior like our route leader Katrina – you can certainly tell she lives in Scotland!

Things to Have on Hand During the Day

Instead of a rest stop box I have a backpack that comes in the footwell of the van with me. This has my food and anything I want during the day. This is where I will have my charging leads and a portable charger as you may be using a lot of battery communicating with riders or following a gpx route. Although a portable charger isn’t necessary due to having the Jackery power supplies, it is great to have one so you can charge your device away from the back of the van and on the move.

Other items like sunglasses, a water bottle and a travel mug also great to have on hand. These items aren’t necessary but they are small and great to have during the trip for sunny, hot and cold occasions.

How to Pack

Ultimately the best way to pack depends on the trip and type of transport you are taking to get to and from our trip destinations. But you must also consider the bag you pack in must also go in the van, ideally in your tub. For me, and I must admit this was a specified buy with the cycling trips in mind, I have an 80L foldable duffel bag which is the same volume (although not dimensions) of the box my stuff must go in.
A couple of things I use to help me utilise space and keep organised throughout the trip are a vacuum bag for my sleeping bag and pillow – this primarily helps me get all my stuff in one bag, as well as taking up less space in my box. Packing cubes help keep all my clothes organized throughout the trip and means no hectic rummaging in my box. These are definitely not necessities, but it does make my life a little easier in the mornings when getting ready for the road.

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Take a look on our Instagram and Facebook to see me pack my bags to the NC500.

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.
– Ernest Hemingway

It may be a well-used quote, but here at Bike the UK for MS we are bringing Hemingway’s words to life for you. Get to know the UK as it actually is by cycling the Scottish Highlands; an unforgettable place to explore and enjoy.

The Highlands of Scotland is the one place that features prominently in the memories of all our alumni. Acting as the grand crescendo of our 1000 mile Land’s End to John O’ Groats cycle ride and of course the star attraction of the North Coast 500 cycle route; the Highlands are a place like no other in the UK and possibly even the world.

Cycling the Wild Coast of the Scottish Highlands

The coasts of the Highlands bear hard-earned treasures. When you think of the Scottish coastline the first word that comes to mind is often “rugged”. Images of towering cliffs and crashing waves as the force of the Atlantic Ocean comes thundering into the British Isles. However, nestled within this brusque exterior hide the other extreme conditions that the coast of Scotland has to offer.

Remote, tranquil and storied coves and beaches. Refuges from a hectic modern life in the 21^st Century, but filled with a history of sanctuary from the threats of an outside world for those on the water and the land.

Notable highlights, such as Big Sand beach near Gairloch, are joined by the beaches at Scourie where the campsite for our riders sits right against the water’s edge. The quiet Berriedale, where you cross a narrow suspension footbridge to learn of the navigation beacons, standing high above you on the cliffs, that have guided ships returning from the open sea safely homeward.

The rugged coastal views you get to see when cycling in the Scottish Highlands.

Cycling Amongst Giants

No place in the UK can give you a sense of scale to match the Highlands of Scotland. We are fortunate to have the ability to enjoy exploring places that once acted as Mother Nature’s hostile barrier to all but the boldest.

Ben Hope towers above a rest stop in Tongue on the North Coast 500 cycle. Nearly 1000m high, in the far north of Scotland, it still inspires a mix of awe and mystery in a way that is impossible to replicate without experiencing it in person.

As you skirt your way around the peaks, through the valleys and glens that stand across the vast landscape like wide corridors in a country sized stately home, you can expect every distant horizon to hold new surprises. Not least the towering peaks of the Isle of Skye as you gaze across the water far below from the Applecross Pass – the wildest and most spectacular climb in the whole of Britain.

Cycling amongst giants in the Scottish Highlands on the North Coast 500 or NC500.

Beneath your wheels while cycling in the Highlands

For all that the surrounding landscapes inevitably catch the eye, a subtle treat is in store for those learning the Highlands’ crinkly contours by bike. The kind of treat that you first notice by the absence of one thing, before being able to savour what has replaced it.

A thin, snaking ribbon of tarmac. Winding away from your front wheel, off towards the distant sky and pointing you at yet-to-be-known experiences. Space to take a deep breath and really experience what it is to ride a bike. What it is to feel the gradient, up or down. The push of the wind, in support of your efforts or as an invisible challenge that you must find spirit from within to overcome.

Every bike ride is unique, but nothing is quite as unique as the Wee Mad Road; a rollercoaster of a journey taking you from the peak of what human engineering can achieve with the Kylesku Bridge. Immediately showing you that humanity is but a passenger on the wild planet beneath our wheels. What a privilege to sample some of what is normally reserved for “off the edge of the map”.

Above it All

Taking everything in while cycling in the Highlands is the theme of these words so far, but you must cast your eyes further still to capture it all. Daylight, taking you almost through the night with long, spectacular performances from the sun as it briefly leaves the stage at sunset, only to be replaced by light shows of a sky full of stars. Perhaps, even an aurora borealis if you have fortune on your side.

Distant beauty dovetails with the chance atmospheric blanket of mist where the world draws in close, creating the feeling of spooky isolation. Every sound is dulled to silence and the unknown of what hides beyond the murk is unknown. How better to experience the vastness of the universe than to have it re-revealed from behind the curtain of dense fog?

No better scenery in the UK to stop and enjoy on a bike ride.

The Scottish Highlands: Where the Wild Things Are

Mountains stand immovable and the sea reaches out endlessly, but blink and you might miss the dynamic movement of animal life in the Highlands. At the Falls of Shin, can you gaze down and spot a salmon making the leap against the rushing rapids? Did you catch that seal bobbing in and out of the rocks as you sit on the beach watching the seabirds dive into the waves?

Highland cows stoically standing as statues or lying aside the road as you pedal past. Deer bounding over the open moors, racing faster than a bike on the road. Cycling in the Highlands has enough to fill a camera roll on a phone or a highlight reel in the memory.

Join us for the Adventure

We will be in the Highlands on both our Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle, often known as LEJOG, in July 2024 and our North Coast 500 cycle, or NC500, in August. Cycle the Highlands with us and give yourself the ride that will last long in the memory; all whilst giving back to a great cause and supporting those living with multiple sclerosis.

There is no better way to enjoy everything that the Highlands of Scotland has to offer than with Bike the UK for MS. Our route leaders are there to support you and ensure that you can experience the best of what the Highlands has to offer. Your teammates will be there to share the experience with you and bring every moment to life. Time for a bike ride like no other?

Posts in category: Adventure

Charlotte’s Guide to Packing as a Route Leader