“I’m an absolute fool, a complete muppet. Why have I been so damn blinkered all these years?”
These were the thoughts that quickly formed in the first few kilometres of my latest road trip for CyclingTips. This time around it was a Scottish tale, an Aberdeenshire adventure. Now, I’m not averse to admitting when I’ve been a fool, and this is one of those times. In all the years I lived in the English Lake District, why hadn’t I dashed up the M6 on to the M74 then the A9 cutting north east to Aberdeenshire?
Aberdeenshire is tucked away in the northeast tip of Scotland. It’s not generally the first place that would spring to mind for a road trip when heading over the border, but as I’d find out, the region is ideally suited to us in the lycra-clad clan. It ticks all the boxes, and now with the region promoting itself as a sports destination, I’d like to think I won’t be the only one regretting not heading there sooner.
I’d been invited to the region by North East Adventure Tourism (NEAT), a project set up to help develop and promote the region’s adventure tourism offering, with support from Scottish Cycling, Opportunity North East, Aberdeenshire Council, Scottish Enterprise, and VisitAberdeenshire. I’d have three days to take in as much as possible. I quickly found out it wouldn’t be enough time. For road cyclists, the place has an abundance of quiet (and I mean outrageously quiet), picturesque, and challenging roads on offer.
Негізгі бет Quiet, picturesque, remarkable: an Aberdeenshire cycling adventure
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