安静，风景如画，非凡：阿伯丁郡自行车冒险

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Words: Dave Everett|照片：哈里·塔尔伯特（Harry Talbot）

“我绝对是一个傻瓜，一个完整的木偶。这些年来，为什么我一直如此眨眼？”

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.

首先,阿伯丁郡是惊人的。你快速understand why the Queen has her little timeshare cottage in the area. Though why she’s not thrown her regal legs over a road bike in all the years she’s been popping up this way is anyone’s guess. She certainly is missing out.

It’s as if someone has put the whole region through the Clarendon filter on Instagram. You know, the one that “pops” everything. Then, to top it off, they whacked the lux up to 100%. Greens – oh so many shades of green – pop in 4K resolution, vegetation feels like it’s been somehow doubled up as if the locals have found a way of planting twice as much grass in one area than is naturally possible. Trees seem taller than they should be, there’s rolling farmland with roads that snake through and up the open land. It results in a deeply lush vista.

除此之外，大多数情况下，您在几乎空的道路上削减了这一切，交通并不是问题。在乡村空气中混合，感觉很厚，您的目的地是漫长的自行车上很长时间的目的地，幸运的是，这是可能的。北部到底很远，在夏季的史诗般的几天里，白天都不是您需要担心的。太阳最早可以在下午4点升起，并在晚上10点后落下，因此300公里的时间没有借口（除了健身水平），并有多个咖啡馆停靠。

Day 1

Day one kicked off in the small fishing town of Stonehaven. Situated 25 km south of the capital of the region, Aberdeen, the town is a little delight. The town’s harbour is exactly what you would expect – just imagine the village from the British TV show Doc Martin, transfer it north, and add some local tough granite buildings looping around the small beachfront, and you have an ideal starting point for three days of bike riding.

My guide for the day would be Nat. I was told she’s a bit of a local legend. I could see she knew her stuff, recommending we meet at one of the many independent coffee shops in town, the Old Pier Coffee House. With a quality brew and the first of what would turn out to be many cakes, we set off via a quick stop at the local bike shop, BikeRemedy, for a few emergency spares.

The day’s aim was to tick off some of theAberdeenshire Ascents。Ten climbs have been cherry-picked by NEAT as the must-do hills and passes of the region. It’s a real mixed bag of climbs; there’s something for everyone. Some are challenging and will see action in theupcoming stage 1 of the Tour of Britain; others are just little kickers that you’ll want to take your time climbing to soak up the stunning scenery.

Rolling out of Stonehaven was the first time I realised that the region certainly doesn’t have a traffic problem. Riding two abreast and chatting without trouble from cars would be a recurring theme throughout the three days. The aim for the day was to head out to the Cairn o’ Mount, one of the more challenging climbs. But first we had to get there.

As you’d expect, this part of the UK has its fair share of historical buildings. On numerous occasions we’d turn a corner and out of the blue we were greeted by what I’ll describe as a “modest” stately home or a small chapel, all looking pristine and picture-postcard-perfect.

从斯通黑文（Stonehaven）的土地铺设起伏不定，一旦远离海岸，就可以扔进滚动的乡村。由于它是一个农业区，因此有很多小车道可供选择。这些古老的曲目现在被柏油打过，因此，如果您没有当地的向导或计划，它们可以使无数的小林地和从海岸内陆延伸的无数小林地和起伏的山丘中绝对迷失。

Cairn o’Ount只有大约4公里长，但不要让相对较短的长度欺骗您。随着零件的最多16％，这会拉动腿部。纳特好一点地撕裂了。值得庆幸的是，那个周末，她正在为一场耐力赛而拯救双腿。

我们在Clatterin Brig Crossroads开始攀登。从这里开始，攀登很快就会踢起来，您的山坡下部山坡迅速到宽阔的山坡。我们打的那一天，天气对我们有些不利，但景色仍然很壮观。一方面，您可以在北海的另一侧看到凯恩戈尔国家公园。我真的很想看看您在晴朗的一天可以看到多远，借口我敢肯定，我会在某个时候用来将来将自己带到那里。

From there it was a rapid descent to yet more pinewood forests and back to our hotel for the night in the town of Banchory.

Day 2

On the second day of the trip I could go at my own pace – no suffering on Nat’s wheel. I was on my own. The starting point for the day was the little village of Monymusk. If you’ve seen the ‘80s kid’s TV show Postman Pat just imagine the village of Greendale where he lives – Monymusk is almost a carbon copy of Greendale brought to life.

Even though the village is home to just 900 people it’s got all you need: a good cafe, and a bike shop, Bike Bothy Pitfichie, built inside a small chapel.

From here the day’s route would give me the chance to tick off a few more of the Aberdeenshire Ascents. Again, just like day one, I had the roads practically to myself, but you could see that this area certainly is a draw to local cyclists. I spotted multiple groups out on a mid-week spin.

The first Ascent of the day was the small kicker The Lord’s Throat – nothing too troubling but one that I wanted to tick off purely for the name of it. It was a good starting point to warm the legs up for what lay ahead.

What lay ahead was Lecht, a climb that I was told I’d know I’d arrived at before I saw the sign.

The road to Lecht like the day before was varied, from farmland that in a few months would be a blissful sea of rolling golden corn, to woodlands that had nothing but the chirp of birds chattering to keep me company. Short sharp inclines jumped out of nowhere at times, lifting the heart rate but then rewarding me with a dash of empty road to shoot down.

But the locals had been right – I knew I was at the start of the Lecht climb before I saw the sign. Swooping around a right-hander my concentration was on a large white castle sitting on the hillside against the patchwork fells. Once past the castle my eyes turned back to the road, and I was immediately greeted by the road rising upwards at an alarming angle, and for longer, than most would appreciate. This is Lecht, a climb that eventually drops you off at the Lecht ski station.

It’s a brute. It may only be 3.5 km long but it quickly lets you know you’re not going anywhere fast with the road hitting 20% straight out of the gate. Don’t worry though, as it’s not all like this. After levelling out the climb kicks for a second time, and once around the following left-hander, you get the breather you’re after.

Once up and over that last leg-breaker the view opens up in every direction. The tarmac drifts off in front with small gravel roads darting off into the hillside every few hundred meters. You just know this region is a gravel cyclist’s paradise too.

The climb reminded me oddly of the Col de la Loz in the Pyrenees. Both kick up violently at the start then ease off, revealing a strip of empty tarmac on the way to a ski station. And it’s that final stretch of tarmac that really rewards. After reaching the true summit, and after snapping an obligatory photo at the sign you get a wide-open road that points straight downwards. The beauty of it though is you can see it all – no sharp corners are hiding any unexpected danger. It’s one of those descents that begs you to see how fast you can go. A perfect end to the second day.

Day 3

第三天和我回到了当地向导，艾米和马克。我们开始了这一天，这是那些欣赏王室（Ballater）的人的旅游中心。

The quiet town sits aside from the River Dee and is surrounded by pine trees on all sides creeping up the hillside. Once over the river, you’re out of town and within a minute, you’re on to narrow lanes flanked by thick grass verges and deep forest. Plus, like every other ride, it’s peacefully quiet, which is something else as the region’s prime tourist trap, Balmoral Castle, is only a few kilometres away. You’re there before you know it.

The Queen didn’t inviting us in for tea (we’ll forgive her – she’d had a busy week with the Jubilee) so we continued, rolling past the iconic Heartbreak Bridge MTB trail riding towards Balmoral and over the River Dee again. Turn right at the end of the road in Crathie, on to the A93 and in few hundred meters you’ll find one of my new all-time favourite cafes: the Highlanders Bakehouse.

Owned and operated by couple Andy and Shone the place is one of those gems that if you lived too close to, you’d be in trouble of not fitting in your cycling kit.

像任何一家好生意一样，这对这对夫妇来说是一个热情的项目。从浓郁的咖啡到精心制作的面包和糕点，一切都使这个目的地本身成为目的地。该地区的骑行是一种奖励，这一事实是一种奖励。在接下来的1,000个单词上，我可以轻松地抒情。我要说的是，如果您在该地区，请搜寻。

Filled up with far too many scotch pancakes andbutterieswe continued on our way. On to the next climb of the day, a 3 km pitch along the B976 towards the picturesque Gairnshiel Bridge.

As the climb tilts gradually upwards you go from wooded farmland to rolling hillsides that open up to yet another of those ribbons of tarmac. Once at the top the slither of tarmac tilts downwards. It’s another descent where you need to have trustworthy brakes. With no cars and wide swooping corners, you can easily hit 80 plus km/h. Before you know it you are down amongst the River Gairin.

This was where I had to say bye to Amy and Mark. They were off, believe it or not, to take on a 300 km Audax ride in the region the following day. But as they told me, if my legs still wanted to take on more climbs it was easy enough to continue on and link back toward the Lecht ski centre again. As much as I’d have loved to suffer up that climb again I thought doubling back and making a beeline for the cafe was a wiser move to round the day out.

结局

阿伯丁郡让我感到惊讶，我确定您可以聚集。它有很多东西要提供。当然，攀登不是高山的长时间，但有些是绝对的腿部折断者 - 在他们带领您的景色和野生动植物中，短暂，敏锐而有意义。几乎感觉就像一个地区拒绝在当前时代的热潮中加入。我不记得有一次我骑自行车的时候，能够一一手一小时就算出我的汽车。

考虑到阿伯丁郡的骑行时，这两个词一直回到我身边，是“有益健康的”和“冥想”。您会感到饱满，不仅是从一路上的好咖啡和食物来看，而且还来自您当天的宁静和空间。

I’ll be back for sure, there’s no doubt about that. If not for the cycling (maybe to complete the Aberdeenshire Ascents?) then at least for a buttery or two.