Dreaming of Mountain Biking in Aberdeenshire

Not Much of a Dream about Mountain Biking

Last night I dreamt that I was going to go mountain biking in Aberdeenshire. Since it was a dream, there was no reason why I should not just get out of of bed one morning, drive from Warrington to Aberdeen for a couple hours trail riding and get back home in time for a lunch. The fact that its about 350 miles with a estimated journey time of 6 and a half hours has nothing to do with anything when you’re dreaming.

So in my dream I rang round a couple of friends to give them directions to the mountain bike trail. One of my friends has recently bought a sat nav, so all I needed to tell him was the postcode of trail and he would find it no trouble. This was the same friend who recently got lost while relying on his sat nav to direct him from Manchester to Bristol. Take the M6 to Birmingham, then take the M5 to Bristol, its not the most difficult route!

Then I was rudely awoken by my alarm clock. My dream about mountain biking in Aberdeenshire came to nothing.

Mountain Biking in Aberdeenshire

However I was not prepared to let the matter drop entirely. Having recently heard about the 7stanes mountain bike trails in southern Scotland, I realised that there must be some good mountain bike trails around Aberdeen.

Kirkhill Forest Mountain Bike Trail

Had I not woken up, it seems most likely that I would have found my way to the popular Kirkhill Forest Mountain Bike Trail. Kirkhill Forest is a Forestry Commission site located on the A96 at Tyrebagger, about one mile north of the airport roundabout. OS Grid Reference: NJ850 120.

The trail at Kirkhill Forest consists of a 2 km long Fun Park and an 11.5 km loop Forest Trail.

The Fun Park has features such as jumps, bumps, berms (i.e. a corner which goes round an embankment) and switchbacks. The fun park has enough slope to keep your speed up without being too steep.

The Forest Trail is a way-marked mountain bike trail containing both double and single-track sections. Initially there is a long climb before the trail winds around Tyrebagger Hill affording spectacular views across Aberdeen.

Now that I know where to go mountain biking in Aberdeenshire, maybe tonight my dream will continue with some fast-paced two-wheeled action with plenty big air. The good thing being that if I hit the dirt there will be no pain!