leaving bike in car park (Munros)

[BenjyM66]

Hiya everyone, just looking for a bit of advice about cycling & Munros. Do people know if many car parks/ start of munro walks have anywhere secure to lock up or leave bikes? Thinking of doing some light cycle touring (on roads) to some of the various munros but unsure about leaving my bike whilst going up & down the hill.... If anyone has any tips or experiences, it would be greatly appreciated! TIA, have a great weekend!

[davekeiller]

It strongly depends on where you go and how far you are from civilisation!
Generally, the further you are from towns and villages the more likely it is that the car park will be a small area to the side of the road without marked bays or anywhere formal to leave a bike. There's likely to be a fence or something to chain a bike to, and if it was me I'd probably take the risk.

[al78]

I've only done the Glen Feshie munros by cycling to the start from Aviemore, and the car park near Auchlean has a couple of cycle racks. When I cycle to the start of walks near where I live in the SE, I can nearly always find a sign post to lock the bike too without causing an obstruction, you may be able to find a suitable immovable object near the base of at least some Scottish hills. If the hill(s) you want to climb are next to roads, I recommend using Google streetview to look for a suitable place to lock your bike.

[Landsoul]

I've always just stashed my bike in a ditch, in a wood, behind a moraine or under a bridge out of sight and never had a problem.

By hiding it like this the chances of it getting stolen would depend on a) someone randomly stumbling across your bike and b) them being a thief. Pretty unlikely in most of the areas in the highlands.

[Sgurr]

Have usually used a bike when with husband, and padlocked the bikes to each other, which I think would be harder to pick up and throw on e.g. the back of a flatbed than a bike by itself. Often it is possible to take the bike 50 metres or so along an approach track where a casual thief is entirely unlikely to come across it (agree with Landsoul). Best to GPS it so YOU can find it on return. Rocks look very different from the other side.

[weedavie]

One of the joys of doing it by bike is you don't have to use the carpark - you'll mostly be further up the track or somewhere well off the baggers' route. I tend to worry slightly more about leaving my helmet and cycle pack - which will have repair kit, possibly shoes and any other weight I can discard but I've never had a problem.

I'd agree with Landsoul about mostly just stashing the bike out of sight. Mind you this can lead to you tramping down a long glen convinced you've missed it or it's been stolen. Funny how a distance that's nothing in the morning seems to have stretched by a factor of ten on the way back!

[WalkWithWallace]

I wouldn't leave a bike in a car park unless there is decent facilities to lock your bike to with a good D lock. However the joy of having a bike is making use of tracks to get closer to the Munros, Linn of Dee for example.

I've nver had any issues leaving my bike stashed in the heather. I'll either use a large boulder as a marker or mark a waypoint in my GPS in case I forget where I hid it. I usually put a small cable lock and secure the rear wheel to the frame as a deterrent.

[BenjyM66]

Great stuff thanks everyone!

[Sunset tripper]

I do the same as Sgurr suggested and take the bike along the path a bit away from the car park. then normal stash it out of site if possible and lock it if I have remembered my lock.

[ChrisButch]

The biggest problem when using a bike to get to the hills is not having it pinched but finding it again when you come down - you'll have left it in a ditch or deep vegetation (easily found within a few metres in almost any Highland location) where nobody except yourself (or often, in my experience, including yourself) is likely to come across it...

[Sgurr]

The biggest problem when using a bike to get to the hills is not having it pinched but finding it again when you come down - you'll have left it in a ditch or deep vegetation (easily found within a few metres in almost any Highland location) where nobody except yourself (or often, in my experience, including yourself) is likely to come across it...

Deer once discovered that they adored the super gel in husband's saddle cover that he had bought from some catalogue or other in the hopes of ensuring a smoother ride. Did not go well with a chunk chewed out of it.

[Pastychomper]

I once came back from a walk to find my bike covered in an inch of snow which was mostly the usual white, but a distressing red all over the upper handlebar. I spent a minute or two wondering if some unfortunate deer had managed to trip over it and cut a leg, before I twigged what had actually happened.

I'd got there with the help of a friendly venison dealer who let me put my bike in the back of his van. There was a box of hooves in the back which the bike wasn't touching at the start or end of the ride, but the handlebar could have fallen in as we bumped along the track. It looks like it touched something wet enough and drew up a fair bit of blood, probably between the metal and the rubber cover where I didn't notice it while finding a parking spot.

I was impressed how evenly the blood had percolated through the snow.

[major ac]

If it was me (and I have done this) I'd cycle further up the track than the car park (even wheeling the bike if not cycle-able terrain) and then using a U lock or at the least a chain lock to lock the back wheel to the frame via the seat-tube. You can also use a cable and attach this through the front wheels and then to the U lock at the back.

The chances of anyone havng strong enough bolt cutters to get through a good U lock is pretty slim and if they don't the thought of having to cary a bike as far as you've cycled away from the car park is bound to put them off.

I'd say this was probably safer than locking the bike to somethng in the car park.