Stay at home

[SpamFritter]

Hi all,

I am thinking of going to Jura in about a weeks time. I will probably bring my mountain bike. I was looking into walking into Ruantallain bothy, but I wondered if the ATV path was bikeable on an MTB? I'm getting differing reports from friends ranging from bog-fest to passable with care. I have a sore shoulder at the moment and putting my kit in panniers is preferable to a pack to be honest.

Cheers.

[SpamFritter]

Anyone able to help? I've rescheduled for September.

[Marty_JG]

A good set of aggressive mud tyres and you should be able to smash pretty much anything?

[gorty]

Jura is very rugged, probably the most rugged terrain in all of Scotland. I've been to Ruantallain via Cruib but opted to ditch the bike at the end of the metaled road. Transferring the contents of your panniers into a rucksack and hiking is by far the best method for this trip unless if you like kayaks or boats. However, if carrying a pack is painful for you, you may find riding and pushing the bike to be an attractive alternative. Exactly how hellish the journey will be depends mainly on baking heat, heavy rain, high winds, clegs and midges, fortunately they don't all occur at the same time. Take a rucksack, then if you decide the pushing is not great, lock your wheels to the frame and hide the bike in the bracken and finish the journey on foot.
Assessing the terrain for a bike trip to a new place is common place. You can figure out a lot from satellite view on google maps combined with viewing photos of individual squares along the planned route using geograph dot org dot uk.
When going biking to Jura, consider the Tayvallich ferry or the water taxi from Crinian. The ferry operator and the Craighouse Hotel on Jura will be able to tell you who is offering what and put you in touch. Good luck, take plenty of whisky, it soothes most things.