Cycle cross

Today was the first time I was really glad I had the older bike with me.
It started off easy enough - cycle trail on crushed gravel but by the end of the day we also had tarmac cycle path,tractor tram lines, road, and complete forest trail.
We headed along the cycle path northeast into Boat of Garten and then north west into Carrbridge were we had our lunch.
Since there was an alternative route back we decided to take it, as it used the local path network. The trail was we marked but at one point it got a bit steep. I was glad of the mountain bike gears today.

We passed back through Boat of Garten and decided to continue on around Loch Garten. As we tried to decide where exactly to go, some idiot overtook the bus which was turning left. Luckily no one was turning right out of the junction, but we decided we really didn't want to be on that road.

That left us with the option of going back or using the forest path. In the spirit of adventure we headed off on the path. Again I was glad I had the mountain bike with me. Its not that there was any 'real' climbing, its just that the muddy narrow track really benefited from having wider tyres on it with a low gear ratio so that the mud didn't bog us down.
We finally made it back onto quiet roads and were able to make it back to the cottage.

In total 5 hours out, three hours cycling and 30 miles travelled.