Road bike hire around Dundee?
dartmoorscottydog
Posts: 72
Going up to Scotland for a few days and have at least one day with nowt planned. Does anyone know if anyone rents out road bikes near there. Already tried Nicholsons and Spokes but no joy. Cheers
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If you have a car, it might be worth going to Pitlochry (40 mins from Dundee) and getting a bike from these guys http://www.escape-route.co.uk/bikes/. Nice cycling around there e.g. the Etape Caledonia route 81 miles.0
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Yeah I'd do what ronnie above suggested. Great place to cycle and they hire road bikes.
It's a shame Spokes don't hire road bikes (tbh their main hire area is St Andrews and it's basic MTB) because there are some cracking places to ride outside Dundee. The Carse of Gowrie, the Tay Loop, the up and down bits of North Fife. It's my manor ;-)
It's not a shame that Nicholsons don't hire because they're a bunch of miserable sh*tes!0 -
Thanks for that. I was born and lived up there for Uni and was really looking forward to cycling around and was planning to do the loop from Dundee over the bridge and along the Tay to Perth and then back via Errol, Longforgan and Invergowrie. Got my first bike from Nicholsons (long time ago!).0
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When are you up?0
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Friday and Saturday 15/16th May. Any ideas?0
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dartmoorscottydog wrote:Thanks for that. I was born and lived up there for Uni and was really looking forward to cycling around and was planning to do the loop from Dundee over the bridge and along the Tay to Perth and then back via Errol, Longforgan and Invergowrie. Got my first bike from Nicholsons (long time ago!).
Got my first road bike from them too way back in the mid 80's - that's why I went back to them when I got the road bug again. I'll stick to Spokes from now on ;-)
The Tay Loop is still great fun. If you add in a few extra sections it's easy to stay off the busier roads.0 -
Did this on Saturday, I came perilously close to getting a KOM - by draughting a tractor from Abernethy to B of E at around 35mph or so. I'm claiming that the new roundabout at the housing development slowed me down by more than those vital 3 seconds, so the KOM is rightfully mine, I'm sorry, what tractor? I don't know what you're talking about.thegreatdivide wrote:dartmoorscottydog wrote:Thanks for that. I was born and lived up there for Uni and was really looking forward to cycling around and was planning to do the loop from Dundee over the bridge and along the Tay to Perth and then back via Errol, Longforgan and Invergowrie. Got my first bike from Nicholsons (long time ago!).
Got my first road bike from them too way back in the mid 80's - that's why I went back to them when I got the road bug again. I'll stick to Spokes from now on ;-)
The Tay Loop is still great fun. If you add in a few extra sections it's easy to stay off the busier roads.
Then I came perilously close to hypothermia while getting shot-blasted by a hail and rainstorm in Perth.
If you do it clockwise, you can take your pick of hilly roads through the hills north of the Carse to get back from Perth to Dundee. The road through Errol is a pleasant, flat (but nasty if there's an east wind) route but a pain in the Carse to get onto without riding on the dual carriageway.
Escape Route is certainly the closest place I've heard of to hire road bikes, and it puts you in the right place for some great rides. I've always liked them, too, since the time I realised I needed a new cassette at 9pm the night before the Etape Cal - I don't even think they charged for fitting it. At 10pm.0 -
Haha!
Escape Route built my Wilier Cento Uno and they did a fine job. They also have good coffee, a mountain of energy food types and pretty much everything else.
I'm partial to cutting up by Rhynd from B of E. A scunner of a hill but rewarding views. I see Pitroddie has been resurfaced. Only slightly takes the pain away.0 -
Done the Tay Loop myself quite a few times, always prefer doing it by starting across the bridge to Fife and coming back along the Carse of Gowrie towards the end - just in case I've put too much effort in as at least the end is flatter then (although watch out for wind direction as you get no shelter in the Carse).
Did most of it just the other day as a commute home (https://www.strava.com/activities/298247151).
The turn off from Bridge of Earn up to Rhynd is definitely more enjoyable than heading up the main road, but it does leave you having to cross a busy road that at rush hour times I would imagine would take a while to get a big enough gap.
The Carse of Gowrie has loads of great hills, all of which give great views, [in order from Perth to Invergowrie] Kilspindie, Rait, Kinnaird, Abernyte, Knapp (followed by Jocks Brae). These are all equally as fun coming down, although you do have to watch for suicidal pheasants and rabbits.0 -
The Carse of Gowrie has loads of great hills, all of which give great views, [in order from Perth to Invergowrie] Kilspindie, Rait, Kinnaird, Abernyte, Knapp (followed by Jocks Brae). These are all equally as fun coming down, although you do have to watch for suicidal pheasants and rabbits.
You missed Glencarse/Balthayock, Glendoick/Pitlowie and Pitroddie...
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I've come down Kinnoul and followed the Balthayock road once, nice wee road that. I've been meaning to do the others you mention, but I can never work out exactly how to get to them (Glendoick one in particular) and end up getting lost at some point - it's a bit like a maze along there with all the wee roads going everywhere. Getting lost is part of the fun though, and it's how I ended up doing the climb at the back of Collace one day.
I could plot the route and put it in my Garmin 500, but where would be the fun in that ... and it has a habit of beeping constantly as it thinks I'm about 3ft off course when I know I'm not, I was just moving around a pothole :-)0
