Mountainbike routes in Aberdeen

Deeside Railway line to Crathes where you cycle over ancient bridges and under the A93 ( see photo) as you venture up to Crathes Castle. A spectacular castle to behold in amazing grounds.

Pretty flat circuit mainly on tracks or minor roads. A few major roads are used for short distances.

This route is all about the River Dee. It has great views to Upper Deeside and a roller coaster ride along the river's north bank to Morrison's Suspension Bridge.

This route is an out and back to a high point above Portlethen, with views over the city, the sea and Lochnagar. It is a ride of two halves: tarmac and singletrack.

This route takes advantage of the local drive allowed in Phase 1. It starts, fittingly, at the Kingswells Park and Ride and follows a rolling route into classic, ancient Aberdeenshire countryside.

This route has great views across the city and coast the whole way, with easy riding. Despite the urban, and often industrial, setting the route is exposed to fresh sea breezes so make sure you have warm clothes with you.

There are some great beginners trails under the beech trees between Sheddocksley and Kingswell. They are ideal for practising pumping and riding rough terrain. It gets tougher around Elrick Hill.

This route has something for everyone - natural trails, a few berms and a Pictish Chapel. Carparks will be busy this weekend, so the route starts at the Craibstone Park and Ride in Dyce, and takes a backdoor routes in to Kirkhill Forest.

Even with travel restrictions unchanged, it is possible to have an epic ride from the city. This 65km route, with 1000m of climbing, is preparation for big mountain rides later in the year. Most of the route is covered in earlier posts, so I refer to those to keep this post short.

This ride has all the elements of a big Cairngorm Munro ride on the edge of the city. There are test pieces to practice technical climbing and hike-a-bike.