Brave Heart

Me rocking the Ae Forest back in 2007

I will be flying to Edinburgh next week to ride the 7 Stanes. This will be my fourth time in Scotland since 2005 and the 7th time overall. I love mountain biking in Scotland and I love being there.

Scotland not only offers one of the best mountain biking experiences you may ever encounter on the planet, but also amazing outdoors, spectacular landscapes, friendly people and - even if I‘m not an expert on this - the greatest whisky (and ales) on earth. 

No matter if you‘re on a long walk on the Irish Sea coast, hiking the Highlands, passing by Loch Ness or strolling the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, you don‘t necessarily have to be an outdoor aficionado for Scotland to embrace you with its incredible beauty, untainted ruggedness and wild history. And the notoriously rainy weather is usually nicer than its widespread reputation.

In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes.

- Billy Connolly

I‘ll pack my bags, pack my bike, take a few Burns‘ poems with me and crank the hell out of some awesome singletrack. No phones, no distractions. 

What tho' on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden grey, an' a' that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A Man's a Man for a' that!
For a' that an' a' that,
Their tinsel show and a' that;
The honest man, though ne'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that!

- Edward Burns, from "Is There for Honest Poverty"

Scots say, „climb hard, descent harder“: the more challenging the climbs are, the more rewarding the downhills will be. If you‘re brave enough, they are doable; you slack, you lose. Bravery is definitely it.

As Wallace once said: „It’s all for nothing if you don’t have freedom.“

Aye. A Man's a Man for a' that!