Where Roads End

500 miles is a lot of miles, regardless if you’re a seasoned bike rider or taking timid steps into cycle touring. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that the NC500 offers some of the best riding in the UK. So, taking into account the time constraints that make it difficult for many people to cycle the whole route Markus Stitz designed an itinerary that can be ridden in a week or less.

Markus’ new film Where Roads End is the story of that 200-mile journey.

‘My first ever bikepacking adventure in 2006 took me through the absolutely stunning north of Scotland, and I vividly remember that journey,’ says Markus. ‘Having worked on a couple of different cycling route projects over the last years and most recently a book about gravel riding in Britain, I was interested to partner up with the North Coast 500 not only to showcase the stunning landscapes I travelled through, but also to give people an idea that the NC 500 is much more than just a driving route.’

Stitz cycled on a gravel bike hired from Ticket to Ride, Inverness-based bike hire specialists, staying in hostels, B&Bs and hotels along the route in Shieldaig, Ullapool, Invergordon and Inverness.

For any bikepacking adventure, the exact kit and bike set up you chose to use is going to depend on a couple of key questions. What kind of terrain will you be expecting to ride? How remote are the landscapes in which you are going to ride? What’s the weather going to be like? Where will you be staying? And how do you plan to source your food? The answers to those questions will then determine the amount of kit you’ll need and how best to carry it.

An instrumental character in the development of bikepacking routes across Scotland, having ridden around the world Markus Stitz is well versed in the art of packing for bike based adventure. For his 200 mile bikepacking version of the NC500 he hired a gravel bike, swapped tyres and used his own bikepacking bags. Opting to stay in hostels, B&Bs and hotels along the route it meant he could significantly cut down his kit. meaning he still had plenty of space for the cold weather gear he’d certainly still require.