I'm a mountain like you said to be

Hello Bloggerinos!

I'm Brandon, many of you will know me as Sarah's husband, brando, hubs, or anything other quirky name my lady has chosen to call me on here. Right now Sarah is in Rome living it up big time, but she'll tell you all about that when she gets back. She asked me/I asked permission to do a post for her while she was away. I usually write about exercise and injuries, you know the really enthralling content that people flock to. not really Today I'm stepping outside my comfort zone and doing a blog post here on the Ocean in your Bedroom.

I thought I would share an outfit post... just kidding! I don't think hobo chic is actually a style, or is it? All of you lovely people would know better than I. I though I would share some pictures and tidbits of information about my biking trip with a few of my friends in the Caringorms just outside Aberdeen. What's that you say, something awesome near Aberdeen? I KNOW! To be fair, there's probably lots of awesome stuff just outside the city, our 2 person fam jam just hasn't ventured out.

The Cairgorms are a mountain range within Cairngorm national park. it's highest peak is Ben Macdhui at 1309m (that's 4294ft for the American readers). Our bike ride took us to Loch Muick, down through to lochnagar, and back to ballater. I'd love to tell you how high we rode, but I can't remember for the life of me.

Warning, photo overload headed your way.




The trip starts in Ballater, which is about an hour bus ride from Aberdeen. Once there you can rent a bike for the day for £16 (about $25). The people at the shop are very friendly and super helpful. They gave us a map and told us the best places to stop for a rest.


This lake was our first rest stop. It's about a 2 hour ride from the bike shop, up some hills, down some others, around bends and through the forest. The trail is very well groomed, so the ride isn't too challenging. There were some more difficult trails to be taken, but that's for another day I guess.
Shortly before getting to the lake there's this little brook/stream that was nice for a quick break and to sip a bit of water while taking pictures.

This was our final destination before returning back to the bike shop. It' the royal lochnagar whisky distillery. It was founded in 1826 and is one of the smallest whisky distilleries in Scotland. We took the time to go on a tour while there for £6 (~$10). About a 15 minute bike ride from the distillery is Balmoral Castle - one of the Queen's residences. Unfortunately, the castle wasn't open to the public at the time, so we weren't able to go see it.


So that was my trip in the Cairngorms. It's remarkable how similar the landscape and topography is the Gros Morne on the west coast of Newfound. It was a lovely, exhausting, and beautiful ride. If you're ever in the 'deen (that's what us cool kids call Aberdeen) then it's definitely worth your time to rent a bike and head into the mountains. Oh, I finally got up close and personal with a Highland cow.


SHAMELESS PLUG: if you're at all interesting in exercise or physical therapy then you might like my blog, Exercise Basics

 Also - all you lovely people who read my wife's blog - follow her, give her some love. She's pretty freakin' awesome, and now that's she's in Rome I can boldy ask everyone to follow her because she's too modest to do it herself. Seriously, if you're a regular reader, let her know. It makes her happy, which makes me happy - and I know you're deeply concerned about my happiness :-)