Markus Stitz
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Browse: Home   /   Cycle Trips   /   Germany
Home for Christmas

Home for Christmas

December 28, 2017
markusstitz
Bikepacking, Cycle Trips, Germany, Scotland

3 days, 14 hours, 710 km. My fourth ride home for Christmas is history, this time with gears on a Surly Straggler. I thoroughly enjoyed…

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reizkultur

Book delivery ride - a special @edinburghdawnpatro Book delivery ride - a special @edinburghdawnpatrol Gravel loop, plus deliveries & another ride with @mrmarkbeaumont today. #gravel
Well, that was quick! The new book is here - more Well, that was quick! The new book is here - more than a month before the official publishing date. Why? To get you on your bike & ENJOY Edinburgh, Fife & the Lothians.If you’d like one, signed by me, just check out the link in the bio! And even better, you’ll go in a draw to win DexShell overshoes, they arrived today too! #gravel #scotland #edinburgh
Book number five is almost here: Gravel Rides Edin Book number five is almost here: Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & The Lothians.This is a companion to exploring Edinburgh and its surroundings, shaped by 17 years of living and riding in Scotland’s capital - just in time for spring.As with the rest of the Gravel Rides series, it’s about balance - a guide that works equally well for local riders and for visitors with just a few days to explore.Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians are among the best-connected regions in Scotland for public transport. For the first time in the series, all routes are fully accessible without a car. The journey to the start becomes part of the experience - and the book is a small contribution towards more sustainable tourism in Scotland.Pre-orders are open now. Order direct to receive your copy before the official publication date on 21 May.Link in bio ⬆️#gravel #cycling #adventure
I photographed those images about this tine last y I photographed those images about this tine last year in 🇳🇴 - so far the best display of Northern Lights I witnessed with my own eyes. It took patience, being in the right location and a wee bit of luck.It wasn’t peak aurora season, but I was based in the mountains south of Trondheim with little to no light pollution, guided by the excellent Norwegian weather forecast. It’s nice to experience those moments in solitude, but equally nice to share them. One of the reasons why I write guidebooks, organise the Dirt Dash events and also for the first time a longer guided ride in September in Norway.What those three have in common? The invitation to challenge yourself, while also appreciating the opportunities that the moments offer when you stop. Memories that last much longer than a Strava time.
A book 17 years in the making. Gravel Rides Edin A book 17 years in the making. Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & the Lothians is scheduled to arrive from the printer in the end of next week - a book packed with rides in & around the best city in the world 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Those 📸 are all from the 16 routes featured in the book - with the promise that you’ll enjoy them equally as visitor or local rider. Link to pre-order in my bio - all Edinburgh City deliveries are done free of charge by bike. #gravel #edinburgh #fife #eastlothian #scotland
Most of my week has been spent uploading 13 brand- Most of my week has been spent uploading 13 brand-new itineraries to the Cateran Ecomuseum website 🚴‍♂️As a director of the Ecomuseum, I’m passionate about encouraging you to explore this incredible area—nestled between Blairgowrie, Coupar Angus, Kirriemuir, and the Cairngorms National Park—by bike.Alongside the routes featured in my book Gravel Rides Cairngorms & Perthshire, we’ve created a collection of rides that take you past standing stones, stone circles, roundhouses, and more. It’s all about experiencing history at your own pace.The best part? All routes connect—so you can build your own mega loop if you’re feeling adventurous. Or keep it flexible by hopping on Ember’s electric buses along the way.Each route includes a Komoot map, and you can download the GPX straight to your phone or GPS.You’ll find the link to the Ecomuseum website in my bio. And if you’re looking for a place to stay as a base, feel free to drop me a message.What do you think, would you like to give the routes a go? #gravel #scotland
It’s been a while since I spontaneously cycled 125 It’s been a while since I spontaneously cycled 125km, mainly into a headwind. With a heavy backpack with laptop, drill, drill bits and camera gear. Why? I took the bus to Perth, cycled to my house to fix things & work from there, and cycled back. And possibly intentional, I strategically skipped the public transport options in Fife. And while not easy, it was amazing fun. Nice to re-visit some of places in the latest book (link in bio), places like the Cowdenbeath murals the bus stop in Balmerino & West Lomond, all which narrowly didn’t make the cut. The bike is an amazing tool for such spontaneous trips, it takes some courage & willpower to cycle in strong wings & occasional rain, but I loved almost every minute of it.
13 new #gravel & #MTB routes across the Cateran Ec 13 new #gravel & #MTB routes across the Cateran Ecomuseum 🚴‍♂️Funded by the SSE Drumderg Windfarm Community Fund, this 310km network is one of Scotland’s most comprehensive—fully connected and designed to explore by bike from Alyth.Perfect if you’re riding the Cateran Dirt Dash (23/24 May) or planning a longer stay. Base yourself at Forillon (Bikepacking Scotland HQ), grab a coffee at Alyth Cyclery, and explore the rich history along every route.Route 1 is live now—link in bio.Gravel, history, and great coffee 🚴‍♂️This Alyth loop packs it all in—rolling quiet roads, forest trails, and incredible heritage along the way. Highlights include the ancient Shanzie Souterrain, the impressive Barry Hill Fort, and the Pictish treasures at Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum.Refuel stops? Sorted. ☕️
Flour Coffee Shop and Ardler Tavern have you covered.A perfect mix of adventure and scenery in the heart of Perthshire.#GravelCycling #BikeScotland #Perthshire
Impressions from scouting new routes around Alyth Impressions from scouting new routes around Alyth this weekend to create a continuous network of gravel routes from the small Perthshire town all the way into the Cairngorms National Park. Almost enough to fill another book - with loads of potential to expand this further. Having Ember now serving the A93 makes it much easier to explore this part of Perthshire without a car, but there’s still room for improvement. This was also a perfect opportunity to redefine the Cateran Dirt Dash route for the event in the end of May. With so much good routes to choose from I like to alternate the route each year, so each event explores a different corner of the Cateran Ecomuseum.I’ll share more soon - but this weekend was another proof why this is one of my favourite parts of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
What a weekend! Scouting routes for the Cateran Di What a weekend! Scouting routes for the Cateran Dirt Dash on 23/24 May & a new network of gravel routes starting from Alyth - so you can stay at Forillon & bring your bike or hire one from Alyth Cyclery. It’s such a fab place to bike! #gravel #scotland #adventure
Good ideas multiply 👍 A few pics from the Dawn Pa Good ideas multiply 👍A few pics from the Dawn Patrol rides in Düsseldorf, Edinburgh & Oslo — (very) early starts, good chats, and lots of amazing humanoids on bikes. All of this was feeding into my new book - which is pretty much done now. Pretty cool seeing it come together.
What a great way to start the Sunday at @cyclingwo What a great way to start the Sunday at @cyclingworldeurope - the Dawn Patrol delivered an amazing dawn & sunrise. Great chats, and we found coffee & baked goodies at the finish. It was great to bring the concept from @oslodawnpatrol & @edinburghdawnpatrol to this great cycling show - I look forward to be back in 2027. Thanks to everyone who joined this morning!
Come on a guided trip with me & @mrmarkbeaumont on Come on a guided trip with me & @mrmarkbeaumont on the Mjolkevegen - one of my favourite gravel routes in the world. You can explore Oslo on the first day, and then ride five days in stunning scenery. 6 - 13 Sep - all details are on gravelnorway.com Come & join us! #gravel #norway
🚴‍♂️ 8 days. 15 riders. Epic Norwegian gravel. Joi 🚴‍♂️ 8 days. 15 riders. Epic Norwegian gravel.Join @MarkBeaumont, @JotunheimenTravel & me on the Mjølkevegen 🏔✨📅 6–13 Sept – spots are limited. Link to book in bio or jotunheimentravel.com And to give you a flavour, I just released a new film about the route on my YT channel.#GravelCycling #Norway #AdventureCycling #Mjølkevegen
I look forward to visit @cyclingworldeurope on the I look forward to visit @cyclingworldeurope on the weekend - a good opportunity to share the @edinburghdawnpatrol & @oslodawnpatrol idea with more people. Join us on Sun 22/3 at 5.40am to welcome the say by bike. Meet outside the @zipperhotel - bring your bike, friends & a smile. Route on Komoot - 31.9km - pace depends on the group - and let’s find some coffee jointly afterwards.And I’ll be on stage at the blogger lounge on Sunday at 12.45  to talk more about human power // communitiessee ya & spread the wordand thanks to @toutterrain for providing me with a bike
Sooooooo looking forward to see the first proof fo Sooooooo looking forward to see the first proof for Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & The Lothians. The book is already listed & pre-sales will open next week.  Three books in a year was a push, but I can’t wait to share this one with you. Official launch date is the 21 May. All pics are taken from the gravel routes in Fife in the book, 2 easy, 2 straightforward & 2 advanced. To shorten the wait, you can watch my latest film ‘Roughstuffing in Fife’ now on YT. #Gravel #Fife #LoveFife
🚵 Dirt Dash Season is GO! The countdown is on for 🚵 Dirt Dash Season is GO!The countdown is on for another epic season with @dirtdash_cc 🙌It all kicks off with the Cateran Dirt Dash in Alyth — expect big views, proper gravel, and that unbeatable Dirt Dash atmosphere.Then we roll into summer at the Yorkshire Coast Dirt Dash in June 🌊And we wrap things up in style at the Dunoon Dirt Dash in September 🍂Three stunning locations. Three unforgettable adventures.Who’s in? 👊Link to join in the bio
Some frames from the new🎬 project I have been work Some frames from the new🎬 project I have been working on with @welcometofife - Roughstuffing in Fife will premiere on Monday at 7pm on my YT channel - taking you on a 243km ride very close to my home. I can spot the big antenna on the other side of the Forth almost every day when I commute to my co-working place. The route is the bonus route in my next book Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & The Lothians - more about this soon!
New film alert 🎬 - Roughstuffing in Fife portrays New film alert 🎬 - Roughstuffing in Fife portrays a new 243km bikepacking route through the Kingdom of Fife in Scotland. Premiering Monday 2 March 7pm GMT on youtube.com/reizkultur The route will go live on @bikepackingscot at the same time 👀#gravel #bikepacking
Exploring home. I have worked with Pindar Creative Exploring home. I have worked with Pindar Creative on updating Edinburgh’s cycle maps & just finished researching & photographing Gravel Rides Edinburgh, the Lothians & Fife. Josh & I explored some of Edinburgh’s excellent quiet cycle routes & added bits of the routes from the upcoming book in - and added on a low tide cycle to Cramond Island. Edinburgh is a wonderful city to explore!
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My new book is available now here https://bikepackingscotland.com/books/
Well, the first of two publishing days. Welcome Gravel Rides Edinburgh 🎉 #gravel
studioDRIFT helps Delta communities thrive by creating outdoor recreation experiences that connect people to place and strengthen local economies. Martin is featured in my film 'From Ozarks to Delta Blues ' - A cycling journey through Arkansas.
From Ozarks to Delta Blues - Martin Smith, studioDRIFT #gravel #bikepacking
Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & The Lothians - Make your adventures memorable with my new book. Order it directly from me herehttps://forms.gle/CSK7LWNwjds4U9Wr6
First books arrive on Thursday - Pre-Order yours now #gravel
Travelling from Bentonville and Fayetteville in Northwest Arkansas to Hot Springs, Little Rock and the Arkansas Delta, the film captures the state’s striking diversity - from the rugged Ozark Mountains to Hot Springs National Park, the Ouachita National Forest and the unique landscape of Crowley's Ridge.For more information about the state, visit https://www.arkansas.comFor more information about my work, visit https://markusstitz.com
From Ozarks to Delta Blues - Cycling in Arkansas
Check out more at dirtdash.cc/cateran
The Cateran Dirt Dash 🚴‍♂️ #gravel #bikepacking #event
check out dirtdash.cc/cateran for more or send me a message
Scouting routes for this year’s Cateran Dirt Dash on 23/24 May - nae bad or? #gravel
Curious? Find out more at gravelnorway.com or send me an email - markus {at) dirtdash.cc
Let us introduce the Mjolkevegen #Gravel Collective - come & ride with Mark Beaument & me in #Norway
Check out www.gravelnorway.com for more
Interested in a guided ride with me - check this out 🇳🇴 #gravel
Cyclingworld Europe X Dawn Patrol
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