Around the year 2000/2001 having enjoyed various CTC Birthday Rides and the KM and Forfar rallies and as the Forfar Rally was no longer occurring it was felt that it was time for CTC Grampian to return the hospitality received from these groups.  The result was 6 Grampian Rallies at 2-year intervals between 2002 and 2012.  These were based at the scout camping grounds at Templars Park with some participants using the adjoining Deeside Holiday Park for caravans, static homes or slightly posher camping facilities. 

Each rally took place over a long weekend – arrive Friday, depart Tues or Wed,  with 20,  40 and 60-mile runs being offered each day together with socials each evening.  The rallies attracted cyclists from a wide area from Devon/Cornwall to Golspie (& Orkney?) and were helped by strong support from the Lothians DA and by Brian Curtis, a CTC Tour leader,  who started his tours from the Grampian Rally.  It was great meeting old friends and making new ones. 

Each route has been fully researched and noted and provides a valuable club resource for either club-run use or individual use.  I find that it is best to use the route card together with an OS map so that you can keep track of where you are in case of an error in following the instructions.  Also, it is likely that your accumulated mileage differs from the “official” one  but the step-by-step mileage is accurate e.g. ” 1.8 miles to T/Junction.”    All runs start and finish at Templars (Old Mill Inn site)  so you will have to adapt your start and finish points.  A number of runs can be picked up at the top of Milltimber Brae or on the Deeside line at Duthie Park. They also provide a different slant on the usual routes; compare Milltimber to Balmedie beach with a Bridge of Don start.

Finally, because the runs are 10 to 20 years old they provide an interesting measure of how the area has evolved over this time  This could mean some creative map reading to allow for new roads and new housing estates.

Have fun and enjoy the routes. 

Gordon Mackay