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      Paul Masson

      Paul Masson

      Passionate | Energetic | Reliable

      Mini Bio

      I’ve been a cyclist all my life, starting out racing on road bikes as a child and continuing through junior, senior and veteran categories. When cyclocross and mountain biking came along, I embraced them too.

      From the very beginning, I got involved in mountain bike guiding programs—first as a participant, then as a tutor and assessor, helping train outdoor instructors across Scotland. I’ve guided for organisations including Red Bull and Adventure Scotland, and worked as a mechanic during the heyday of Bothy Bikes.

      I went on to found Cycletherapy, building and designing mountain bike trails across Scotland, including Laggan, Learnie, Glenlivet, Tarland, and early cross-country tracks at Aonach Mhor. These days, I work as a consultant, inspecting trails and providing maintenance training for government groups and volunteers.

      In recent years, I’ve been exploring Scotland on a gravel bike, touring routes from Glasgow to John O’Groats, Knoydart to Montrose, and many variations in between. I’ve lived in Aviemore for over 30 years, and I can honestly say the finest gravel in Scotland is right here.

      Favourite Place to Play

      When it comes to cycling, Strathspey and Badenoch have it all–trails, terrain and scenery.

      Not a lot of People Know This

      I’ve carried very heavy rucksacks for Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.

      “I’ve lived in Aviemore for over 30 years, and I can honestly say the finest gravel in Scotland is right here.”
      Expand All
      Experience Read More

      I’ve raced on almost every type of bike and can pedal long distances at a good pace. I’m confident repairing just about anything on a standard bike, and I’ve explored much of Scotland on gravel bikes. I’m also well-practiced at packing bikes for long trips and have backpacked across Scotland numerous times, bagging a fair share of Munros along the way. Having spent decades riding and exploring here, I know the Cairngorms National Park inside out.

      Biggest Adventure Read More

      Some of my biggest adventures include:

      • Cycled the West Highland Way in a single day on a bike.
      • Nearly completed the Badger Divide in a day on a bike.
      • Cycled the Moray Triangle (Aviemore → Findhorn → Spey Bay → home), which was 130 miles of gravel biking in a day.
      • Completed 165 miles around the Cairngorm National Park by road bike in a single day.
      • Tackled the original NC500 route from Aviemore in 5 days.
      Specialist Subject Read More

      Bikes, bike trails maintenance and design.

      What Fellow Travellers Say About Paul

      Our guides were great. There was one thing though that surprised me. On our last day they said we’d be riding 14 miles. I asked why, because our itinerary stated 20 miles. Our guides said it because prior guests had commented the 6 miles difference (out to the Dunnet Head lighthouse and back) wasn’t so spectacular to be worthwhile or something to that effect. If our guides decision had been based on a safety and/or weather issue, I would certainly defer to their judgment. But it wasn’t. I didn’t appreciate that they made a unilateral decision to cut the route short, based on subjective feedback of some prior guests without consulting us, their current guests. After I raised the issue, and other guests on my trip said they also wanted to ride the full 20 miles, our guides agreed that’s what we could do. Aside from this, our guides were great. They were capable, helpful, had positive attitudes and the sharing of their local knowledge and history was a real plus that enriched the trip.

      Jennifer Miller
      Road Cycling - The North Coast 500: Highlights
      Reviewed on 22/07/2026

      Great guides, they knew the areas well

      Alexander Pederson
      Road Cycling - The North Coast 500: Highlights
      Reviewed on 21/07/2026

      Guides were excellent. Guides made the whole trip a very memorable trip for me.

      Harminder Samra
      Road Cycling - The North Coast 500: Highlights
      Reviewed on 15/07/2026

      Show More Reviews

      Book a trip with Paul

      Trip / Departure Availability Status Price Book
      Road Cycling – Arran, Islay & Jura
      5th Jun - 11th Jun 2027       		8 place(s) left Available 3,085 Book Now
      Road Cycling – The North Coast 500: Highlights
      12th Jul - 18th Jul 2027       		8 place(s) left Available 3,185 Book Now
      Road Cycling – Outer Hebrides
      7th Aug - 13th Aug 2027       		7 place(s) left Available 3,085 Book Now

      Make Trip Private

      Sometimes it's nice to get family and friends together and travel privately for some quality time. This means you benefit from all the features of the group departure, including hand-picked accommodation and expert local guides and we'll take care of it all. Then you can make your choice of departures dates and we'll get back to you to finalise the details.

      We work together with our team of guides to decide which departures they lead each year. As part of that, guides provide available dates that they are free to be booked. This means that any of the dates you see in the first field of the form below, could be perfect for your private departure or customised tour.

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