Markus first came to the UK from his native Germany back in 2005, fell in love with Scotland and has stayed on ever since.

The NorthCoast500 is a circular route which heads around the coastline of northern Scotland. It’s become super popular as a road cycling route, but also with tourists in cars and hired motorhomes. Route creator extraordinaire Markus Stitz wanted to put together a week long version of the route, but taking in as much away-from-the-road riding as he could.

When you head somewhere new in search of gravel riding, finding a one-stop-shop for all your route/accommodation/café/bike shop questions is the ideal and that’s exactly what the organisers of the newly launched Route YC have created. At the end of January, Komoot invited a group of journalists, bloggers and influencers to visit the UK’s Yorkshire Coast to see what the area holds in store for aspiring gravel riders and bikepackers. Olly was on the invite list and headed south to join in the fun.