Scotsmen James Shirley and Liam Moynihan can tell you a thing or two about cold, wet and gloomy days. Unlike the majority of us cyclists, the two blossom when it's properly wet and slippery though. We experienced this first-hand in October, when James stopped by for a ride on his way back from Italy. Of course, it had rained the whole night before and he greeted us with the words:

Perfect conditions today. I am so excited to finally ride in the wet again after two weeks of dry and dusty trails in Italy!

James Shirley

In the meantime, James and Liam have been playing in the mud again in Scotland. Their Europe-wide search for the best "slop" had to be cancelled this year due to COVID-19, but the two still had more than enough fun back home. During a two-week road trip through Scotland they produced three more episodes of "In Search for the Slop" (click here for the first one).

North of Fort William on the shores of Loch Ness, Drumnadrochit was the first place on our hit list. Meeting up with Joe Connell we sampled some of the local delights before heading up to Inverness the following day.

James Shirley

No sooner said than done, and we had a great few hours on our home trails.

With a small window between the late race season and the inevitable “second wave”, it was the perfect opportunity to sample some new trails. Fifteen days cooped up in separate vans with mountains of manky wet kit made for some fairly grim living but spirits remained high as each spot kept delivering sensational tracks, sloppy conditions and fantastic company along the way.

James Shirley

Conditions were truly exceptional that day with Katy and Joe; water-soaked trails and low temperatures made it challenging but non-stop action kept the blood pumping.

James Shirley