Spring Residential 2009 - Day 1: Innerleithen & Glentress

We finally arrived at the our accommodation in Innerleithen http://www.mountainbikeapartments.com/ at about 7pm after a long drive in heavy traffic on Wednesday 8 April 2009. Nev, Hedd, Ed and Stu unpacked quickly and headed out to have a look at Glentress. Given the time, we drove straight up to the Buzzard's Nest car park and had a little play around in the Freeride Park before it went dark. This gave us all the chance to polish up some skills which had gone a bit rusty due to the lack of recent riding! It was great fun and put us all in the mood for more.

Soon after we got back to the apartments, Ash joined us and we watched the dirtschool skills DVD http://www.dirtschool.co.uk/. This gave us all far too much to think about, so we relaxed with a bottle of Sloe Gin, a shot glass and Neville's uncanny Bruce Forsyth impression!

We managed an early start on Thursday 9 April and cycled the half-mile along the road to the Innerleithen trail head. We got chatting to some downhill boys at the Freeride Park the evening before and they had recommended the Innerleithen Red Route, so that's what we decided to do! The climb was pretty brutal and Hedd was really feeling the pace having been unwell the day before.

Ash gives the Innerleithen climb the thumbs up

The climb includes some technical rock steps which we all found pretty tricky. At about halfway up, the climb is punctuated by a a shot downhill section which lightened the mood considerably as the rain fell.

Ed having fun in the rain on the Innerleithen red route from Hedd Roberts on Vimeo.

It was pretty chilly, and this meant that the battery in Hedd's camcorder cut-out just before Ed got to the small ladder drop. Whilst playing around here, we all spotted some steeper lines down, and Ed just couldn't resist giving on of them a go.

Whatever you're thinking - that is definately steep! Ed at Innerleithen

We pushed on into weather that was getting worse and worse, just as we were getting above the treeline to the most exposed part of the route. Eventually we reached the summit of Minch Moor. The views are apparently pretty good from here - but not today as the photo below demonstrates.

Stu, Hedd, Ed and Ash at the Minch Moor summit. Rain on the lens is hard to avoid when it's coming in horizontally!

Hedd was really struggling with illness at this point, but there was some good news - a fantastic downhill section was next up - the Minch Moor Descent. This transformed everybody's mood and showed us all what we'd been missing. Fast and flowing with jumps, berms and small drops. Why hadn't we come up to Scotland sooner?

We headed on and were soon decending again. Not so much speed and flow on Plora Craig but still great fun.

Stu and Nev descending Plora Craig at Innerleithen

Since it was the first morning, we chose the red graded Oh Deer! instead of the black graded Razor Rock, but this still included a short steep black graded drop which was good fun.

Stu takes on the black graded drop on Oh Deer! at Innerleithen

From here the trail just seemed to get better and better, culminating in the Caddon Bank section with all manner of jumps, drops and berms. It was a frantic finish - none of us could remember a better section of trail anywhere and none of us had ever spent so much time in the air.

Stu and Hedd have a ponder at one of the drops on Caddon bank

No pondering from Ed as he flies over

After that, we cycled back into Innerleithen and headed for the Co-op for some lunch which we took straight back to the apartment.

Timing was crucial here, we all needed a break, but wait too long and we knew we wouln't get back out. After a shower and some food (sausage rolls and Scotch pies) we loaded the cars and drove around to the Glentress trailhead.

We had decided that we still had time to complete the Glentress red route. It was 3pm by the time we started riding so we needed to get a move on!

The initial climb was steady enough and we all handled it pretty well. We stopped by the Freeride Park for a rest and then headed onward to the Pennel's Vennel section. Ed got an inexplicable puncture which slowed out progress for a while, but we were soon away again.

The sun comes out as Ed fixes his puncture

After more climbing, we found ourselves at the top of the Spooky Wood descent. This was absolutely fantastic and rivalled the Innerleithen descents for thrills and spills. Ed really found the zone on this section and sped away. The section had some jumps which led straight into fast berms and really was great fun. From here, the fun continued with Super G and Hit-Squad Hill.

The view from the top of the Spooky Wood descent

It had been a wonderful descent, but now we were all starting to feel it. We decided to take a short-cut (Pie-Run) at this point, but even this delivered, with some boardwalk sections and tricky roots. It was at this point that a fall from Nev on the roots held Stu up and led to a fantastic strop, the likes of which we haven't seen or heard for a good few years - brilliant stuff!

Not happy! - Stu after an argument with some roots

From here it was a steady ride back to the car. We packed up and headed straight back to the apartment. Hedd was really struggling with illness at this point, and after staring at his chips and curry sauce for 10 minutes he headed straight to bed.

Nev, Stu, Ash and Ed headed out into Innerleithen and were impressed by the hotel / pub / resturant / chinese take-away combo! After a few beers it was back to the apartment to catch up with the US Masters golf on TV and off to bed.

Spring Residential 2009 - Day 2: Kirroughtree

After a great nights sleep, we were all up early to have breakfast clean and pack. We managed to get away soon after 9am, and after a short detour to allow Ash to get some fuel (the local station had closed down the previous day!), we were on our way to Kirroughtree.

We made some good progress initially, but then got stuck in some traffic and it all became pretty painful. Nev's cd collection (wall to wall metal with one indie cd that came free with a newspaper) was exhausted pretty early in the two and a half hour journey by Ed and Hedd. Fortunately, just as the combination of heavy metal and cautious driving was becoming unbearable, we arrived at the Kirroughtree trail head and met our local guide for the day Helen.

We headed straight for the cafe for some stress relieving tea and toasties and we were away. The initial climb was really steady, and therefore perfect for getting back into it after a tough one the previous day.

The team enjoy a breather on the Kirroughtree climb - Ash, Hedd, Stu, Ed and Helen

The climbing was steady, with a few rocky obstacles to catch the unwary (Nev). After a bit more climbing, we had some fun on The Nut Cracker and the White Witch. There were a few burms and jumps, but it wasn't quite the same as Innerleithen or Glentress. Soon it was decision time: do we head back to the trailhead along the red route, or push on and follow the black route? We decided to push on and were immediately rewarded with a beautiful spot by the river for another of those breathers.

The gun show! Ed flexes one of those huge pistons by the river at Kirroughtree

The black graded singletrack sections that followed included some more technical rocky obstacles which upped the ante a bit. Hedd's illness meant that the going was already slow, with lots of "breathers", but we slowed even further when Ash started struggling with some mechanical issues. If Helen was getting a little impatient (it would be very hard not to), she was polite enough not to show it.

Silence.... except for light birdsong and a tirade of swearing as Ash struggles with a few mechanical issues!

When we eventually got moving, we soon reached the famous McMoab, a giant monolith of granite with some natty blue arrows painted on to show you the way. We all struggled on this, but the granite was surprisingly grippy and rewarded a bit of endevour.

Stu on McMoab at Kirroughtree

Hedd about to lose control on McMoab at Kirroughtree

We all made our way around to the final steep drop from McMoab, but Ed was the only one to take it on.

Ed taking on the steep drop from McMoab

With all those delays, a short-cut along the road was in order (particularly when the alternative is a section called "Heartbreak Hill"!). After another short break, we were heading along more black graded singletrack with some rocky obstacles to keep things interesting. This was good fun, and so different from Innerleithen and Glentress. We soon reached a jump and stopped to have a bit of a play.

Chocks away! Ash gets air at Kirroughtree

It was all reasonably steady from here, although Helen was right to warn us about one "brutal bit" that we still had to climb. Just as we were easing to the finish, disaster struck as Nev's rear wheel siezed. He walked back to the trailhead and took it straight to the bikeshop while we sat in the cool sunshine and enjoyed a beer while we picked over another great days riding.

Unfortunately, the bike shop couldn't help Nev quickly and had to close, so we packed up and headed off to find a campsite leaving Nev's bike behind.

Luckily, after one false alarm, we found a great campsite with a pub in nearby Creetown. We pitched the tent in the last of the days sunshine and headed for a shower. It was then straight to the pub for a meal and a few beers - great stuff!

Spring Residential 2009 - Day 3: Dalbeattie

On the morning of Saturday 11 April, none of us were claiming that we'd had our best nights sleep of all time! We had to contend with the cold (there was a reasonably heavy frost) and Nev's snoring (with it's upward inflection).

A frosty morning at the campsite near Creetown

The cold meant that a lie in was simply not an option, so we got moving reasonably early and headed off to find some breakfast and collect Nev's bike while the sun came up. After failing to find anywhere for breakfast in Creetown itself, we headed to Newton Stewart and were lucky enough to find the Chatter Box cafe, where we enjoyed a great breakfast and our first haggis of the trip!

After breakfast, we headed back to the Kirroughtree bikeshop, but the news was not good. They had been unable to fix Nev's back wheel! We headed back to the campsite to pack the tent and work out what to do next.

Whilst we were packing the tent, Ed suggested that with Ash leaving before today's ride, Ash's back wheel may fit on Nev's bike. This was an inspired suggestion and it worked a treat! Ash headed back to Cheltenham and Nev, Hedd, Ed and Stu headed for Dalbeattie.

We tried a few of the skills sections at the begining of the ride, but this led to a long delay with Nev and Stu getting inexplicably lost. Eventually we were away though on fire roads for the first climb of the day. At the top, there was a steep section of granite to practice on, and we all had a go.

The sun comes out as Ed completes the steep granite drop at Dabeattie

Stu on the first steep granite drop at Dalbeattie

The view from this point was pretty good, so we wasted even more time with a quick detour to the viewpoint.

Ed takes in the view at the Heart stane viewpoint at Dalbeattie

By now, the sun was out and it was feeling warmer than it had all week. We headed for the first downhill section of the day: Moyle Magic. This section was great and much closer to what we're used to riding in the Peak District, Lakes or Mid-Wales with technical, rocky, singletrack. We had a few mechanicals at this point, with Nev losing Ash's back wheel on the descent (maybe it wasn't such a great fit afterall?!?!) and Hedd needing to replace a front brake disc that had worn down to the metal backplate!

This didn't take too long though, and we moved on to the Barnbarroch loop and eventually to the qualifier and the slab.

Hedd descending The Qualifier at Dalbeattie with Ed at the top of the slab in the background

The Qualifier was reasonably straightforward, just a steep drop of pitched rock, but The Slab was definately worth a look before ploughing over. It's a 15 metre section of steep granite without much of a runout at the bottom.

Stu tackles the slab at Dabeattie from Hedd Roberts on Vimeo.

Ed, Hedd and Stu took it on but Nev wasn't keen. Eventually we persuaded him to take it on from halfway down, and he nailed it!

Nev tackles the Dalbeattie slab from halfway down from Hedd Roberts on Vimeo.

Hedd on the slab at Dalbeattie

With our confidence up, we headed on with more great technical, rocky singletrack. There was a diversion in operation, but fortunately we didn't miss the Terrible Twins, two steep granite sections in close proximity. From here, Jacob's Ladder provided a bit of interest, but it was mainly steady stuff right back to the car.

What a trip! Hedd, Ed and Stu talk about coming back to Scotland, and soon!

We were soon packed and away with Nev doing a legendary job with the driving once again, we were home between 9.30pm and 10pm.

What a fantastic trip!