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!
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