Hey,

Just to let people know that we have had to close the green and blue trails at Ae for a few days due to a rather large amount of windblow blocking several sections of both trails. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow we should have some sections cleared and re-opened, and then all being well then the rest should be open at some point next week.

There is also a diversion on the red route at post 9, at the entrance to Rabs Slippy One. You'll see why as soon as you get to this point!! It's just a short one and re-enters the red at post 10.

If you are out on FC trails and you spot any windblow or other obstructions then please let us know!! Contact details are usually on the FC website, or if its a 7 Stanes centre, its on their site!

Cheers

You should bung a motion activated camera up on the affected trails to snap the riders that go use it anyway.

Good idea that mtbfix – if you're going to follow them back to their car with CCTV cameras the entire route, prove they are who are in the photo and then do something about it. OTherwise it's a bit of a waste of effort 😀

Pics online and a name and shame campaign was perhaps the fullest extent of a plan that I had given little consideration to. The reason folk commit anti-social behaviour is because they think they can get away with it so let their heinous trail abuse be known and let their peers condemn.

So how much damage was done to the trails from BUCS then? looked like it may take a fair amount of work to repair some of those corners!

think most of the pics were on the DH course, newbit being ridden in ❓

No the XC course used the first red route climb, but as a downhill – a few of the switchbacks got pretty cut up

OK. Not seen those pics, that would be fun. Not likely to get over till the weekend but sure FCRanger will know.

So how much damage was done to the trails from BUCS then?

I went it round the Sunday evening right after the event and to be honest had ridden the loos stuff in pretty nicely. Rabs climb had a few short cuts but no real lasting damage to the official line that I could see.

ps. I rode round with one of the commisaires and he said there had been a load of loutish behaviour during the event and was less than chuffed with the minority that had spoiled it for the organisers.

Blue and green trails should be re-opened first thing in the morning.

The switchbacks on Rabs Slippy One were ok after the BUCS event, there is one that got the inside edge cut off, but for riding it the way its intended, its fine! Plus the fact that its also currently buried under about 10 tons of pine trees at the moment due to the same windblow that affected the green and blue trails.

Hopefully, touch wood (no pun intended!) the trees affecting the red route should be cleared today/tomorrow, all going well.

The messy photos on the 7 Stanes blog were of a grassy section we put into the DH course, the ones of people around a switchback were on RSO, on the red route.

Yeah, there was a small minority at the BUCS event who played up a bit but as far as I'm aware the organisers were dealing with it through the appropriate systems. All in all, one of the best organised events I've seen.

Oh yeah, check the 7 Stanes blog for photos of the windblow affecting the trails at the minute. You'll see why we don't really need a camera to catch anybody riding through it! They'd need to be really desperate to ride those sections!

http://www.7stanes.gov.uk then click on the blog link.

Green and Blue trails re-opened, contractors still working on clearing the red.

On the off-chance you're still following this FCRanger, are Mabie and/or Dalbeattie covered in snow right now? Planning to head tommmorow but not if they're going to be unrideable!

Thanks.

Kit – no sow at all in Mabie right now.

No snow down here anywhere but think Southerners may have got the wrong end of the weather forecasts, Ae was dead today for some reason.

No snow at all over there at the moment but it's probably worth pointing out to anyone heading to Mabie/Ae/Dalbeattie etc that there's a 3-day road race based around Dumfries at the moment leading to a few road closures, heavy traffic in places etc.
Worth coming over to watch but don't be surprised to find a few queues of traffic in places. The course for Easter Sunday is from Dumfries round the coast to Dalbeattie then into Castle Douglas, for Easter Monday it's round Dumfries/Mabie again.

Ae was dead today for some reason.

It was pretty quiet this morning. just two of us for trail building this morning and only 4 people went past all morning. After lunch it got much busier- i must have met at least 15, maybe 20 people as i went round in the afternoon. there was an uplift day there aswell moved from inners cos of the snow i think bringing another 50 people and an army of camper vans. you must have been at a different ae as its the busiest i have ever seen it!

seen it a lot, lot busier. Think uplift gave a false impression
shame the trailbuilding days seem to clash with other stuff, making me feel guilty about not getting out but console myself that I spent hr upon hr crawling through the trees and undergrowth whilst researching the route 😀
I`d had my coffee, bacon roll and away by 1.30 and was the only person Mary had in for about an hr, Steve skived off for a DH run, that is how quiet it was at that time around that time.

yep it was just me and another andy, can't remember his last name (used to work in rik's bike shed), but he commented on your researching the route through bog and trees! today was cancelled and given the go-ahead a few times during the week which is why it was a poor turnout today- someone called the shop yesterday but was told it had been cancelled.i just assumed it was on and turned up to find a slightly empty looking trail builders meet. i think andy was keen to get granny green luv finished in the next trail building session; but he was thinking about a mammoth session in the summer by advertising it as a world record attempt to try and tempt a few more people to come along.
he has also been looking at putting a new route in, but the wind over the last few days has torn down a couple of hundred metres of trees- quite spectacular really but it means that the new route has been postponed for the meantime.

i thought the red route was really good today- was expecting it to be a wet slog especially across the edge section but it all rolled nicely. managed to get round in around an hour and a half which might be why i met so many people!

Hopkins, and he still has my map ❗

he has also been looking at putting a new route in,

Climb from the end of the Edge ❓
The route was pre-determined by the FE submission to the Euro funders post F&M for the 7Stanes project. Not really a route anyone would choose nowadays but 10yrs ago nobody thought it would happen anyway!!!!
Ae is probably one of the the most difficult forest to build/create trails in due to it`s drainage problems.
There is a good black route if only the money had stretched far enough.