If they do, please, please, please do not hard core that new section being built below the old ridge section, it flows nicely where it has not been metalled yet and there is lots of bedrock showing so it should not erode too badly, armouring it will spoil it imo. ps apologies for riding it this weekend before it is finished.

So you have no contact with the trail builders, ride their work before it's ready and expect them to alter their plans to suit your wishes?

Sigh.

there are some far nicer unarmoured bits at mabie than that. 😉

So you have no contact with the trail builders, ride their work before it's ready and expect them to alter their plans to suit your wishes?

Sigh.

Or, from down below your high horse, he tried out a section of new trail and thought'd he'd comment on it to provide some feedback…

Trail that's not finished that is.

Having been (and continuing to be) at the trailbuilder end of this kind of thing there is little more infuriating than riders deciding that trail closures do not apply to them and that it's ok to ride them anyway.

Of course I can't comment on the specifics here other than what has been posted (which seems fairly clear) but a closed trail is a closed trail.

This is no attack on anyone in particular but we're having a big issue with this on trail we're building eslewhere right now and suspect other builders feel the same.

St – I sympathise with your comments fyi this trail has been mechanically scraped back only and work on the majority of it has yet to start. It seems to have been at a halt for a long time since it is starting to become overgrown now. The first part is down to rock and hence my comments.

Apologies if any offence caused. 😳

scotabroad
needs to be armoured or it will end up like the Ridge unfortunately. If the Ridge had been done properly from day1 then it may have stood a chance of remaining as part of the route(we could reclaim it btw). Then maybe it would have eroded anyway due to it` s fall line style(design?). Then Ridge was left "natural" due to pressure fro some locals as was Elevator, never should have been and the consequence of it being left natural is plain for all to see, an all but unrideable trail when wet. Elevator okk 3mths of remedial work to become ridable again.
A "learning" experience the traibuilders will not wish to repeat.

st….the section referred to has been flagged and scrapped only for some months now. There has been no signage for some time, probably blown away during the various wet and windy summer. There are some internal issues to resolve within fc afik. There does seem to be some movement tho, more flags have appeared and sure the NO ENTRY signs will appear soon.

This is no attack on anyone in particular but we're having a big issue with this on trail we're building eslewhere right now and suspect other builders feel the same.

fair enough but it pps me off when the trailbuilders mates think it is OK for them to ride it ❗

scotabroad…up for a ride weekend coming?off sat and sun but probably away one day. Earl Sat?

Trekster – could do anytime saturday or early Sunday

pps me off when so called 'trail builders' put branches all over new trails, just so the builders and their mates can ride them in secret.

scruff: "pps me off when so called 'trail builders' put branches all over new trails, just so the builders and their mates can ride them in secret. "

Why? You're no worse off than if the trail wasn't there at all, which is what it would be if not for the people who built it…

up here they use proper orange plastic netting due to being under the construction rules of hse etc.

Hey Guys,

Treksters absolutely right in what he's said, and so are some of the other comments! St, totally agree about people riding unfinished trail, we had serious issues at the Edge at Ae last year where people riding the trail whilst work was being carried out caused us another 3wks work!! The knock on effect is that its money being spent that should be being spent at other sections or centres!

Scotabroad, as for the Ridge, surfacing work is due to be started fairly shortly. Material is on site and final paperwork is being completed. The trail designers have a small amount of "artistic licence" on the designs, but the FC does have a legal obligation to ensure that any works meet ALL the HSE requirements regarding what we put on the ground! Surfacing was started at the begining of the year but had to be pulled due to bad weather. So unfortunately it will be done shortly! But as explosioninaspaghettifactory says, there are some really cool section of unsurfaced trail in Mabie!! Treksters the man for showing you those!! 8)

Technically, you should not, no matter who you are (trailbuilders mate's are no exception!!), ride unfinished trail for a load of reasons. Personal safety, safety of workers, and damage to unfinished trail are just a few! Comments or issues you have about open waymarked trails are appreciated however, and we do need to know what people think. Contact your local FC office, or find out who is in charge of the trails and drop them an email, you may be surprised to find out what's planned for that area!! The 7 stanes website has a contact us section where you can send comments in as well.

Keep enjoying the trails!!

FC Ranger

Cheers FCR.

I will drop them a line to air my comments.

My main concern if not expressly said was if they pile in lots of hard core and gravel and make a smooth featureless path.

If they use it wisely and keep the character and flow then they could have a nice wee bit of trail that would add a different character to the Mabie trails, its an opportunity is what I am really saying.

I know a fair amount of the "other" trails at Mabie which are my favourites. 🙂

I've been riding round Mabie for best part of 20 years, before the 7 stanes and even before Rik's Bike Shed… It used to be full of brilliant natural singletrack which we found or made ourselves, I think Rik helped to really bring it all together in the mid 90's. All those trails were natural, bugger all drainage and no hard packed surface. I can still find some of the old trails when I go home, though we lost a lot of them a few years ago when there was some heavy wind blow. I just feel that much of the 7 stanes trailbuilding has sanitized a lot of the old trails – I understand the FC's position though and know they have HSE concerns but perhaps they should just maybe leave it as it is? Surely part of the challenge is coping with the varied conditions and alterations that occur to natural trails, it's a shame to lose that. I used to get muddy riding round there and not just from the fire road trek home.

Or if it's in Mabie and people are riding it do the FC have an obligation?

I've been riding round Mabie for best part of 20 years, before the 7 stanes and even before Rik's Bike Shed

Ditto, walked the dog and the kids before biking existed 🙂

All those trails were natural, bugger all drainage and no hard packed surface. I can still find some of the old trails when I go home, though we lost a lot of them a few years ago when there was some heavy wind blow.

+ some through harvesting and erosion.

The buzz word now is sustainability. Gone are the days when we can just create another bit of trail to miss out the bit that has become unridable.
If 7Stanes had nt happened would there have been the explosion throughout the rest of the country? Would mountain biking be where it is today. We certainly would not have Ae, Dalbeattie or Kirry. GT had started on the back of Coed y Brenin. It took years of concerted effort to get FC to do anything to upgrade Mabie to anything like Coed(pre Rik).

I just feel that much of the 7 stanes trailbuilding has sanitized a lot of the old trails – I understand the FC's position though and know they have HSE concerns but perhaps they should just maybe leave it as it is? Surely part of the challenge is coping with the varied conditions and alterations that occur to natural trails, it's a shame to lose that.

Not sure your first sentence is true. Yes some of the old stuff has been surface. BUT if it had nt been we would not be riding it now. The climb up Roller Coaster is natural, unsurfaced as is the Marthrown section. These 2 sections were a Duke of Edin project something like 6 yrs ago. Took 6mths planning and some input from IMBA to get it done. The Bad Step section was another DofE project to fix the water problem at the hairpin. 6wks of barowing gravel up there. Sections that during winter and with increasing rider numbers had become unridable.

Now to the Ridge and Elevator.
Due to pressure from a group of locals those sections were left "natural".
The Ridge to all but the experienced rider is almost unridable. Probably if it had been surfaced it would have washed out anyway and ended up as is.

Elevator.
This was created over very boggy ground. So question is should it have been built/created anyway? Magic bit of trail and without it the route would be a lot shorter or have more forest road. Whats your preference?
Again it was left natural and the inevitable happened 🙁
It became unridable and due to some very negative postings on this very site and others Mabie became THE forest not to ride. Can you imagine what effect this had during that summer 😥 Not good for any business ❗

Anyway it took 3mths of very hard work during a very wet and cold winter to do the remedial work 😀
This in turn caused a massive delay in getting Ae up and going not to mention a drain on the ever dwindling finance(often wonder where GT is funded from?)hence the cost cutting on Ae trail.

Note the slagging Ae gets on here and elswhere

Sorry Beard.
But if it were not for 7Stanes and FC then we would be poorer as mtbers in this area and subsequently due to the project so would many people.

Next time you are up just follow some of the many visitors round and see what standard of rider visits a trail centre 😆 😆 😆 😆

Last Tues I was unfortunate enough to attend an incident in the jump park where another guy without the appropriate skill level decided to have a go, result, broken elbow 😥

Does that constitute a rant ❓

btw cheers FCR

scotab…you have mail re Sat

Mabie is rammed with natural trails, as is Hill Wood or whatever its called over the back from there.

I'm not saying the stanes are a bad idea – far from it. And I do appreciate the effort that's gone in to making them a success. The fact that the FC are willing to invest time and money into making the 7 stanes a success is a credit to them, my father was a long term FC employee and I know how easy it would have been for them to turn around and say sod it, too much hassle.

I am mystified about one thing – what happened to the elevator – more precisely which bit is called the elevator. I think I know which bit you're talking about – the short climb from the end of that bit of fireroad where the old green route off road bit (and I mean old) used to come out? The one with the couple of sections of shore to cross boggy bits. Other than the shore collapsing what else could have made it unrideable?

It turned into an unridable bog.
Got a real pasting on here and I jest ye not caused a real drop in visitor numbers the following summer

There will always be a debate regards surfaced trails but with the unforeseen(at the time, 2000)rise in rider numbers it is a sad fact of life that to be "sustainable" trails will have to be surfaced.
The original euro money dictated that trails had to be sustainable for 5yrs and with dwindling resources and increasing trail milage FC have a bit of a conundrum to solve. Hence little or no maint until now. They also(in Dfs anyway)have no staff to go round maintaining trails, it is done on a contracted in when needed basis. What was left of the original trailbuilding team(excluding GT)was disbanded when Ae was finished at the end off the Euro funding

Goan..Hill Wood, accessed via the track up to the mast through the fields 😆

There is also Troston/Shambellie Wood and Wallace Monument above New Abbey 😆

Hey Trekster where u off 2 at the weekend? Will c u 2morrow night. 😆
Back from Hols and had the cold 🙁

Ae expedition, meeting sctobroad about 10.
Or at least thats an option.

Back from Hols and had the cold

Awe dear. Lots of people are suffering

I'm fascinated by this, I've ridden Mabie now several times, though I'm not a local. It's always seemed ridable to me, I wonder if I've somehow missed the times when it was at it's worst.

Scotabroad, I was speaking the the trail designer last night and he say's that there will be at least 17 planned trail features in that 800m section of the Ridge. It's them same guy who has been designing and building on the 7 stanes for 7 years now so he's getting pretty handy at it now! I honestly think it'll be worth it when its done!!

There are other projects planned for Mabie, but they all revolve around maintenance and refreshment of whats already there. It is the basic policy of the FC at the moment not to build any more new trail, just to maintain and manage what we have already. Like Trekster says, its all about sustainablility!

Beard, that is the elevator. We have water issues on that section as it is, and deberming there keeps it rideable. If it hadn't been surfaced and maintained it would just have turned into a muddy trail due to the increased amount of riders and the lovely Scottish weather!!

Cheers FCR I look forward to a nice bit of local trail, and thank you for taking the time and effort to discuss it with the trail builders 🙂