How do you get to EWS stage 3 at Glentress? I’ve either ridden or know how to get to all the others. It’s obvious from the map it starts on the black at the top of Kirn Law, but where exactly does it come off the black route and into the off piste? Is it obvious?

I don’t know which is stage 3, but zorro starts on the right in a gap in the trees as you are on the black route climb and in sight of the mast. Its just before the footpath breaks off to the right. It was raced from teh top ‘backwards’ down the black, in which case it would be on your left.

If you mean the one known as 5 year plan, that starts off the boundary trail on the climb after the first descenty bit. Both are well ridden and the trails leading off the main route will reveal them.

Stage 3 – is that the one that started where they used to have a wooden hut ? Just before the old Ewok village ? (sorry – most locals navigate GT by reference to former landmarks).

If that is where you mean, follow along beside the wall, exit to fireroad, immediate entrance to er Black Dog is it ? Where there used to be some cornerly wooden steps. Follow that to the next fireroad, then along about 20 metres and dive left – that is your “unwaymarked” section, but I haven’t been up that way for months and it may have been comprehensively closed. Please don’t ride it if it has, you don’t help the case for events to be run on these trails by ignoring the closures.

Wasn’t 5 year plan stage 2 ? Mast of Zorro, back up to the Boundary trail, wee stage above the ponds, then back up for Ho-Chi-Min Zoom or Bust Fort descent. Unless I am repressing some memories.

oh right that one, yeah not sure, paging Northwind…

Link at the bottom of the page has the maps from last year still there.

http://tweedlove.com/events/2015-event-info/enduro-world-series

Yes it is the one I thought – pretty sure that last section is closed.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/enduro-world-series-the-hardest-part-is-entering/page/2#post-6659724

5 year plan was on stage 2.

Stage 3 did start at the top of the old Ewok village – at the end of the straight section after the redemption climb. Anyway, you go down the trail by the wall then head into the section called DoubleX then into the Bitch which had a new exit built for EWS then along the road for 30m and left into the steepish section we call The Ponds. It’s a great wee stage.

The end of stage three down to the ponds is one of my favourites, it was still open a few weeks ago.

can we have a seperate category for all the locals whove practised it already!

I’d be surprised if they ran the same stages again

Stage 3 – is that the one that started where they used to have a wooden hut ? Just before the old Ewok village ? (sorry – most locals navigate GT by reference to former landmarks).

That’s it, cheers. Not sure why I didn’t just say Ewok stage, given I was searching the forum for “EWS Ewok” to try and find it. And of course, no riding if marked off, never would!

I think basically you’re looking for a secret trail that doesn’t exist maybe?

I can neither confirm nor deny the hypothetical possibility of potential new secret trails for this year. But I still reckon we should lay false strava trails all over the tweed valley, “EWS SECRET STAGE”.

Northwind – I’m in. Which reminds me, I must retrieve all the tracking devices I put on people’s bikes sometime soon.

I’d be surprised if they ran the same stages again

The Hochimin > Janet’s brae is the logical one to repeat.

Yes that was a good one, and quite spectator friendly. Lot of nasty faceplants at the bottom, as I recall.

Lot of nasty faceplants at the bottom

I went over the bars a few weeks ago 😳

That was one of the few stages I reccied. Rode it fine in practice. Slid into the finish on my face. In my defence, the final run in had kind of been hollowed out by the passage of wheels, and was no longer quite as rollable as the day before ! I ditched the bike and ran the last five metres, so should probably have been disqualifed.

Hels made a great entrance there. You should have seen Crawfy in practice, came down it at a hundred miles an hour and almost rode straight off the edge into the stream 😆 fab stage that though could be improved a bit.

(oh- just after ho chi minh where it crosses the road, you know how you can go flat out over that and fly for miles? Don’t do that, there’s a tree down just after the road)

I’ve not done the one that joined ho chi min yet, saw lots of trails off onto in the snow last week though so obvs popular.