Below taken from the Forestry Commision Web site trail info for Glentress :-

"Log skinnies (balance beams) on Cardie Hill Climb now open! 5 blue graded skinnies and 2 black graded skinnies to test/progress your balancing skills. All are optional and sit at the side of the main trail."

I know where the 5 Blue and 1 Black log skinny is but where is the 2nd black log skinny ?

The black one is in two sections so maybe that counts as 2

I thought that at first but one of the blue ones is in two sections but it is still counted as one.

The two-part, right-angle one just before the Buzzard's Nest car park?

Why did it take so long for them to open? I have been cycling past them for months.

Why did it take so long for them to open?

It's not easy to get trees to grow lying down. They had to get a tree whisperer in from Canada, I believe.

Why did it take so long for them to open? I have been cycling past them for months.

About 18months iirc. Opening them had to wait for the conclusion of the FCs nationwide trail-grading and safety reports. Or some similar bureaucracy.

They were getting constantly tweaked too, I think they've been using them to experiment with different grip paint finishes. And getting skimmed down a cm after grip paint failures for that matter, and getting wee polytunnels built over them and such.

Actually kind of surprised they got the approval for the top one, it's not going to be much fun for anyone who falls off the left of it. Fun though.

That's what I think is going wrong with GT, there seems to me to be alot of sanitisation on the red to make it safer. I want it to be dangerous – that's where the fun comes from. I'm worried that if it gets too popular that it will become quite bland.

That's what I think is going wrong with GT, there seems to me to be alot of sanitisation on the red to make it safer. I want it to be dangerous – that's where the fun comes from. I'm worried that if it gets too popular that it will become quite bland.

I think GT has reached that point already tbh 😥

Johnbot – Member

"That's what I think is going wrong with GT, there seems to me to be alot of sanitisation on the red to make it safer."

Honestly, I don't think there is, at least not recently (further back I can't speak for, I stopped riding before GT in its present form existed and only started again a couple of years ago). There's quite a lot of changes made to make it more sustainable- like, we (trailfairies) took an unsighted kink out of Falla Brae because it was right after a short sharp descent and was causing noobs to brake heavily and rip the trail to bits. Rather than repair the trail every 6 months we did a wee tweak to remove the cause. Stuff like that. You could call it sanitising I guess but the aim isn't to make it easy, just to make it last. But the red's well designed and pretty safe as it is.

My own opinion, is that really busy trails will tend to be a bit more bland, because a lot of features just aren't practical. You've seen how roots get torn apart by the traffic and the same goes for a lot of dirt work, it needs a seriously armoured surface and perfect drainage and that restricts options a lot. Also needs to be careful of speed change etc, which I gather means that new trails are going to tend to avoid steepness. Jumps need to be fairly tame as the takeoffs and lips blow out so fast, the jump becomes unpredictable. When a feature wears out the question always gets asked whether it should be replaced, since it'll just wear out again. All in all it gets harder to work with the ground that's there, which is a real shame. But I still love the red, it's not difficult but it doesn't have to be.

(stains snobs sometimes slate GT for its lack of technicality, yet nobody says the same of Kirroughtree, which always strikes me as interesting since KT is smoother and more featureless for most of the red)

I agree with your points and appreciate the work you do out there for us who come by every couple of months, ride it for a day and then seem ungrateful on forums etc.

the final log skinny up is dangerous 🙂

"appreciate the work you do out there for us"

Mainly I lean on shovels and talk bollocks. If I'm feeling strong, occasionally I push a half-empty barrow. But some people actually dig holes and stuff!

Yeah – I'm just wanting to add my voice to those saying a big "thanks". It's too easy to just turn up, ride and go home and not appreciate the work that has gone into the trails.

The skinnies are great and TBH I almost enjoy that section of climb the most out of everything at GT now – the steep rock step-up is a fave as well. Climbing up the last black skinny the first time I did it was a real buzz, I haven't managed to clear it again so far, and yes, falling off to the left is better 🙂

Would be cool to have a continuation of that style of climb out of the Buzzards Nest and up – more features!

I felt so rad and knarly when I cleaned that black skinny first go yesterday. Well stoked.

I was gratefull for the 12 months that I'd been afforded to psyche myself up for it and to scope it out mind.

What are the trailfaries doing to the black section of fella brae just now.hope there not changing it too much as I really used to like that bit.

"What are the trailfaries doing to the black section of fella brae just now.hope there not changing it too much as I really used to like that bit."

It's pretty different- I've not been for a couple of sessions (actually skiving one just now due to an iffy elbow) but the first section is totally rerouted. But the new bit should be good, we found some nice roots and bedrock. I've not seen it since the surfacing really started so it might be a bit different but it's looking great. I'll miss the old entrance though.

If you want to know more you can always have a look or grab one of the wardens, they'd usually rather talk about trails than give people parking tickets 😉 Or there's far more experienced trailbuilders on here than me, I just hit what I'm told to hit pretty much.