Hello,

I'm off to scotland this weekend for two days riding at glentress. It's our first time up there and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on routes we should take and things not to miss?

We have two days there so hopefully we should be able to do a lot… If you could give me some tips that would be great!

Cheers

Ride cross country loop at innerleithen if you got time. When riding Glentress I generally ride the black then join the red after dunslair heights and complete spooky wood, super g and hit squad hill cycle back up a fireroad and do betty blue and rejoin the black just before deliverance. Its easy to follow from the trail map

Do the blue from the middle section back to the hub it's sweet fast and flowing. And definitely ride Innerx XC. It's much better.

Like chrisdb but I would also suggest the section of blue that starts at the bottom of Spooky Wood, Betty Blue I think its called. And Blue Velvet which is above the freeride, you can easily do that on the way up the red, its just before Pennels Vennel. There's also Zoom or Bust, get to it from the forest road between the freeride area and the start of the black. If you are doing the red either miss out the climb and go straight to the Pie Run and Mushroom Pie or if you do all the red then climb up past the start of Magic Mushroom to the fire road junction. Best get a map 😀

Oops, just checked my email and Pie Run and Magic Mushrom are closed just now.
http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/website/forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-69afrj#Glentress
Tells you about trail closures etc..

Ah, cool, I never realised you can use that fireroad to cut back up from magic mushroom… Might have to make some use of that. And do mine eyes deceive me, the logrides are open?

My usual advice is to do both reds- ie at the junction at the start of Pie Run climb up for the higher reds (or blacks, or both, Lombard Street is PISH though) then climb back up and do pie run and mushroom pie. And whenever you've got enough legs, double back and do some more. And climb from Sair Fecht back to the car park then down the blue. I know it's not techy or gnar or anything but the red holds together fine as a ride, you can improve on it or spice it up but I don't see there's much need.

Oh. If you can be bothered, climb up past the freeride park on the road that leads to the start of the black, and watch out for the trailhead on the left- that's Zoom or Bust and it's mint. Loops back to just below the skills loop so you can do it as a circle and it takes you straight back to where you started. Lovely.

Yeah, for a couple of weeks.

Ace. I was beginning to wonder if they were just going to keep slicing another cm off the top of them all til eventually there was nothing left

cheers for all the tips. think i need to grab me a map and get my crayons out… how many km are we talking for these loops, anyone know?

Am guessing 15 ish for anything Gt red related.(Don't forget to do blue bits as mentioned – ace) 20 for Inners. 25 for Gt black.

Gt black is more of a workout.

Inners defo. GT black to top of deliverence, skip round and find Broon Troot, down that and back on to black.

2 days? You should be able to do all of GT and IL xc in that.