I’m up in Scotland over half term – Just south of Nairn, so 20mins East of Inverness. I’ll be driving up from the south coast of England and do my usual and us a quick pedal around Ae as a leg stretcher on the way up and maybe ride Laggan on the way down.

However, all the centres just north of Inverness are new (or I didn’t know of them)since I last had a MTB on me around those parts and thought I’d give them a go. The weather is looking pretty dodgy for next week at the moment, so which of them (Golpsie, Kyle of Sutherland or Learnie or others I don’t know of) ride best (or least badly) in the wet?

Golpsie is a must, Kyle of Sutherland worth a visit as well.

I don’t know about the wet, but golspie rode pretty well in ice/snow over new year

Thanks – Golspie does look good on the site.

Of the ones up there I’d do Balblair and Golspie- the top of Golspie is exposed but get to the top of the Lactic Ladder and go left rather than carrying on round the top of the mountain and you’ll miss the worst of it.

Balblair’s all exposed bed rock that’s grippy as owt and a lot of fun.

Golspie is the best centre you’ll ride by the way.

The rock sections at Learnie are pretty slippy even with the slightest bit of moisture. Golspie and Balblair shouldn’t give any problems if it is wet. Give us a shout if you want some company when you are up.

Gordymac
Fyrishbikes.com

Golspie looks good when/wherever

Golspie’s good mmkay? Learnie’s good mmkay? Laggan’s good mmkay? Ben Aigan’s good mmkay? Fochabers’ good mmkay? last 2 are closer to Nairn. They’re all pretty much all weather. When is this half term of which you speak? Might be available to show you around, especially if you head east.

golspie over rated.

balblair is guff.

learnie for the WIN

golspie’s ok. not the best i’ve ridden, and it’s limited in scope, but at least it’s there, constructed and it’s fast. certainly worth a ride if you’re in Nairn.

golspie’s ok. not the best i’ve ridden,

What’s better? I’ve got to ride it. Now!!!! Whoever came up with that saying about one man’s meat etc must have been a compleat idiot 🙂

devs – not telling – they’re secret trails 🙂

Well, after some recommendations I went to Golspie today and went around the big loop (scary statue- must have loved himself!) a couple of times – dry but quite blowy at the top.

I enjoyed it- but got quite frustrated with myself. The stone grips like anything – so refreshing after southern muck and roots. I only saw 2 other pairs of riders- and one of those was in the car park. Very nice for me, but I hope more people are turning up at other times to make it worthwhile for the community.

Lactic ladder – how the hell do you clean that? I recon I walked 40% of it. I could clean most of it as single features but it is the unrelenting nature of some sections. I wish there had been more people there so I could have watched and learnt from someone who knew what they were doing!

The Black descents – first lap I rolled up to about 10 features and realised I’d need more speed or a different line to clean them so ended up walking around. Second time around I still chickened out of a few of them. Not keen to hurt myself whilst riding solo, but maybe I’m just not black material yet. There are a few drop-offs that look like they need to be ridden at quite some speed.

The Red – fast swoopy stuff. Easily taken full bore first time unseen. It’s amazing the difference in comparison to the black. Perhaps I’m a maroon level rider, but that doesn’t seem to be catered for!

Tomorrow I think I’ll see if I can find something natural to ride in the Cairngorms – anyone got any ideas?

lactic ladder is easy enough to clean. And aye speed is your friend round the black, shooting off the drops and jumps to clear stuff.

a bit late, but i love laggan black in the rain, even if its pishing it down (like a recent trip had) its still sooper grippy, and fun hitting all the puddles!

No worries Oli – I played with Laggan in the drizzle on the way up! Nice.
Very envious – I wish I had this much riding on my doorstep. I might have to change my doorstep!

Tomorrow I think I’ll see if I can find something natural to ride in the Cairngorms – anyone got any ideas?

Carn ban mor?

More info here;
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/carn-ban-mor-may-31st-any-interest