I am a swede who will be based in Strathclyde from Sunday and two weeks onwards, and of course I took my bike with me.
I will be working most days except the weekend, but would love to ride either on afternoons/evenings or early mornings (it seems we wont start until 9 am).

Is there any good riding to be had nearby, or does one have to use train/bus/car to get to nice trails?

If I could tag along on one or two all day rides next weekend (20-21th) with someone who knows the trails that would be brilliant.

I ride a 140mm AM bike, and physically and technically I think I can manage most rides, if not with record breaking speeds.

To get an idea of who I am, please see this link http://happymtb.org/forum/read.php/1/1678542/1679342 , a report on a trip me and my friend did to the swedish mountains earlier this summer. Just scroll down after the first post, there are lots more pictures. I am the guy with the white Cannondale.

Not sure exactly where you are from in Strathclyde but there are a few regular rides on http://www.lanarkshiremtbclub.co.uk/ (I was from Hamilton originally). Chaterlehault is worth a ride, few trails over by Motherwell, I believe Cathkin Braes also has various trails. Glentress etc is only around 50min by car away, used to ride there alot. Bit out of touch with any recent changes but im sure some other will be able to give some advice.

if you can get to Milngavie on north side on a tue, Wed or Sun why not come out with Glasgow Mountain Bike Club

we are a friendly bunch !

gmbc

Seconds for GMBC. Regular rides on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Happy MTB rocks. Great site. It’s my friend Jonas’s site. Kind of like Singletrack translated by the Swedish Chef from The Muppets. Ha! Ha!

Feel free to e mail me. Address in profile.

Lanarkshire mtb club have a number of runs planned over the next few weeks and their always space in the cars

If you want to ride from town (depending on where you are exactly), I’d say find GMBC (as above) as good riding close to the city can be hard to find.

It is possible to make the most of early mornings and evenings by traveling a little further away. The train from Queen St might give you some options if you can finish early and head up the west (Arrochar, Crianlarich) or centrally (Dunkeld, Birnam…). You’d be restricted to short routes though as the train to any of these is slooooowwww and there aren’t very many late night/early morning services to choose from. A car would be useful if you can hyra one and give you flexibility to go to places in the borders (the 7stanes bikeparks and Drumlanrig t.ex.) in the evenings/ early mornings.

At the weekend, you can get to most of the mainland in the time it takes to get from Umeå to Hemavan, even using the limited trains services going north. If you’re looking for weekend ideas, there are so many options it might be worth starting a thread specifically on that, or ask for tips on here.

Other useful things when planning – weather forecasts. Amongst the more useful ones are mwis and yr

PS, Nice report – just up the road from some friends of ours in Lycksele, but I’ve never biked up that way yet.

Meet Up GroupTry the Mountain Bike Glasgow Meet up Group

Rides most nights and covers most levels.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, brilliant!

Maybe I was a bit unspecific about my location, I will be at Strathclyde Uniersity which is very central in Glasgow, just by the Queens Street station.

I will look into the options you posted, Milngavie looks like a bikable distance so I will definitly try to meet up with you guys of GMBC

marran – drop me or sanny a mail, or turn up at 7 on Tue or7 or 745 wed. Last night we were using lights from 930 on

darn, forgot my lights at home. In northern Sweden the sun is still up for most of the night 🙂

But on the rides starting at 7 maybe one can manage without? How long are your rides usually?

Hi – 7 pm rides usually back in around 10pm. This week we had lights on around 940, but it’s getting 10 mins or so earlier every week now 😥

why not come along on a Sunday ride first ? If you have a look on the GMBC WordPress site (see earlier posts) you’ll see there is an away ride on Sun 21st if you fancy ? there will be space in cars to give you a lift. Cheers

Thanks, Sunday ride sounds excellent, count me in! Should I write on the GMBC worldpress site as well?

Theres loads in and around Mugdock, near Milngavie, but it sounds like the GMBC and Meetup folks have got you covered there.
Theres also plenty in the Kilpatrick Hills, just a little bit further west. They are my local stomping ground, so I could show you a few trails up there.

just mtb, or do you have a road bike?
Plenty of ‘exciting’ training rides with these.

You guys are great, thanks for all the suggestions. I am now in Glasgow and have at last reached a steday sourde of internet so I will be able to read here much more frequently.

radoggair: Just mtb, one bike is complicated enough to sneak on the planes with.

franciscibegbie: Looks like around 15 miles to Kilpatrick Hills from central Glasgow, right? Thats a bikable distance if it takes me to a 3+ hour ride. Perhaps Saturday? (Sunday I will try to go with GMBC)

More like 10. No need to cycle though. Theres a frequent and regular train service out towards Old Kilpatrick from Queen Street and Central stations.
Theres also has a service going up to Milngavie, which is perfect for trips to Mugdock.

I’m planning a trip up the Kilpatricks on Friday night, about 6.

franciscobegbie: Friday night is unfortunatley not possible for me, I am tied up at the university at least until 7.

Anyone else riding on Saturday?

The Meetup have a run tonight up to Mugdock from Milngavie.
Could you make it there for 7 tonight? Short notice, I realise.
Meetup group Mugdock run

I saw that, and it looks ace, but tonight unfortunatly I have work-stuff to do. I also need to buy a new spoke nipple since one was damaged by BA/SAS. Maybe I can try Tuesday, I hope to be able to keep up.

Exactly how fast is a red/black ride? Is everyone a racer or are there “normal people” as well? I can usually keep up on the rides I have been on in Sweden, but I am no xc-racer kind of guy

Marran, with the Meet Up Group, it is not fast at all. Just a comfortable pace, plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and surroundings. No-one is a racer, just out for an enjoyable spin in some great mountain biking country. The difference is more for the knarlyness of the trails, black has harder than red. The Monday nights are a mix of Blue and Red. Plenty of choices, and a run on nearly every night.

Got out with the meetup group yesterday, really nice. There seem to be a plethora of really good trails in Mugrock.

Anyone riding on Saturday?