New Blue Doon Trail – Full Run POV

Cool skidz Joe. Respec’

imagine how cool that would be with some properly bermed corners, the bottom section seems more finished than the top…work in progress still?

I think it looks an amazing trail for the family to enjoy. If the fast kids want speed and thrills the they should go and ride the Top Chief or Downhill track.

I’m pretty good at bikes, I enjoyed it too, it’s definitely not “not for good riders” just “not for all riders”. Some people have really strong opinions about it but I spent a lot of time just talking to randoms on the day and it was overwhelmingly positive.

The trail definitely could have been better but the trail that could have existed doesn’t make the trail that does exist worse to ride.

Would highly recommend this as a “last run of the day”, after abusing your body on the WC track all day, it’s like a motorway – super relaxing ! Would be ideal for those riders with young kids

@scotroutes

I think the problem for Cairngorm is the altitude. The top of Nevis Range gondola is the same height as Cairngorm carpark. Its very difficult for nature to recover and soften the effects of any digging above 2000 feet. I remember the chairlift company going to some effort to restore the old buldozed Ptarmigan track by spraying some sort of sticky grass seed mixure around the place and it didn’t really work.
Cycle tracks below the carpark might work (ecologically) but I don’t see how you’d get any income from them if people can just drive to the start.

cairngorm itself is awful looking, they’d be as well chucking in some bike tracks as well.

Yep, I’ve often argued that Coire Cas (and, as @donald suggests, the area down to Glenmore) should be “set-aside” for developments of this type and let the rest of the range be preserved, enhaced, re-wilded etc. The ski area is a tiny proportion of the whole range.

LOL – no, it’s the conservation/environmental/rambler lobby. There are serious suggestions that the whole area should be returned to “wilderness”, including removal of the ski road, thereby restoring the principle of the long walk in. It’s an elitist and selfish attitude with which I have no truck.

Apologies to the OP for taking this so off-topic btw.

stupid comment ‘cos I misunderstood!

“downhill cross country”

Uh-huh. There’s your problem. This track is utter garbage. Anyone who has ridden in the Alps or Canada will immediately be appalled.

LOL – no, it’s the conservation/environmental/rambler lobby. There are serious suggestions that the whole area should be returned to “wilderness”, including removal of the ski road, thereby restoring the principle of the long walk in. It’s an elitist and selfish attitude with which I have no truck.

Both CG and Aonach Mor are SSSIs, and were before the ski developments. It’s not a lobby, it’s a very important part of how we manage places like this for everyone’s interests. CG in particular is an extremely rare place in terms of biodiversity, there are very good reasons why they won’t get a bike track (aside from the fact that it’s been so badly run that HIE have taken it over).
However, very few people care about the bike tracks on AM, it’s actually a pretty good spot for them since its all on the lower mountain (unlike at CG).