In Giffnock tomorrow, got a bike and looking for ideas. This one seems obvious, had a look at website and a wee bit put off by the reports of dog walkers, dogs and shit on the trails. Any local users got a balanced view? Worth going for a few laps or should I seek out other options?
Laps aren't long but ok if you have 60-90 mins to spare.
If short on time and nearby then worth a look. Otherwise not so much
Not a local, but i enjoyed it when i went there and didn't have any problems with the local tribes.
I went not long after it opened. Thought it was a bit pish. Signs were ripped out, broken glass, people on the tracks and the tracks were a bit dull. I have never felt the desire to return.
According to their posts on Facebook they seem to be doing a lot of work there, pump track, jump line, bigger car park, some mods to the trails.
I'm a fairly regular visitor as its pretty local to me , i normally do 3 laps then another go on the last downhill . For what it is its fine , nothing to exciting but has a few interesting enough sections and most importantly at this time of year its pretty much as close to all weather as your going to get .Obviously there is better riding if you drive an hour but if your nearby and limited on time its worth a visit .
You do get dog walkers but in my experience they tend to stay off the bike tracks . I have never noticed glass on the trails
The pump track and new trails are still under construction , due finished around easter i think
most of it is pish - if you ride from the start to the bottom of the dual slalom then ride back up and do the wooded section its ok. Wouldn't recommend doing a full lap
In Giffnock? Get yourself to Bramble cafe, by the train station, if you want some amazing food.
I found Catkin Braes entertaining enough for a quick spin.
It’s under 10 mins from home for me so I go there a fair bit. moonsaballon has summed it up, handy, weatherproof, 3 laps takes an hour.
I think of it as an outdoor gym - a good workout but rather boring. Given the forecast tomorrow it won’t be busy with dog walkers.....
Thanks for the feedback all!
My thoughts were that there are much worse ways to spend a very wet Sunday morning. No chance of me doing 3 laps in an hour though, Iain under the circumstances! I got 3 laps done in a bit under 90 minutes.
It is a pretty weatherproof course, with the odd feature linked by not very exciting track, rather than a non-stop thrill ride, but then it wasn't designed with that in mind and its a good work out. I thought the wooded sections in the second half more interesting than the first part.
Dog walkers were out in force, despite constant torrential rain and wind, but most were on the adjoining walking paths rather than the trails, and those that were on the trails hopped off pretty sharply and were pleasant enough. They certainly outnumbered people on bikes! On the ride there, over my 3 laps and then ride back to base, I saw one guy on a bike over a 3 hour period....
Oh, and a minor highlight was getting chased by 3 dogs on separate occasions, but they were all good natured.
I will go back when I'm staying through there on future occasions
hope they like riding in the wet on a mostly boring course lol
hope they like riding in the wet on a mostly boring course lol
You're viewing it all wrong. As an "intro to mountain biking" and a place "to jump up to when you've a spare hour" it's a fantastic facility imo. It's not a fully blown trail centre, never will be, the area it is in is very small, but the new additions to it are decent imo.
It's a blue xc course with a few short flowy downs and a couple of red features. If you are looking for enduro blacks, you'll probably be a tad dissapointed, but that kinda misses the point of it tbh! 😆
ps go faster it'll become less boring!
^^^^^ +1. The course that is being used for the event doesn't use that much of the original Commonwealth course. The route was trialled at a round of the SXC a few months back and was a great success. For general riding, the new sections linking the pump track to the original course are great fun, and make for a pleasant overall loop, which is around 40 mins if doing it all. For those who don't think it's techy you need to go faster ... 🙂
It's very different now with the new downhill/jumps/skills areas and the pumptrack. I think you'll find they incorporate some of those trails into the championship route. And with the huge surge in popularity they are hoping to get some impetus to improve the cross country track.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">There's loads of potential and a great atmosphere there at the moment.</span>
^^^ yes, the new red and blue descents are included in the route for the event.
You’re viewing it all wrong. As an “intro to mountain biking” and a place “to jump up to when you’ve a spare hour” it’s a fantastic facility imo.
true but most of the actual course is boring as hell which is what I said. The pump track the new very short blue, red and orange trails are great and you can of course join them together with other parts but the reality is that most of the trail is boring and un-interesting unless you like riding on smooth paths with a gravel surface.
My kids love the pump track. Sophie motors round it on her balance bike.
I just disagree with the shit and boring comments as I said it's not enduro, but it's fine for what it is and what it's ment to be.
Can't say I've ever been bored on it.
I'll quite happily bounce down Rocky exciting trails or smooth trails, it's all good if you ask me.(though mojo aint what it once was, hopefully getting back there!) Mon the ebikes! 😆
Imo it's basically an inner city trail, these things should be enouraged not scourned.
It's better than what used to be there anyhow. I grew up just downpast the bottom of the drive. 😆
For the Youngun's you there these days it's fabulous. Much better that what I grew up with in the 80s and 90s.
I think it's brilliant seeing how many weans are kicking about the place this year.
I'm loathe to criticise it, the opposite tbh I endorse it enthusiastically.
I think a bit of perspective is required here. What would you prefer, Mitchie hill flats still to be there? 😆
2005, shady towers to say the least, the dominating skyline of my youth. 13 years to now is quite at transformation, ye'd have shat a brick turning up there in the mid 90s! 😆
I do find it amusing when people find the braes scary these days! 😆
It was a different planet not so long ago. Tis a great thing.
I'm struggling to get excited about the "one venue" world champs. Glasgow might work OK, but surely it just means every future worlds has to be held somewhere that has a velodrome (i.e a city) which cuts out holding the mtb and road stuff in a lot of nicer places.
Seeing as Ft william and Glentress are the venues of the DH and marahton mtb events I fail to raise empathy for your struggle.
Struggling to care about road racing being held somewhere "nicer" too.