I am up in Peebles for a week the second week in February. I usually just ride the red route but need to increase my fitness/stamina (the last time I did the red route which was December it took me 1 hour 21 minutes so not quick) so I was wondering what the black route is like? I know its long and exposed in places and the first half is mostly uphill (I would relish that challenge) but how technical is it?
I prefer the trail centre riding as they are generally easier to follow and I can concentrate on the ride rather than trying to follow a route.
However, if anyone can recommend local guide I might consider using one for a day of "off piste" riding in the local hills.
Thanks
It's a few years since I rode it but my memory is that it was pretty non technical for a black. I got the impression it was mainly black for the length and amount of climbing.
I don't think there's much on it that is particularly hard compared to the red. Bits of it are a little steeper but not hugely so. It's mostly just longer.
There's a link to the red route about half way round that drops you in at the top of spooky wood. That might make a nice longer red route.
When I've been up there trying to get miles in I've added the blue in after the red. It's good fun riding. Equally all the new stuff that was built for around the Worlds course is good. Few laps of that gets a lot of climbing in to addon after the red.
I'd say the black is more technical, there are a couple of sections that just a bit more awkward and a bit rockier but does tie in with the increased distance. It all depends how you view the red. 1h21 is pretty quick so assuming you've no issue with it technically I'd say you'd be fine on the black.
it's also still a bit disrupted by storm damage- the boundary trail, deliverance, and ewok village are all closed which is a decent chunk of it.
There's good alternatives- instead of doing the official diversion which just puts you on the red for a while, you can follow the boundary trail out to where the trail is physically closed, and just on the last stretch before all the windblow you'll find Five Year Plan on your right (at worst it's a short backtrack) It's an Official Offpiste tm (though the original start got annihilated in a storm so it has a slightly shonky alternative start on it) but I think pretty much everyone would agree it's harder than the black. I wouldn't say it's "too hard" for a black per se but it's definitely hard for GT Black. On the northwind scale, I would not ride it on a cross bike but it's still fun on the rigid fatbike, if that helps.
(storytime- when we built it, part of the plan was for it to be a new approach for the official trails ("build less indestructible trails but build more trails faster", and the idea was that it'd replace the boundary trail as the main black line, because the boundary trail is just with modern hindsight built in a really stupid place. But we got excited and made it too steep and too hard). But it does make a good springboard from the black to the offpistes)
And instead of Deliverance I think you get officially diverted down Mild Peril, which is a little bit further along the road "outwards" (ie, if you are standing at deliverance and looking at the trail and the closure sign, go to your left along the fireroad). It's another official offpiste trail and is easier, it has (imo) one slightly spicy bit that catches people out a bit but it's mostly turns, really nice turns. It rejoins Deliverance quite near the end.
Ewok is just diverted, you end up doing a nice enough wee diversion that takes you to pie run then you can go up the fireroad to rejoin the final blacks. (including the Bitch which is probably the hardest part of the official blacks, especially as it's kind of falling apart. But it's the good falling apart.
Oh yeah there is quite a lot of snow on the hill just before the mast, I reckon it'll thaw fast but it was unridable when I was last up there, and really no fun to push either.
As far as the offpistes go I am not a guide but I live just up the road and I'm often available, I'd be happy to show you some stuff once it melts if you don't mind me complaining up all the climbs and constantly telling you shit stories. There's some awesome, easily accessed offpiste at GT and most of it's not horribly difficult.
Give us a shout and i could show you round if it's on a week day.
Doesn't have to just be GT either. Could be anywhere in the valley.
As usual Northwind has nailed it. I would definitely recommend the detour to Mild Peril if you want to get some more miles into your legs and it's a nice introduction to the off piste. If you can afford to hire a guide I'd recommend Ridelines, Andy is a really good guy and it's not been easy for companies like his over the last four or five years.
This might be annoying to understand as a non-regular, and patronising if this is all obvious - sorry if so:
One little black detour would be:
Go from the mast down to Truong Chinh / Ho Chi Minh. You can nip down Carl's Lane from the top to get close to the start of these**, or peel off left on the way up just after the top of the spooky woods climb. It's fairly close to the start of Spooky Woods. If you've not done it, it's more natural / rocky / rooty / chunky in feeling but the angle is tame, and there are a bunch of lines to follow. It's basically a straight line too so pick your speed and go for it. (Truong Chin that leads into it is a little rough but more of a short red grade link trail, fun enough, view at the top is great). You can re-join the main red fairly quickly with a 10 minute fire road plod to the east/northeast.
If you're feeling fired up after TC/HCM though, it's a very short hop over to Thunderstruck, which is a proper black off-piste. Not as hard as Golfie but it's a level above other GT stuff with rooty corners and steeper bits / chunky stuff. Not super scary but engaging. Getting back to the main trails area requires a bit of a climb out but it's not bad.
From there you can link into Careless Whisper, another off piste black. This is a bit easier than Thunderstruck on the whole, but has one little chute that is very steep and a bit committing. Only issue with that is that it lands you in no-mans-land at the end nearer to Janet's Brae, which is a pain in the arse if you want to go and do more trails straight away.
**Don't accidentally go down B-Side / Trailfairy plan which is next to the start of Carl's Lane. That's steep and scary.
I've ridden the black on my 100mm carbon hardtail (without a dropper) without any problem so I wouldn't say it was technical