I'll be up in Glasgow for a few days later in the year, and would like to plan a good day out on my bike whilst I'm there. I'll probably fly up, so will have to rely on public transport to get me to the trails. I'll be with my family, so am unlikely to be let off on my own for more than a day. Is there somewhere I can get a bit of coaching and/or guiding? I'm usually an xc rider, and not hugely brave, but wouldn't mind giving something a bit more challenging a go.
What do people recommend?
Depends where you are based in glasgow, there is some riding in pollock park but i dont think it is upto much. Could try Carron Valley and Stirling area as there is lots of riding in that area and it all accesible by public transport. When is it your going to Glasgow ?
I'm not going until September. Will probably be staying somewhere near Glasgow University or the city centre - my wife will need to be able to get to the uni easily.
When I only have time for local trails, take the train with bike from Partick to Milngavie, North of Glasgow. From there follow the signs for the West Highland Way and follow this path which gives you some great scottish scenery, some nice trails and brings you back to Glasgow West End, near the University
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Mugdock-Red-Route-and-Return
Cheers guys. John, how long does that loop take you? Is it a hardtail/xc ride, or can I justify bringing a Pitch? Overkill?
The route that scottyjohn posted is all WHW or doubletrack. No singletrack at all though there are opportunities along the way to branch off onto some pretty nice singletrack. It's a nice enough ride but very easy.
Get in touch with the boys and girls at Glasgow Mountain Bike Club.
http://www.gmbc.org.uk/contact.htm
They regularly ride from Milngavie and know masses of hidden gems in and around Mugdock.
Cheers,
Dave.
Train to Mabie Forest? It is a short ride from the station in Dumfries. Good riding and means you don't have to worry about trying to find your way around- just get on and ride.
+1 for Milngavie/Mugdock but what Moffitt said about the Stirling area shouldn't be discounted either, I grew up round there 😀 .
Yeah Bob is right this is an XC kind of run, just through some nice scenery with some ups and downs. Nothing really technical to justify a pitch, the hardtail would be fine.
I have thought about the train to Dumfries before too, but they were doing work on the line the weekend we were planning. If you do go with the Milngavie route, then as Bob mentions, on the way through Mugdock country park there is lots of exploring to do and some nice little technical bits to play around on.
If you do get up here drop a note on here the week before, I'm sure one of the locals would be willing to have a tag along on their regular ride. It's hard to find the fun stuff in mugdock area without knowing someone who's done it before.
