Glentress Etiquette Guide

Then there was the family on the blue who stopped just after the bridge in the middle of the trail in the blind spot…

That seems to be a favourite spot for a picnic!

By way of perspective, I’ve been riding at GT for over 20 years now on and off, it’s very close and convenient for a quick blast if I haven’t got much time.
In all the time I’ve been riding there I’ve never once met anyone who wasn’t polite, respectful of other trail users and quick with a friendly hello.
I do however avoid weekend mornings so that might have something to do with it, by abound 3-4pm you can easily ride round without seeing another soul.

I’d certainly agree that Sunday mornings probably bring out the more aggressive types there, based on observations over the last 10 years or so. If I’m taking my kids I try and avoid weekends…

not been to gt in a year or so but never ever seen behaviour like this and i’ve been there alot in the past…

The blue at gt is an odd one due to the mix of riders it attracts. I’ll echo mikewsmiths post though, there was someone letting his 2 small girls play on the bridge and in the blind spot after it on Saturday. A mate who was riding up spotted a potentially very nasty near miss when a rider coming over the bridge nearly took both girls out.

Have to say that I had a fantastic ride round GT yesterday morning at 4am.

trusty – Member

The blue at gt is an odd one due to the mix of riders it attracts

GT blue is almost too good I would say. Other blue’s that I’ve ridden don’t tend to attract such a mix as experienced riders are likely to find them pretty dull. Gt, on the other hand, is great fun for everyone! The only other one I know of like it is the new blue descent at Comrie, which is bloody brilliant!

Cycling around Cardinham a few weeks ago I nearly put my front wheel in the potato salad of a couple who had decided to have a picnic directly on the trail. The looks on their faces were priceless, I had to spend a while stopping laughing before explaining the precarious nature of the spot.

I think Legend’s right, GT blue attracts riders that wouldn’t usually ride a blue. That doesn’t excuse anything, it just explains why bellends choose it in particular to let their bellendery shine. And I reckon no surprise that the bridge attracts trouble too. (I had the picnic thing with a family on the berm- they just hadn’t realised it was even part of the trail, they saw it as basically a wee raised bit near the trail. But I think maybe a wee sign there would be a good idea)

But as for riding at GT in general, I do it often, it never really feels that busy to me. There’s a wee bit of trail-centre-craft involved in judging when you start and stop but that’s about it. It’s no hardship to take a wee break halfway down a trail if you’re catching someone is it?

It’s no hardship to take a wee break halfway down a trail if you’re catching someone is it?

WTAF?!?!?!

2 pages in and we haven’t even started tackling Euro Fluoro or too much body armor ?

My pet hate is the guys that see a lady person coming towards the trail head, all quickly jump on their bike and to get ahead of you, then proceed to mince down the trail like Julian Clary at handbag modelling convention.

My favourite picnic experience was on the North Shore in the free ride area. They must’ve been wondering why the tables were so long.

You should think yourself lucky you’re allowed a bicycle at all, woman! You sully our trails with your chromosomes, and dilute our testosterone.

This is pretty rare on my local trails (Dalby) thankfully. Ride a lot with my two (5 and 10) and have trained them to pull over WHEN IT’S CONVENIENT and not before. Nearly always get a cheery pass. Last week I got passed by grumpy buggers though. They didn’t push past but there was no acknowledgement that you’d gone to some effort to let them pass, and then they stopped just up the trail and we passed them again. They didn’t like not being able to catch the 10 year old though.

Best one was when I was just out with the 5 year old recently and this guy on some old hack bike (but wearing a full face) was out with his son and didn’t like waiting (although we’d just passed them earlier), so tried to ride past off trail, got caught in some brambles and fell over clipped in. He lay there wriggling and swearing and refusing any help whilst he extracted himself, by which time his (very embarrased) son had arrived and we rode on.

I was very pleased that the 5 year old found it as amusing as I did 😉

I suppose, I just don’t get how any keen cyclist twists themselves up in a way that, when they see kids or families or first timers out for a bike ride, they think anything other than “That’s awesome”. If you’d rather sneer at a noob or consider a kid on a balance bike an inconvenience, you’re a ****, that’s all. You’d still be a **** if Glentress was closed to everyone but you. It’s not like there’s any lack of quieter trails in the area is it, if you’re so gnar you can’t share the blue with THE PEOPLE IT WAS BUILT FOR then **** off to the golfy or something. Except I get the feeling that the people who moan most about GT being too busy, never ride anywhere else, they’re the same fannies complaining that the red is too easy while riding all the cheat lines on their 160mm travel bike.

Yeah sometimes there’s people doing daft things too but they’re just daft, that’s way less bad than being a ****.

yeah sorry – can I bake you some lovely scones to make up for it ? Or embroider some pictures of kittens.

If I wasn’t such a shy and unsure of myself person I would probably shout at the knobbers… please help me, I’m useless.

I still don’t understand why people feel the need to ride trials with hundreds of other riders. What’s wrong with buying a map and going out into the empty countryside?

The only time I went to a trail centre I was disgusted at the bottles of pop from the cafe thrown by the trail side and after a couple of miles of repetitive zig zags and obscure forest I got bored and veered off into the hills for some real riding.

The only time I went to a trail centre I was disgusted at the bottles of pop from the cafe thrown by the trail side and after a couple of miles of repetitive zig zags and obscure forest I got bored and veered off into the hills for some real riding.

Oooooh – look at you – my new hero. 🙄

was someone letting his 2 small girls play on the bridge and in the blind spot after it on Saturday. A mate who was riding up spotted a potentially very nasty near miss when a rider coming over the bridge nearly took both girls out.

Hmm, careful there, you may well be describing me. I had to stop at the bridge as it was too steep for my girls to ride down (it is very steep for a blue, but that is another discussion). I left my bike on the side of the trial at the top of the bridge then helped my girls down from the bridge onto the trail past the bridge (there is no walkaround). When we were on the blindside of the bride a guy came accross full tilt and got a shock when he saw us. It was close and I can see how it looked to him but no-one was playing on the bridge.

Well, this is putting me off ever popping into GT if I’m passing.

Glentress is an incredibly friendly place, I live on the doorstep and ride there all the time – I’ve experienced this once or twice. It’s not locals, it’s people visiting – which could visit any trail center, anywhere.

Yep, you heard it here first. Assholes, coming to a trail near you soon.

Every trail centre has ****, it’s not just limited to GT. My thoughts are that you should always show other riders respect as it doesn’t matter how fast or good you think you are there is always someone faster and better than you!

The only time I went to a trail centre I was disgusted at the bottles of pop from the cafe thrown by the trail side

Very annoying but lets noy kid our selfs on here, this issue isnt just limited to trail centres!

and after a couple of miles of repetitive zig zags and obscure forest I got bored and veered off into the hills for some real riding.

Maybe you should have tried something a little bit harder than a green or a blue then

The only time I went to a trail centre I was disgusted at the bottles of pop from the cafe thrown by the trail side and after a couple of miles of repetitive zig zags and obscure forest I got bored and veered off into the hills for some real riding.

Riding snob alert….

It’s possible to enjoy both you just need to remove the seat post from your …..

It could have read I got so sick of the litter dropped by all the ramblers and after slogging up a wet grassy hill for an hour to find the singletrack was full of ramblers/sanitised I went back to the trail centre for some fun

mikewsmith – Member
‘The only time I went to a trail centre I was disgusted at the bottles of pop from the cafe thrown by the trail side and after a couple of miles of repetitive zig zags and obscure forest I got bored and veered off into the hills for some real riding.’
Riding snob alert….

No, he’s probably a mountain biker…
🙂

Franksinatra, these had been there for a while. The girls were stood on the bridge waving at riders below when I rode up and were still there when my mate pottered up at the back a few minutes later so had spent some time there. At least that’s what it looked like.

ok, etiquette question.

let’s say i wish to ride down a blue trail: i see some kids have just started, so i stop to wait for a minute.

some other riders arrive, i don’t know them.

would it be dick-ish to suggest we all wait a minute?

If I’m waiting for some shower riders to progress and some other riders appear I normally let them know why I’m waiting so they don’t bomb down and run into the back of the slower moving group.

awhiles – no not at all, that’s what I would do.

some other riders arrive, i don’t know them.

would it be dick-ish to suggest we all wait a minute?

as others have said, of course not, makes sense to let them know. The big question though is….do you then go off in front of this group yourself ? 🙂

Ah that’s the bit I like, are these guys quicker than me. They’ve got expensive bikes but their helmets are in backwards, think I’ll pop in front of them. Great trail centre guessing game .

Franksinatra, these had been there for a while. The girls were stood on the bridge waving at riders below when I rode up and were still there when my mate pottered up at the back a few minutes later so had spent some time there. At least that’s what it looked like.

Not me! My girls were too distracted by their picnics whilst on the bridge to be waving at riders.

ainc – Member

…do you then go off in front of this group yourself ?

No. i’ve got 2 speeds; slow and slower. In almost all cases, i’ll be at the back.

Does the etiquette guide cover the two arseh*les driving down from the buzzards nest car park trying to do handbrake turns in their Fiesta?