I know you can cut bits out and basically create the best of the best.

A sort of pudding without the main meal ride.

Any tips for a route(s) on doing this?

My favourite mixed up route:

Start at the peel centre

Up the red / blue climb to the top car park.
Mess about on the jumps
Down Berm Baby Berm (blue)
Up the next two blue / red climbs
Up to Spooky Wood
Down Spooky wood, Down Super G, Down Hit Squad Hill (all red)
At this point you have a choice at the bottom of Hit Squad you can go up the fire road and then down the two Black section (Double X and the Bitch) or down the red section (The Matrix and Lombard street – these are a bit shite though and if you have made the effort to go up the fireroad you might as well do the black bits)

If you don’t go up the fire road then do the Pie Run and Mushroom Pie(red).

Either way you will end up at Magic Mushroom
After Magic Mushroom you have the short climb up Sair Fecht.
You then climb back up the fireroad to the start of Good Game / Falla Brae. You can either go straight down or carry on past back up to the top car park to do Electric Blue which comes out right at Good Game / Falla Brae.

The down this bit of trail an either go left at the fork (Good Game: blue but great fun) Or carry on down the red marked trail for Falla Brae

Red route all the way to Spooky and then down Spooky. Turn right and rejoin the red climb back up towards the top of Spooky but go straight on at the top to join the black on the boundary trail. Do that all the way to the end at the fire-road. Black goes right, you go left and do what I think is currently signed as a diversion – think its a walking trail or something into the valley which is superb. Off camber, hairpins, muck, trees, slow/fast, tech and that joins the bottom of that massive climb out (Redemption?). Then follow the black back towards Mushroom Pie etc and loop around and do the nice little bits just before that (Pie Run and something else?). After Mushroom Pie, turn right and plod up the fire road to meet the red/blue and join the blue into the back of the freeride park. Follow the blue from there all the way back to Peel.

Lots of ways of doing this depending what you want. when you coming north Hora?

15th (night) June if your free to ride?

Dunno if I willbe around or not.

You will be. I’ll send my Fem-Bots round.

Singletrack up to the Buzzard’s Nest
Obligatory play in the freeride park and a couple of loops of BBB
Up the fire road,
Miss out Pennel’s Vennel
Continue on the fire road to the Spooky Wood climb
Spooky Wood (Red)
Super G (Red)
Head left after Super G
Deliverance (Black)
Redemption Climb (Black)
Rejoin red
Hit Squad Hill (Red)
Double X (Black)
The Bitch (Black)
Magic Mushroom (Red)
Sair Fecht (Red)
Rejoin singletrack climb back to the Buzzards
Blue trail from Buzzards back down to start of Falle Brae/ Blue Velvet
Blue Velvet to finish

15th June ? You should come to our pairty after the ride:

http://www.ixscupinnerleithen.com/?page_id=136

I have always thought the blue route was exceptional really good fun.

Hels – you beat me to it! 😀

If you are around that weekend come along to watch the IXS DH cup at Inners! Free to watch and has an amazing vibe 8)

And Brook MacDonald. Not that he is my hero or anything, although he kind of is, after Dan Carter of course.

ooh….

I’m coming too.

15th June ? You should come to our pairty after the ride:

http://www.ixscupinnerleithen.com/?page_id=136

Schweet in the diary 😀

I’ll be there – can’t promise Brook will make it although I will of course invite him. (to the party that is, he is already doing the race)

Miss out Pennel’s Vennel

Fools! It’s a lovely bit of trail.

Personally I’m not a huge fan of Spooky Wood, I prefer riding up the red but keeping going until you get to the Boundary Trail, or just not going as far up as Spooky Wood and saving energy for other trails. And I’d much rather ride Pennels Vennel rather than skip it out in order to get to Spooky Wood more quickly.

Things not mentioned so far…

When you get to the Buzzards Nest ride up the forest road that the black and the red head out on, with the freeride area to your right. Keep going straight on when the red peels off to the right. Just before the road starts dropping towards the start of the black singletrack there’ll be a waymarker post (with a black arrow pointing along the road) on the left of the road. Nip into the singletrack on the left just before the post.

This is Zoom or Bust and it’s lovely fun. It comes out at the start of the green route. Turn left and head up the forest road to get back to the Buzzards Nest.

Another thing you can do is when you get to the bottom of Hit Squad Hill on the red, take the Pie Run down the hill. When you exit the Pie Run instead of taking Mushroom Pie further down the hill, turn left and follow the overgrown forest road uphill. This will take you to the start of The Bitch (black), which will be on your right. If you go a bit further you’ll reach the top of Lombard Street (red), also on your right, but don’t.

If you do The Bitch/Lombard Street and then possibly The Wormhole, you’ll next have a bit of forest road to do which ends in a climb up to the top of Magic Mushroom. However if at this point you ride for about 30 seconds further up the road you’ll get to the junction where the Pie Run exits and Mushroom Pie starts so add in a quick run down Mushroom Pie if you have an extra energy in your legs.

Blimey! Which one(s) is a compromise/the best interms of you guys agreeing? I think we’d get two full runs at the above variations offered but which offer the best compromise??

Hora – there is no best – only opinions. I dislike pennals for example – a lot of climbing for not much fun descending. Others have different views.

I wouldn’t ficx it now – you will probably get somelocals to gude you if you want and it depends what you like.

I always enjoy a play around the buzzards – Berm baby berms worth a few runs and I like Zoom and bust and always have a couple of runs down the freeride. I like spooky woods and the pie run and also blue velvet and good game.

Its very easy to just keep mixing and match sections – you don’t have to commit to one route

If you aren’t allergic to climbing, for my money Deliverance is the best descent in the place for straight out warp factor 10 big ring pedal all the way descending, than lasts more than 30 seconds. The climb out is payback, but I generally shorten it at the walkers path then pop out to finish with Blue Velvet, Berm Baby Berm, a lap of Zoom or Bust then across for some of the off-piste action steep root-tastic about Janet’s Brae that you will need a local to show you. (that wasn’t an offer sorry I am busy that weekend !)

Oh I liked Deliverance. That will feature 🙂

Cool.

P.S Diane if you are still lurking in here – have you lost your phone ?? Or perhaps its broken.

No one has mentioned Broon Troot yet, cracking bit of trail to squeeze into your loop.

The joy of Glentress is you can mix up rough and narrow trails like Pennels Vennel and the Bitch with smooth as you like sections like Berm Baby Berm and Blue Velvet. Makes for a fun ride whatever mood you are in

If you want a simple method just stay off the red, it’s full of mincers and all brake bumped to no fun at all. My usual route:

Janet’s Brae lane
Up the mast road to the top of Boundary Trail
Boundary Trail
Deliverance
Most of Redemption then pop out for
Blue Velvet
Berm Baby Berm
Zoom or Bust
Off pistey down the hill back to Peebles

Unless I am slumming it with a sub-par coffee in the new cafe, in which case I have another secret route that sorry I can’t share, but it pops out at the bottom car park.

I like the red descent. Sublime!

We rode the bottom of what I think is/was Fall Line last time we were there (understand the top has been knackered by the logging). Steep as a steep thing but really really good! Popped out on the fire road and then span up to meet the end of the red.

OK then, how about this:

* Take the shared blue/red/black singletrack (Dougie Bank and Cardie Hill Climb) from the Peel to the Buzzards Nest

* Follow the instructions in my earlier post to do Zoom or Bust and return to the Buzzards Nest.

* Head out the Buzzards Nest again following the red route posts.

* Either nip down Berm Baby Berm (blue grade, on the right, not long after the Freeride Park) or Pennels Vennel (red grade, on the right, further along the fire road), according to taste.

* At the bottom of BBB/Pennels turn left and take fire road/singletrack up the hill.

* Follow the red route up the hill, then down Spooky Wood and Super G.

* At the bottom of Super G turn left and follow the fire road for a fair distance until you get to the start of Deliverance, on your right.

* Go down Deliverance and up Redemption.

* Partway up Redemption (after you cross the huge fire road) you’ll get to an open area. Redemption itself turns left here but there’s trails to the right and straight ahead too.

* Go straight ahead. This is signposted as a shortcut or an escape route. It brings you down to the bottom of Hit Squad Hill on the red.

* Take the Pie Run.

* Turn left after the Pie Run up the overgrown fire road. Take The Bitch, which you’ll find on your right.

* At the end of The Bitch follow the red or black route markers (depending on whether you want to do The Wormhole or not) to the start of Magic Mushroom. Keep heading up the fire road for a few more seconds, turn right and go down Mushroom Pie.

* Do a few loops of Mushroom Pie if you have the energy. 🙂

* Follow the red and black routes down Magic Mushroom, then down/up Tourist Trap, up Sair Fecht and up the fire road to the start of Falla Brae.

* Go down Falla Brae, taking the left turn down Good Game if you prefer a smooth and jumpy return to the car park rather than an awesome tight wiggly return (albeit one with a minor climb in the middle). If you go for the wiggles keep an eye out for a short optional black section that peels off to the right after a right hand switchback.

That takes in a few interesting things, plus a decent chunk of the red descent and Deliverance, which are things you said you like.

Incidentally I think Deliverance is still closed, and the fireroad that could take you from the end of the boundary trail back towards the other stuff? Til June, apparently. That’ll change some of the options. At least some of the <trails that don’t exist> are shut too.

ChrisL you missed out Blue Velvet, essential if you are on a singlespeed with a three year old on the back 😉

Last time I was in Glentress I bust my clavical on the first 100m of the first descent 🙁 Lots of people reckon the red runs are more fun than the black, need to get back up to Glentress to finish my run and then onto Inners.

From the picnic table at the top of the red into berms and downwards is my favourite trail centre ‘descent’. It flows. Its not technical but it was soooo nice.

From the picnic table at the top of the red into berms and downwards

That bit as far as the next fire road crossing is Spooky Wood.

Thread resurrection. ChrisL is your route easy to interpretate using the standard Glentress map?

I found the trail map to be quite good so I think you could follow that route.

Deliverance is only maybe closed, it was open fine last week.

The only week section in my opinion was the furthest loop of blue where all of the climbing and half of the descending was fireroad.

Question, which of the great suggestions above offers a good alround bang for yer buck choice as a Sat ride?

I’ll print and go with that one then.

Ps. We’ll be at the launch part of Fri night 😀

TJ- you around?

Question, which of the great suggestions above offers a good alround bang for yer buck choice as a Sat ride?

I’ll print and go with that one then. There’s loads of good suggestions posted, but you should start with the black climb to the radio mast IMHO. Lovely trail with some nice singletrack, quiet and will take you to the highest point in the forest. From there you then can work in all the options. You can swerve the kips switchbacks by going straight on up the hiking trail on the big climb. Speed things up and again it’s a really pretty and atmospheric part of the trail.

Hora – yes I am intending to go to GT on Sat – meeting pals at the bottom car park at 10 am

I will be on a blue raleigh Ti bike with no camelback

I ain’t no expert on the place but If you promise to keep it in your pants I will try to show you some of the best bits (in my pants)

We’ll plan it Friday pm in the middle of the table with print out of this topic and the map with beer 8)

My route shouldn’t be very hard to navigate, especially if you have a map to hand.

I’ll probably be at Glentress on Saturday too, but haven’t sorted out the plans yet.