Glentress – why is everyone so serious?

Woke up really early on Saturday so decided to leave snoring beauty in bed and head down to Glentress for a few hours.

I don’t generally tend to head to trail centres for normal riding (although I do like uplift days at Inners, Ft Bill, Hamsterley etc for DH), but like a blast around Glentress every now and then, especially if I’m a bit rusty/unfit (I’m definitely rusty at the moment!).

One thing that struck me, unless I just caught everyone on a bad day, is that it’s not very friendly is it? I passed loads of people in the car park and struggled to get a hello in return, it was worse on the way up, passing groups who had stopped and barely getting acknowledgement. Then just before beginning my descent I passed a few guys fettling with bikes and said “have fun guys” (or something equally cheesy) after they moved to let me through, and was looked at like I’d just taken a dump on their cat.

Even back down at the carpark before heading home it was just the same, everyone so serious. It’s just riding bikes! It’s fun 🙂

Have I missed something? Although uplift days can be a bit full of testosterone, I do tend find them a bit friendlier, even underneath all the power-ranger outfits (although, the top of Glentress did have its fair share!).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting everyone to be brimming with joy as some random stranger passes, but I’ve always liked the chat/hellos etc from someone doing the same outdoor sport, everyone is happy/excited.

Thanks to the guy who checked I was OK after headbutting a tree somewhere near the bottom of Spooky Woods. His wee boy was class too “why did you steer into that tree? daddy, why did that man steer into that tree?” 🙂

Edinburgh innit 😉

Edit: Although the Burgers I’ve met off here have been very friendly

In the strava zone

We’re you not giving them enough respec’, by maybe not acknowledging how GGGGNAAAAARRRRRRRR they look on their new 6 grand carbon nomads? 😉

Edinburgh innit

haha, I was going to put something about the “East Coast”, but thought it would undermine my point 😉

Also, I actually felt quite young at Glentress, whereas I feel quite old on DH uplift days. There definitely seems to be a higher average age at GT.

We’re you not giving them enough respec’, by maybe not acknowledging how GGGGNAAAAARRRRRRRR they look on their new 6 grand carbon nomads?

Aye, there was a few of those! To be fair though, my DH bike cost more than my car and i’m crap at DH, so I can’t really talk. I did feel a wee bit out of place at GT on a dirty hardtail and shorts + t-shirt with no armour.

Stop being so **** cheerful then. 🙂

We ride there a lot and you do get the heads-up-their-ar5es types, but I think its more to do with people in groups only talking to people in THEIR group.

I have no idea about Scottish east coast/west coast regional rivalries. Is it like New York/LA style Biggee and Tupak shit, man? Or more like the really serious regional beefs. Burnley and Blackburn for example 😯

Either way, we rode Mabie and Ae over the weekend, and people couldn’t have been friendlier

Edinburgh innit

The Glesgie banter, cannae beat it!

haha, I was going to put something about the “East Coast”, but thought it would undermine my point

You’re right, it did.

I’d be interested to see the postcode analysis of visitors to GT(I actually wouldn’t but for the sake of this internet argument I would) – I think you’d find a hefty percentage from other parts of the UK as much as “the east coat” of Scotland…and definately* a large amount from West Central Scotland…

*in a Charlie Nicholas accent…

Binners, lots of east coasters don’t like weegies (although, you’d be hard pushed to pick me out as a weegie from my accent, maybe it was the dirty hardtail that gave me away).

It’s worse than the Crips/Bloods. At least 3 people have suffered insults this year due to ongoing hostility.

Bummer, I was going to head to Ae. That was the first place I used to ride regularly, most weekends from 1999 until about 2002. Awesome place 🙂 Do you head there often binners (ooooh err!!)?

I was out there yesterday.

And you are right its not the friendliest trail centre in the world. I said a few “alrights” and got a few back though.

I think its a consequence of it being a bit busier that most other trail centres. When you are out at Mabie or Ae you might only see two other groups of riders all day so you say hello and pass the time of day. At Glentress there are a lot more people out so as a consequence people are less inclined to say hello to each other.

I’d be interested to see the postcode analysis of visitors to GT(I actually wouldn’t but for the sake of this internet argument I would) – I think you’d find a hefty percentage from other parts of the UK as much as “the east coat” of Scotland…and definately* a large amount from West Central Scotland…

I was only joking about the east coast bit 🙂 There were lots of different English accents there which was quite surprising. Although, I suppose if you’re from the north east it’s not that far.

Just to check and make sure we have the full picture, had you actually taken a dump on their cat* ?

* other domestic animals will suffice.

Maybe more the early morning types than the GT types. When we were there we rocked up at about 11, apart from a little bit of carpark agro going on, lots of cheer hellos, except the odd hardcore XCer (this was before strava).

Its been a while since we’ve been up there to be honest. We had a cracking weekend though.

I love how quiet it is. Its totally different to GT. Mind you… so’s Innerleithen and that’s only down the road! GT is more like Llandegla. Miles miles busier, and subsequently seems to attract a disproportionate amount of “LOOK AT ME!” merchants, who are probably too self-absorbed to even notice anyone else anyway 😉

next time wait for sleeping beauty to wake up, spend the morning excercising in bed and head down to GT in the afternoon.- you’ll see all the cars with bikes on heading back with not a single smiley face behid the wheel. My guess is they all have to get back for DIY duty ( their wives prob had to make do with DIY too.)

I know what you mean. I always say hello to folk, but it’s so busy at GT at weekends you end up smiling and waving like a loon. I now just nod a “s’up?!” kind of gesture if I catch their attention. Like when I owned a van, a car, a motorbike, a road bike and mtbs and had to wave to and let in pretty much everyone on the road. Except tractors. I hate those guys.

What I want to know, is what is all up with amassing your group at the entrance to the trails, then giving evils to people that just wanna keep on truckin ? It’s not Tesco. And you really think I am going to hold you up, you big fat mincer ?

Seems to be a bit of a trail centre thng…?
Afan used to be like this – lots of over-biked bike tourists from along the M4.

No idea if it still is – only live half an hour away but haven’t ridden there for years…

And another thing, got stopped by a group at the top of Cadonbank at Innerleithen t’other day, who let me go in front but not until I had described the exact height and difficulty of all the “drops”, in imperial. (there is only one on that section in my book, if you can roll it, it’s just a steep bit not a drop).

Would you believe some random passing Antipodean about trail hazards, or stop and look for yourself ? Dorks. I did my best to describe them, then got half way down and realised I forgot to mention the alligator that lives under the 4th one. Hope they made it down OK.

Well this has been talked about before. I rode there years ago with danny mac and on the way up the climbs after the carpark we said hello to folk and realized from the off that folk weren’t saying anything back. We looked at each other and mentioned it as it seemed odd compared to what we were used to on trails or trail centres up north. Just never came across that in the past. I think I just put it down to it being so busy that everyone just gets fed up of saying hi to hundreds of folk they don’t even know.

I haven’t been back since.

My first thought was it’s some kind of inverse northerner thing.

Northerners are friendlier than southerners

Except at trail centers, Swinely seems much friendlier than it’s northern sibblings for example.

But actualy I reckon it’s to do with the layout. Swinley is a maze of trails you can ride in any order and bump into people all over the place, a bit like riding somewhere ‘natural’, but on a very compact scale. Whereas the more ‘formal’ trail centers seem to end up with riders having a more formal attitude due to the prescribed routes and self imposed time limits (the sign says 2 hours, if I cant do it in 2 hours I’m not a real man) and the dress codes too! And if you meet anyone you are always overtaking/the overtakee and therefore the cometition, whereas at Swinley the only people you meet are generaly riding in the oppostite direction and not competition.

There’s so much snobbery on mtb these days….if you’re not riding the right bike or wearing the right clothes, you’ll be dismissed as a pagan and ignored.

If you are riding the best bike and all the gear, you’ll be ignored out of jealousy!

Can’t say I noticed it (not trying to be argumentative). I was there yesterday with the kids and wife. Plenty of hello’s and positive comments to the kids.

People were friendly and slowed down / gave space to the kids. My wife is a total beginner and had a number of people chatting to her – she actually commmented on the exact opposite to the OP.

The wee man (4.5 yr old) ended the day on his tow along giggling his way down Berm baby berm behind me.

Might just be one of those days…

EDIT – Rockape63, you might have something there. I was on my old Prophet and the wife was on her £500 Trek. Niether of us were in lycra…

Do you look like a ****?

Yes 🙂

I wasn’t even wearing elbow pads, and I didn’t drag my brakes (seriously, the red at Glentress has brake bumps!), so I probably just looked like a total amateur too 🙁

You get an interesting mix at Glentress

Gnarr merchants in the “Strava” zone see also “Storm troopers”
People out for the day on hire bikes
Families
Guys riding round with their wives or girlfriends in tow.
Now there is also the Go Ape crowd farting about in the forest.

Dare I say not everyone has read the big blue book of trail ettiquette?

Its to be expected at a busier than normal trail centre. It still a great place to ride.

There’s your problem then.

Also, I only go to trail centres to hang around in the car parks looking moody and showing off my rig. Me and the lads take a couple of choice snaps for facebook then tell everyone how gnarr we are at work on Monday.

Maybe their fettling was a breakdown and they thought you were being a smartarse (just a thought). Plus as someone else pointed out the more chilled folk would probably saunter down around lunchtime.

You should have gone out on a road bike, it’s much less stressful than a trail centre and roadies are much more pally and generally you’ll get a wave or a nod from most of them. It’s the solitary one who generally don’t acknowledge you.

That’s nothing. Just spent a week in Morzine on my xc bike. Didn’t get one nod/hello from all the gnarr merchants there…bellends. Got more chat out the roadies.

Just spent a week in Morzine on my xc bike. Didn’t get one nod/hello from all the gnarr merchants there…bellends

Weird, I had a different experience. I guess that you look like a **** too?

You should have gone out on a road bike, it’s much less stressful than a trail centre and roadies are much more pally and generally you’ll get a wave or a nod from most of them.

🙂

I’m quite hairy though, it will cost me a fortune in Immac.

I wonder if a lot of GT riders are regular locals (Burgers) and kind of feel like it’s theirs.

Agree w/GW, afternoon or esp. evening riding is way quiter down there.

Weird, I had a different experience. I guess that you look like a **** too?

I wasn’t wearing a full face helmet and full body armour, so yes, I did look like a **** . No reason not to be nice though 😉

Mmm, GT is my local and I would say when I say hello to other bikers I tend more often than not to get a hello back. I don’t ride during peak times (Sat/Sun morning) so I miss generally miss the crowds. However I would still say mtbers are a social bunch and happy to murmur a few words of conversation.

Agree with the comment about groups of riders crowding the entrance to a trail, you tend to get “how dare you looks” when you cycle past them whilst they decide the pecking order.

I used to ride there a lot and never found it friendly. I had a particularly bad experience around 3 or 4 yrs ago on a weekday in the school hols when I had my youngest on a trailgator and got some abuse on the blue for it. I tend to only go there now if weather really rank and natural trails in the west are a complete quagmire, as i find it hard to justify £20 in fuel/parking. I think a lot of people only ride trail centres and can become a bit narrow minded in their attitudes and behaviours.

Judging by some of the stereotyping on this ‘ere thread, no wonder folk don’t raise a smile to you.

FFS
IMO
etc

Judging by some of the stereotyping on this ‘ere thread, no wonder folk don’t raise a smile to you.

FFS
IMO
etc

Eh? I was the one saying hello.

When I said hello, were they all thinking “hmmm, not going to reply to him, he looks like the sort who thinks only in stereotypes”

🙄

Just to provide a bit of balance, I rode Glentress with a friend on Saturday. We were riding at a reasonable mid-tempo pace round the black and didn’t see too many people, but we did say hello to pretty much every group we saw/passed (about 8 groups in total) and got a hello back. I also slowed to check a group with a puncture had everything they needed (they seemed very grateful I had asked, although they did have everything).

In the past I have also borrowed tyre levers from a friendly passer by on a ride at Glentress when I had forgotten my own levers.

So there you go, not everyone is too serious, and in my experience, there are plenty of cheery folks at GT.

Then just before beginning my descent I passed a few guys fettling with bikes and said “have fun guys” (or something equally cheesy) after they moved to let me through, and was looked at like I’d just taken a dump on their cat.

That could easily be construed as being you taking the pee . . . .t hey are at trail side suffering a mechanical issue not going anywhere fast, you pootle past smiling and say “have fun guys” . . .lol