Awesome fun today 🙂

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0jW_HPnhOA[/video]

Rode a little off-piste, then did this quite a few times.

It’s amazing how much someone setting a camera up as you come through the berms on a lovely Saturday morning puts you of

Nice one Simon we went there today had a blast good to be back!!
I was speaking to you today fella (the one in the red with the merida full suss) nice to tell us about the climb back up the side! Did you find any unknown stuff? Would like to spend a full day there to find out where all the hidden trails are! 😉

Hi Lee – Great to say hi to you guys.

I wasn’t looking for new stuff, just riding some of the routes I already know.

These two sets show you some of the natural off piste stuff around

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonralli/sets/72157624841022240/

There are loads of combinations, and you can also do a bigger day out by riding off road to New Abbey, and then doing the monument climb, and down a technical descent too.

Potts – yeah, those big lighting rigs can put of a few people off, and I did tell my makeup lady not to keep standing in the middle of the berms, and running up and down them getting me tea in between takes.

saturday was my first time at Mabie (thanks for taking me around rudedog), so I dont know how good Descender Bender was before the new berms, but as it is now this section totally made my day. In fact, if it wasn’t for descender bender, I doubt I’d want to revisit this trail at all, if u like spooky woods descent, u’ll love this too.

I doubt I’d want to revisit this trail at all

I keep going back to Mabie myself, but then when you are local there are loads of combinations of routes including all the natural stuff to ride too.

After saying that, much of it now feels quite naked with all the tree felling.

rudedog – Member
Are we talking about the same section regarding the rollercoaster? The section through the woods after the climb up from the burn splash?

It seemed pretty smooth to me (bit rooty on the first climb). My overall impression was just a big long climb through the trees and then a really steep smooth and straight descent immediately followed by another steep climb – a criminal waste of altitude and didn’t seem to have any flow at all.

I really have no idea why its called the rollercoaster.

Roller Coaster is probably some 20yrs old now, has been ridden long before the Stanes concept was arrived at. Back then riding what were called “all terrain” bikes which were full rigid with canti brakes you felt you were on a fairground roller coaster…hence the name. Would agree however that to an experienced biker on a modern mtb that it may seem “boring”
Dare I suggest you do a bit of map studying and you will se that compared to GT & Inners Mabie and Dalbeattie both lack anything in the way of decent elevation.Also given that most of the trail is over 20yrs old and 7Stanes original stuff is some 10yrs old now. Mabie is also compratively compact compared to all thr other Stanes with pressures from other user group. Trail building and bikes have moved on greatly in that time.
There are also more newbies and riders like Simon who find the stuff you describe as “boring” just as exciting as you may have done when you started out 💡

Was the roller coaster the one you said skinner done on his duke of Edinburgh John ?

simonralli2 – Member

After saying that, much of it now feels quite naked with all the tree felling.

Nil Desperandum and the Edge at Ae are a bit like that.

Aye, the climb

Well said Trekster.

There are also more newbies and riders like Simon who find the stuff you describe as “boring” just as exciting as you may have done when you started out

When you are bit shonky on the skills side of things, Mabie’s roller coaster still has the ability to thrill. I nearly came off the singletrack there going a bit too fast 🙂

I rode Mabie for the first time in acouple of years last summer and was a bit disappointed to be honest. It seemed a bit neglected. However we were staying at Marthrown in February and I managed to escape a few times for a bit of a blast. Despite the route being a bit shorter than normal I have to say I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if much has been done to it since last summer but I had a much better time this year. Might have been because I was riding a racier bike, I don’t know, but I really enjoyed it. Wished I’d had more time to go explore.

There used to be another dip but that disappeared when they started building the Stanes, the very first bit of D&G Stanes built after the team had been to Wales for training by D.Davies the Welsh trail building guru

Horses for courses then – I never like that section when I first started mountain biking and I still don’t like it now.

Where do you normally ride rude dog?

I think Mabie’s red route is really great for blue level riders who are just moving up on to reds. I can appreciate it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it really seems suited to my level of riding.

Kirroughtree would be the trail center I’ve visited the most as its only about 30 mins from where I live. I should add that I do like Mabie (just don’t get that one section).

Ahhh, ok. It was a section we used to ride and was included in the trail aka Riks re route many yrs ago. It used to be a straight line with another dip in it. When the Stanes crew “designed” the trail they kinked it left to join up with the Marthrown section. The old descent would not have been sustainable. The climb was also changed from a boggy hike’a bike to the current one. This was done as a Duke of Edinburgh project by a bunch of 14-15yr olds and adult helpers with input from IMBA reps. Putting into context when the trail was originally opened we were all riding 7 speed, rigid,flat pedals with toe clips,trainers, jeans and canti brakes!!!

Trekster really should be the curator for the 7 Stanes with his knowledge 🙂

Good to see a bit of investment where the trail was getting worn out and these massive berms are certainly something new.

But did they really have to “improve” the trail below this. What was a lovely flowing piece of sinewy singletrack needing some tlc has now been flattened into a pavement with several of those annoying little double bumps. Could what was there not have been repaired more sympathically?

Hopefully it will ride in and improve with age.

We (GF and I and our new (2 months) rescue dog) rode Mabie yesterday. I took some footage, was loving it, the first berm acts more like a wallride. Though the whole descender bender section is now very smooth, I have a feeling it will get nice and bumpy again soon enough.

[video]http://vimeo.com/39908368[/video]

In STW style though, what tires GoPro mount for capturing trail dog action?

Can you mount it on your seat stays like this guy has done?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bim01gFuvNE[/video]

scotabroad – Member

Good to see a bit of investment where the trail was getting worn out and these massive berms are certainly something new.

But did they really have to “improve” the trail below this. What was a lovely flowing piece of sinewy singletrack needing some tlc has now been flattened into a pavement with several of those annoying little double bumps. Could what was there not have been repaired more sympathically?

Hopefully it will ride in and improve with age.

Those ‘annoying little double humps’ are great, means folks who can’t jump don’t have to, but if you hit them at speed, they are cracking!. One mans meat….

I rode the new section yesterday, superb, absolutely superb. Those big berms whip you out at a phenomenal speed!.