The new trails at Glentress.

I’m back at Glentress for the first time in probably about 15 years.

I did a lap of the old red trail, then diverted onto the new Smells Like Tweed Spirit (red) then climbed to do Castle Black, then lapped back up to do the new bits again, this time coming down the red all the way.

I can’t help thinking that Smells Like Tweed Spirit has been mis-graded. It is red in the way that bike park reds are red. IE a step up from trail centre reds. It is quite steep with big berms and some decent sized tables, and a couple of mandatory drops. I didn’t get to see whether the drops were rollable, as I was going too fast.

It is very similar in nature and scale to Lovey Dyfi at Dyfi bike park, although a lot shorter.

It is also already developing some significant braking bumps despite only being open for six days so far.

It’s not a trail that can, or should, be ridden slowly, like the rest of the red trails are.

I can see that it’s at risk of being torn to pieces by people not used to bike park type trails braking all the way down it, and (as I heard happened with A470 at BPW) people are going to come down it at trail speed and crash into nervous intermediates picking their way down.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great trail, and joined in with the rest of the red trail I think it’s one of the best in the UK, but I think it needs to be re-graded to black and a more serious qualifier put in at the top.

The taster trails were shut due to trail damage so it doesn’t surprise me that there is already some damage to the main trails.  Even on Jamie’s preview it had some.  I’m going on Friday so hopefully they are still ok after the rain.

According to Trailforks 

Blue – harry’s Blue & Turn and Burn

Red – Twitcher & Smells like tweed spirit

Black – Castle black

Plonk Jamie’s video in 

@poah

Where are the taster trails?

Near the bottom

Are they separate from the other new trails?

Watched that vid last week and thought the trails looks worn already. Parts of it looked like an old 80’s bmx track that the vegetation has reclaimed. 

I was there yesterday evening at dusk: all set up after my autumnal dedusting of lights and delighted to be out in the world – meeting up with my old friends the owls and bats.

Until I saw the ambulances. I thought it must be some sort of drill  initially. But I doubt it. Rode the new stuff in the dark and I love it but there could be a risk there for sure. If I was 30 years younger I suspect my view point would be less risk adverse.

I hope everyone involved is ok.

BTW – the taster trails are closed at the bottom. Twitcher and Teen spirit appear to be open all the way to the bottom. 

If I had to make one suggestion: going from the new / taster trails back to the older initial climb involves a detour via the car park (or possibly like me) a short cut down a steep grassy slope at an angle which was fun but maybe not the bestest safety wise.

Street Pigeon’s video showed riders schralping on the new trails. Not a great IMO.

I’m planning on riding the new trails with my ten year old this weekend. He’s really looking forward to it. We’ll mostly be keeping to the blues.

As for trail grading, have you ridden Dalbeatie red in a while? We were riding it yesterday and there is plenty there that is tough going for a red. All good fun though, even for a ten year old.

Also the red at Comrie has some tasty bits that could be classed as black at other trail centres.

Although I believe that there are guides to how a trail is graded, it really is subjective IMO on what grade a trail gets. Plus erosion can make a trail much tougher.

The blue taster’s bloody fantastic, really enjoyed the reds and the black taster, the black itself wasn’t so impressed with but still really good, it’s just got a bit of an odd mix of traits, almost like it’d be better being a shorter technical black and a longer jumpy black, or something? Like, I am not a good jumper so I was loving the corners and the drops and such but I had that bikeparkwales feeling that sooner or later was going to be a bunch of jumps that I wouldn’t like 🙂

I heard some people grumble that it’s so un-glentressey but for me that’s why it’s so good, it’s been a running joke that there’s so few jumps in the valley. I might actually have to learn how to do ’em. I guess from a critical point of view, GT’s always shone a bit in having nicer climbs than most but neither of those really feels true of the new stuff, the pedal up to just do whole red back down frinstance or to get up to where the black leaves the red is not so charming. But then again there’s always been people that ride up the roads so maybe I’m just oldfashioned 🙂 It’s right that the descent is prioritised for sure.

Grading’s always tricky especially with new trails in such an established venue, and even more at GT where the existing black frinstance is so ancient while the lower blue is surprisingly spicy. Didn’t feel there was anything out of spec myself, but jumps and speed do make that difficult, it’ll be possible to have a really pretty massive accident on the red without trying very hard. Was really surprised to find myself clearing decent sized jumps on the first run, once I start actually learning the corners and carrying speed I might end up in space.

Was supposed to be back today but ****ed my bike on the way up 😛 Interested to see what the weather did. First really heavy weather always shows up some issues, just part of the game but it’s definitely going to wear a lot faster than other stuff at GT, just with the nature of the thing. And also just that a lot of this sort of trail can’t really be allowed to wear or it just stops working. Oh yeah, just as a note, some of it was genuinely already encroached on by dirt and weeds and such just because it was built and then lay fallow for so long, that’s just a matter of getting wheels down it. Same reason there was such a massive amount of baby poo thin mud.

The kitty litter off the Jerry line on the lower red was lethal.

The above comment re. Comrie Croft red is spot on.  No way it is a red, I’ve ridden down easier black runs.  If you don’t carry speed over those big rocks with drops either side you are at a high risk of injury.

Grading is also venue specific – what else is there and how easy/difficult is it compared to the trail you are on…Comrie red is a red compared to the black as although both need commitment, the black needs more.
I’m off to Glentress tomorrow and I suspect I’ll be mincing round the new stuff as I don’t tend to do whhels-in-the-air, but I’m hoping it’ll still be enjoyable along with trying the older trails.

Rode them today and really enjoyed them.  Like above they are going to have to be on the ball with upkeep.  The main red twitcher is going to get a serious beating.  Really like the taster trails.  The red and blue only took a few minutes to get to (black too longer ) and you can session them really quickly.  Felt I had to be right on the ball for the blue trail as you could go off line very easy.  Took me 25 mins to climb from the bottom to the top of twitcher.

Ebikes out numbered normal bikes significantly.  Was good to see such a range of people out on these trails.

Went yesterday, the original stuff is still there and good fun. The new stuff was seriously busy, we ran out of time so didn’t ride much of it but based on the large number of riders skidding everywhere, I can see why so much erosion has happened already…unsure why people are needing to skid round berms but it isn’t going to last if that keeps up.
Anyway, new stuff looks good and entertaining but does have a lot more jumps and seems more entertainment than riding. I’ll get the other stuff tried when I’m next down and fully expect to really enjoy it all.
It was massively busy with riders passing the meeting points from all directions. Cafe was busy but seemed to be busy with a long q at till…took ages to get served, but food didn’t take too long to come out. Didn’t seem to have much atmosphere there, which is a shame.

Were they skidding on purpose or did they not realise the speed they could get up to on the new trails?  Shouldn’t be any reason to skid on a berm.

Bit of self promotion.

It was the same when spooky wood was reworked to be a flow trail, though maybe a little slower to erode due to lesser numbers, possibly. The idea that the majority of riders have the level of skill to ride a flow trail with little braking is well out I think. It’s very easy to carry a lot of speed into berms and bottle it mid way though. I’ve seen it happen, I’ve done it myself too, just not concentrating enough, or riding trails blindly and too quick.

I do wonder if theres an additional skids=schralping happening though.

I was there today, I reckon most skidding is just down to people going in too hot and grabbing the anchors, although I didn’t notice much myself. I’m not that into the big berm/tabletop experience but it’s nice to have other options.

On the new trails, I think due to going in fast, once at end of the trail it appeared to be due to having an audience and trying to look cool…although straight line skids never look cool!

Today was the busiest I’ve seen GT in 25 years. There was a queue of c. 30 riders waiting to go down main new red, so I just did matrix and Lombard (which I had all to myself) and joined main new blue. It was fraught.  Bumper to bumper wee kids + hard chargers shouting “RIDER!” don’t make a good mix, I couldn’t get off it quick enough.

The tasters were fun, like berm baby berm on steroids. The drop-off on the black taster looks way more tech than anything else on the existing official GT trails.

I can see me doing the new stuff occasionally for the good variety it brings but the existing official trails are still what I’ll go for.

Rode the new trails both Friday and Saturday, loved them but still need plenty of learning for me to clear all the jumps on the blues and reds never mind the blacks.
I’m glad I checked the trails out on the Friday ahead of taking my 10 year old there on the Saturday. After riding all the new trails, I decided that the following new trails were a little to much for him:
– Smells like Tweed Spirit (far too much loose gravel in the berms, would be far too easy to have an off if he deviated from the main line)
– Black taster. Too difficult
– Castle Black. Too difficult
– Twitcher. Too steep (especially the first two corners) with a high chance of serious injury if he came off.
He rode everything else with the new blue Turn and Burn being his favourite. He was less keen on the climb but managed it just fine.
He was feeling a little nervous when we arrived so we rode the old red route first. Quick spot of lunch before the queues formed at the till. Then we rode a selection of the new trails. The wind may have been brisk but the sun was out and the trails were dry. Probably riding the best I’ve seen them in ages.
On the Saturday, it was the busiest I’ve ever seen it there. It was cool looking up at the taster loop climb and seeing tens of mountain bikers zigzaging their way up. Lots of families on the Saturday. Lots of e-bikes, they probably outnumbered regular bikes on the Friday.
Congratulations to everyone involved with the new trails (or all the other trails at Glentress and Tweed valley), you’ve done a great job.

 Lots of e-bikes, they probably outnumbered regular bikes on the Friday.

That was my thought too.  Trails were fairly empty though.  No dicks shouting rider anywhere.

One last thing to add. I rode all the new trails on a hardtail and it was fine. Although my hardtail is of the LLS variety I’m confident I could ride them on a standard xc hardtail like the Trek Marlins that you can hire at GT (this is actually the same bike my 10 year old son rides).

So don’t be put off if you do not have a full sus.

Was out on the fatbike today, disastrous on the jumps but otherwise had a great time. I’ve been pretty pleased with how different it all rides on different bikes, that’s going to give it a lot more repeatability. I may have done some accidental skidz.

Even busier today than yesterday though so we bailed from the new stuff, went into the old centre for a bit then came back later. Fantastic to see, huge mix of bikes and people and so many kids… Just lovely.

I reckon they’re going to want to put a chicken run on the mandatory drop on the black taster though. Or maybe the pushup that’s developing to the left of it will evolve into a cut line. Already pretty obvious that lots of people want to do the rest of the trail but don’t really want to do a drop-into-corner. Unlike me that wants to do the awkward stuff but sucks at the jumps 🙂

It isn’t exactly a hard drop and can it not be rolled anyway?  It is a black trail after all.

He’s talking about the drop on the black taster- certainly not rollable, and many were struggling to slow for the corner after..

(I spent a while there yesterday hunting for a chunk of battery cover that lost a fight with a rock at that spot)

Braking bumps aren’t too bad so far, mostly on the Twitcher that I could see anyway. It is likely to need a fair but more maintenance than FLS will provide though.

Fatbike is a good roughness-finder and yep there’s a couple of spots that are showing early wear on twitcher, basically to nobody’s surprise in the bits near the top where it’s a bit steeper. Easy fixes though and the trail as a whole seems fine.

And yep was talking about the drop on the taster. Great wee feature, lovely combination of skills and it feels harder than it is which is always nice. But not rollable, and while it’s not big it’s almost straight into the corner. And it’s almost a gatekeeper for the next bit which is basically jumps and berms, so inevitably there’ll be loads of people that want to get past it and not ride it. Basically it WILL get a ride/walk around, there’s no option about that, the only question is whether it gets worn in by riders or cut in by builders and the latter is always better.

(I reckon there’ll be politics/contractual obligations involved with any wear issues just now. The bits on Twitcher, the wee issues on the tasters that’s closed those bits, and similiar should come under “contractor to come back and rectify” for sure. The rangers could go in and repair it in a couple of hours since it’s pretty localised and the access is easy, but that’s like fixing something yourself that’s broken on warranty. But it’ll be slower to get the contractors back. Once everything’s fully handed over and out of the snagging period it all becomes FC’s problem but that’s got benefits in streamlining the process)

Went up today to try them thinking it would be quiet (Monday), the car park was heaving and certainly busier than I’ve seen it in quite a while. On the trails though it wasn’t to bad, only a few at the start/end of trails. 

However, the trails are great, really easy to carry speed on the big berms. Jumps are going to be great for progressing on. Can see the amount of traffic it’s had with the erosion starting already, hopefully they’ll get on top of it. I’ll definitely be back 

Went up today to try them thinking it would be quiet (Monday)

October school holidays 

Was down on Sunday and can agree that I’ve never seen GT busier. I had to laugh out loud at the size of the crowd clustered around the start of Twitcher. The poor cafe staff looked utterly burst by 4 pm.

A nice slice of that genre of riding, now much closer to home. It really is impressive how much trail building has come on.

May also have spotted Northwind’s fatbike outside the cafe.

arrpeeFree MemberWas down on Sunday and can agree that I’ve never seen GT busier. I had to laugh out loud at the size of the crowd clustered around the start of Twitcher. The poor cafe staff looked utterly burst by 4 pm.

A nice slice of that genre of riding, now much closer to home. It really is impressive how much trail building has come on.

May also have spotted Northwind’s fatbike outside the cafe.

Yeah, I was riding with Northwind and we’d have been at the cafe around that point.

The new trails seem pretty good, they’re maybe not my favourite sort of trails but they seem to work well. I probably had more fun when we diverted over to Skulduggery and some of the other older waymarked trails, but being diverted up Pennel’s Vennel in order to avoid the Buzzard’s Nest work site was not pleasant!

I do remember the crowds of people at the top of Spooky Wood back when it was new and novel being about as  dense as the crowds at the top of the new trails on Sunday, but there was a lot of people out riding on Sunday.

Is it busy there just sticking to the existing trails? Was planning on heading up (nothing to do with the new trails) but if it’s crowded I’ll go somewhere else.

@arrpee, there was a couple out but if it was bright yellow that was me. Hadn’t ridden the stupid thing on proper trails for a couple of years because of breaking my arm twice and just not being able to take the impacts, so it was nice to find I can still do it 🙂

The busyness is a bit odd, aye there’s a million people and it feels super busy at the trailheads and even on the climbs- looking up the taster climb looks crazy, like an xc race. But once you’re moving it’s suddenly very different, and what looks like queues mostly turned out to be just people hanging about. Lots of people stopped at trailsides, sessioning jumps etc so that’s pretty funny getting heckled and encouraged, definitely had some dh race vibes.

The taster runs are short enough that as long as you’re a wee bit smart about when you start it’s not ime really an issue, the twitcher is longer and definitely you’re more likely to catch/get caught, I feel a bit for slower riders and younger kids who could feel pressured even if nobody’s doing it on purpose. I guess I’m reasonably quick so I tend not to get caught much, but also unstressed if I catch someone else, so I tend to worry about it less. If you hate to be caught or are massively worried about your strava, more of a thing. More important than usual to be cool to people.

@bikesandbootsThe old trails are quieter than normal. Main thing though is that the big forest cabin closure around the buzzard’s nest is disruptive, makes it kind of a pain in the arse to navigate, especially if you’re used to riding like a local and going “OK let’s ride X then link it to Y then cut back and do Z”

Like ChrisL mentioned the diversion for the black is UP pennel’s vennel which is no fun. (tbh for the time being I’d say the black is a bit knackered) But the red’s barely affected. Accessing the newer offpistes like skullduggery etc is a bit of a hassle, as is getting back out of it without just riding down a fireroad. Oh, and you can access the new stuff from the red if you want- the trailhead for the Twitcher is right by Double X. Or easily ride back up to do little laps. (I think a lot of my rides will have a bit of “just one go” and a quick pedal up to do the blue or a taster)

Oh yeah there’s signs saying Janet’s Brae is closed for forestry. It wasn’t on saturday, but I guess it will be real soon so that’s going to be a pain too for “riding up from Peebles” purposes and depending on where exactly it’s shut could be a nastly multiplier with the buzzard’s nest closure. Just one to be aware of.

@Northwind, That’s the one. First fatbike I’ve seen in the wild for ages; definitely looks a different kind of fun.

@ChrisL, I had the same thought about the top of Spooky Wood. Made me all nostalgic: trying to judge the appropriate slot to start, enjoying the mash-up of accents.

New McTrail video out.

Hang on, have they really re-opened Pennel’s Vennel to use as a climb? Have they felled that area or something because that trail was supposedly completely wrecked from a storm about 10 years ago and could never be reopened!

Janets brae will be dug up from top to bottom to run the sewerage outflow from the cabins, and I think they are also clearing the fallen trees from the Green at the same time.

There’s a different top section on Pennels Vennel avoiding the fallen trees- links in to the end of the blue section between Motorway and Blue Velvet. Quite natural and fun as a down, won’t be so nice on the way up.

they are also clearing the fallen trees from the Green at the same time

Does that mean the green will be reopened?