Thanks guys, I’m only going up from Edinburgh so expecting usual mixed bag of conditions anyway; have read there’s reasonably rocky sections so elbow, knee + sphincter pads on as necessary. Easy familiarisation lap, then 1 or 2 at normal (i.e. extremely cautious DH) pace. Hoping to do red-including-black on all laps, is that a knackering distance? I’m a reasonable roadie, 50+ miles standard @ 17mph or so, + haven’t found a lap of Inners then GT red too taxing. Plenty fuel on-board anyway, + I hear the cafe’s pretty good – mmmmmm… caaaaaake (drool).

Another vote for basic ‘Yeeeee-Haaaaaaaaaa’, intended as Dukes of Hazzard style, but more Ewok battle-cry in reality…

(p.s. anyone else still go wobbly for Daisy Duke – Catherine Bach, that is?)

Did Inners xc (for the first time) followed by GT red last wednesday, had the beginnings of a cold so pretty blown by the time reached top of spooky; would put Innerleithen on a par with GT, different styles, IL being more open + ‘steady’, GT more broken up with up + down sections throughout the main climb / descent. No facilities at IL car park, though plenty in the village. If you’re after a more fun / adrenaline buzz GT offers the instant hits, + freeride park is good. Definitely less busy at IL, no-one else there last week, while GT was moderately busy, even mid-week.

Don’t know about last weekend, but the one before, when snow had just fallen with -6 degrees, was pretty interesting – thought the info up on boards at the bottom was fairly indicative. Just have to temper the riding a bit to suit, even got off a few times when self preservation took over, or grip deserted. OK, red route took nearly twice as long, and I wont be in a hurry to repeat it, but was fun all the same and the views at the top were great (lost a number of plastic bits though, thumb shifter included – lousy low temperatures!)

Was definitely suckered by the price and all the good press on the pitch, I’d be unlikely to really use the 150mm travel. But fancy catching a little air now and again. Thought the ’09 XC pro had similar frame to the pitch.. It’s probably the one I’ll go for being the only one I can demo ride in Edinburgh. Rocky Mountain looks better quality but seems a little less spec’d than the Specializeds. Decisions, decisions..

If you pick up / look at a map from the Hub shop (it’s free), you can do most of the black routes climbing, to the radio mast, then duck over to the top of spooky wood descent; nearly the best of both worlds. The red does seem short on its own, so this makes it a little more interesting. Black can be grim, red always fun, just see how the weather is and enjoy.