I bumped into Trekster in town today and as he has lost his camera cable, I have loaded up his photos on flickr.

Here is a slightly worried looking davy-g. Judging by his facebook, it seems he may have a few cracked ribs – so hope you’re well!

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DSCN2235[/url] by simon ralli[/url], on Flickr

Complete set here:

Includes a few more off-piste pics if people haven’t seen them but to be honest yesterday was so fun we didn’t really stop at the really good bits for pics.

My legs are aching like mad but luckily no damage done from my off which I had been a bit worried about. Drumlanrig here we come, Wednesday.

Yeah -it’s all cool cuz I have TIGERBLOOD! 😈

I am deffo going to give it a go – can’t believe I haven’t tried it before. Obviously I will be able to ride maybe 5% but I just want to say I have done it 🙂

Ah cool.

I am not too sure how much to talk about plans as I want to ride Druisdeer with Trekster in 2 or 3 weeks time and was maybe thinking of inviting people along. I’ll also obviously be riding Kirrie too soon – so lots of opportunities to have some little group rides.

I probably would if I was dahn saf but as I am oop north I will just keep on riding with the very wonderful Scottish chapter of STW. 🙂

We have our own ride in the making next weekend too, probably Ae!

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IMG_0825[/url] by simon ralli[/url], on Flickr

Well even though there are diversions at Mabie, there is still one heck of a lot of off-piste riding to be done. The diversions at Mabie are a little bit severe, so unless you know the other bits it may not be worth a visit?

Not too sure about Ae – am probably riding there this coming weekend.

I am after a digital voice recorder. There is an awesome looking Olympus but it is something like £250 so I will probably just go for the £70 one. I’ll probably get a Kindle too, just the basic one as I can’t see a need for 3G. Apart from that though I am trying to live my life as lightly as possible, not acquire too much stuff and I am very happy with all I have really. The other thing I really need is a new mobile. My current one is really quiet even at high volume and I miss calls and texts. I think I should be able to recycle it though. Not worried about getting cash for it, I just don’t want to throw it away.

No – it is more a case of me looking for work and not being able to afford a bike which in Brazil is twice the price of the same bike in the UK due to the many taxes and stuff 🙂

I can assure you, once I get a job, I will be able to get a bike and then you can find out about this part of the world that is not often talked about in terms of ride locations. I have been scouting though for places, and yeah, there are lots of hills. Where I am hoping to work is meant to be one of the best.

No – I live in Brazil 🙂

I think we all moved didn’t we? Didn’t this shift the earth’s axis or did I dream that last night?

9 minutes of darkside action!

Well i think that there have been some major improvements recently making it really good fun. Also, you can add in the Shredder as a bit of a black XC downhill to the red for added fun. What’s not to like? (I know, Ae is a bit of a marmite track). Oh and they do darn fine coffee too in the cafe.

It’s been raining today here if that helps?

I’ve been watching it this week with my Mum who is a big fan. Will they still be racing when the rugby finishes as my Dad is watching it.

Yesterday was a bit mad as some of them got confused on a roundabout which wasn’t and the commentators kept talking about their bunny hopping skills.

Yep – greatly appreciated! 😀

Deffo allthepies – an awesome awesome centre.

Tang

You are right there and I forgot to add the bit about it being so dangerous. I have taken it under guidance and in a way that does not have those risks, but then you could argue that you never can knowingly reduce the risks to 0. I have of course heard and read of plenty of horror stories too and would never take it in that hardcore way.

Well for me your choices are the western Stanes and Drumlanrig, i.e. Mabie, Dalbeattie, Ae, Kirroughtree and Drumlanrig. There is also the little Glentrool loop which never gets a mention, but that is more a loop for youngsters and beginners, and the huge Glentrool loop is maybe an all day 7 or 8 hour epic.

I normally only ever ride one a day.

For me Kirroughtree is just fabulous, and also Drumlanrig too. From the other three, try and get some locals to show you the off piste Dalbeattie, as that can make for a bigger day, although you could combine Dalbeattie and Mabie in a day if you have the legs. That just leaves Ae, and you can combine the red loop with the Shredder, a red level DH track but which is good fun on an HT so long as you dont go for the huge gap jump 🙂 If your son loves a little bit of air time then go for Ae. Mabie is fabulous, but again may warrant some locals showing you a few off piste bits, and it also has the jump park if that is yours or your sons thing.

Either way, you will have an awesome time. Of course you could make the trip over to either Glentress or Innerleithen, but they are fairly slow drives, so factor in the time needed to get there on narrow country roads. If this was me I would prefer to stick to just the Western Stanes and then do the other two som other time.

I know there is also Newcastleton too, but that is not really worth going out of your way for. It is more a place to combine with Kielder.

Quirrel

I have smoked Datura, and also ingested it as an admixture of ayahuasca. I think it is generally regarded as the worlds strongest hallucinogen. I have also obviously tried many different “teacher plants” including chacruna, huambisa, chullachaqui, chirisanango, huyra caspi, ajo sacha, pucha pari, marosa, tobacco, and pinar colorado amongst others.

Gary

Yes, I stay away from pharmacology in my book as that is not my area of expertise. But there is also the work looking at the endogenous possibilities of DMT too.

This is a really interesting thread for me, especially as I am about to launch my book on natural plant hallucinogens.

All through the writing of it I have felt a great responsibility not to glamourize them, nor encourage people to experiment with them. I do though feel that responsible experimentation and exploration with them can really evolve our scientific thinking on cognition and psychology, and that if used responsibly then they can be of great benefit to mankind.

However, especially in the West, unlike indigenous cultures who have worked with these plants for many thousands of years, we are like teenagers who mostly wish to abuse them, or use them for all the wrong reasons, and of course many drugs cause terrible problems both in our society, and those countries where they are grown and exported from.

I have no desire to try heroin at all, or anything like it.

Davy-G

Yep – I will be there! No idea how unfit I am but at least at Mabie I can either bail out or tell you guys just to crack on and I will catch up for a cuppa.

Slowclimb

I am back in Dumfries for a few weeks and not working so let me know if you fancy a ride and I may be able to join you. Hope you kid is OK though and they get well soon.

I bottled out of even trying that first plank before it really begins – the one you try out to see if you should be riding it.

However, I really should give it a go, just to say I have done it, even if the reality is 99% walking.

I would say that the cafe at Drumlanrig is good, but then you also have the most excellent Thomas Tosh in Thornhill which is also worth a visit and is great for post-ride grub.

John

Are you riding Mabie on Sunday then? I have not got myself in gear and need to sort out unpacking my bike and finding my bike gear. Could be up for a ride on Sunday though, but obviously the last time I rode was December.

Cheers Quirrel

I am a bit biased against Acer as my Dad has one and the battery was just terrible. But it does seem good value for money yeah?

Hmm – some very good recommendations.

So far, that Acer recommended by Quirrel seems to be the best bet so far in terms of weight, price and performance. I would not really be able to afford £700, but at that price it seems good value for money. Is that right? Are there any dodgy aspects that I should be worried about? Is it a legit website?

Hmm – food for thought – maybe I do need an ultra light laptop after all? My Macbook pro seems to weigh in at around 2.5 kg, which can be a real drag carrying through airports etc. I shall have to factor in a budget of maybe £400, or is that too little? As I said, I don’t need mad performance, just something that does the basics well.

Well good luck Samuri is all I can say. I am proofreading my book right now and it is a total pain, although I have to say it is extremely nice to have the first real copy in my hands as opposed to a Kindle version.

I feel grumpy – what Nationality is that ?

Strictly speaking, surely Dwarfish and not Snow White?

I have been trying to change since around 2003 when I sold my house to go travelling in 2004. Things didn’t go according to plan, due to mainly not really having a plan and I went back to work in 2005. I then left work again in 2009 to do my MSc. It has been a real strain as I finished around August last year and am still out of work. But I have had a second interview at a business school to teach sustainability, and the job prospects in Brazil are finally looking up. So yeah, it is amazing to make a change, but sometimes you need to think mid term rather than short term as you may well hit some obstacles and low points in your great transition.

Where ever I lay my hat, well that’s my home 🙂

Landed in Glasgow half an hour ago. Dang the weather is rubbish! It’s been 35c in Brazil! 😯

I am in Brazil, but after saying that am flying back to Blighty today for 3 or 4 weeks.

Yeah – the justice system here is quite shocking really. However, I did not really want to focus on the negatives of the situation, it was more a case of as I live here and am learning more and more about the culture, I was trying to find some positives from this really.

In a year or two Brazil’s traffic system will be seriously choked, and then maybe more people will start to take biking as a solution seriously.

Let Benji Haworth and friends show you how it’s done!

Of course the biggest issue with an IPad now is that by association, desperately sad and uncool people are using them, and as they are, so too will their wretched desperateness rub off on you.

That helmet in the pic – yes or no?

Kevin

There are quite a few different trails immediately around Mijas. Not just mad downhill stuff but there is a lot of great XC stuff too. In that photo of me, behind me is a smaller mountain range and you can ride all the way around the back of it where there are more trails.

And of course in Fuengirola nearby you have the DH tracks too, but I never rode those ones when I was living out there.

Jobbyheld

Ah – in that case I know where it is, although I didn’t ride that particular stretch. Seems like I may have missed out on some top switchbacks (although obviously I could never even ride half of what was in the video).

Great video but I am not too sure that was Mijas. This is what it looks like from the telecoms towers, which didn’t seem to be the same either.

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Mijas Bixfax Route2 029[/url] by simon ralli[/url], on Flickr

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Mijas Bixfax Route2 033[/url] by simon ralli[/url], on Flickr