Tell us where you’ve ridden.
Back from a fantastic weekend of racing at Kirroughtree. Weather held up and raced in the sunshine for the first time this year. New course again with some great decents. Our team were in line for a podium position until my other team members decided they were too knackered to do any more laps. Oh well, there’s always next year….. Try it if you haven’t already. D
I think it’s fair to say we got lucky with the weather today. Only 3 of us set off, with Chris and son absent due to late Friday night “pre ride maintenance”. Pushing and carrying up almost immediately, and stopping plenty to admire the views (and try and work out if we would be able to ride any of this on the way back down) , we eventually reached the plateau where some pedalling was possible.
Once on the plateau, the peak was in sight and surprisingly soon we were carrying up the final stretch to the summit, where we stopped for a bite to eat, phone calls to loved ones we feared we wouldn’t see again*, pictures of Jung to prove to his mates he had got up on a Saturday morning, and to admire the views all around us.
Saddles dropped, pads on for the two of us that had them, and it was time to see what the trail really would be like to ride. It turned out to be surprisingly rideable going down, with only the odd wrong line choice and one instance of chickening out robbing me of full man points, but the descent was making the carry completely worthwhile, and putting smiles on faces all around – including all but one of the walkers, who were treating us with the kind of respect and kindness normally reserved for escapees from institutions for the criminally insane.
Just before the plateau, a taste of things to come started, when the first puncture occured, my friend Paul being the victim. This was followed by a puncture for Jung, 2 broken valves attempting to replace one punctured tube, another puncture (Jung I think!) and finally having to resort to patches around halfway down the descent. Nearing the bottom, Jung had a final puncture, but to cries of “leave the weak”, he decided to just walk back to the car. I was glad (some might say “overly smug” I’d put my dual ply tyres on last night, despite the extra weight to carry up.
We again found ourselves having to walk (and pass bikes down the slope) at Granny Catcher, but managed to ride the rest of the lower section with man points intact, making it back to the car closely followed by Jung.
*may be an embellishment
A surprising 7 riders decided to ignore the forecast heavy rain and brave the results of the afternoon’s downpour. Continue reading
Sunday 3rd July
A hot and sunny day beckoned so answering the email call from Skinny Simon four of us opted for the shortish drive and headed down to Drumlanrig for a spin round the trails. Unfortunately Simon the Instigator couldn’t make it in the end (roof repairs taking longer than planned).
Ross, Grant, Ryszard and myself met up at a civilised 10:30am and after some pre-ride caffeine and glove shopping faff we hit the trails………. kind of. Before we’d even left the car park my rear mech did it’s exploding trick again caused by seized jockey wheel. The bolt through the jockey wheel was being loosened off when the jockey wheel rotated, caused by a seized bushing. Some persuasion and oil later and we started out on the red trail.
Bone dry, fast and unslippery roots were the order of the day! The first sections of black drew a few surprised comments that the drop off was larger than any of us remembered. With summer in full swing the trails were a bit overgrown at the side making the single track even narrower looking than normal and the grass at the edges concealed hidden roots, stumps and rocks so you had to stay alert and watch the trails! Grant took us up a wee detour that I’d never noticed before. It had an amazing view out over Drumlanrig Castle and the estate. We quietly enjoyed the view, drenched in sweat!
View of Drumlanrig Castle
As we continued round the red/black trails we barely saw any mud and only a handful of other riders. The trails continued to fly along quickly and the techy sections on the black were a joy to ride. Without having to worry about slippery roots you could be more confident and go for the more ambitious lines knowing that if you just kept the speed up and avoided the biggest roots you’d clear the sections.
Ross Gets Some Tabletop Air
Tight, rooty turns, rooty drop offs, rooty climbs and fast hardpacked trails in between – fantastic. And a beautiful forest to ride around too – not like the rigidly structured pine plantations of some other trail centres. With the rootiness as unrelenting as the heat we were glad to be under the cover of the forest for most of the day and I was starting to dream of a cold drink from the cafe. Starting to feel a little drained (well, me at least!) we headed along the final rooty run back to the car park to chill out in the sun for a while and mull over how long the good weather will last……………. til Tuesday, Grant informed us!
Ryszard
Despite the £5 per head charge for getting in to Drumlanrig the trail and forest doesn’t disappoint. Especially on such a sunny day! Simon: thanks for instigating it – sorry you couldn’t make it along, maybe next time eh?
Grant
Graham
Hi all,
Due to a mishap with the rota and the quaterly committee meeting being held at the club hall tonight, is there anyone that wouldn’t mind leading the Beginner Ride for us?
It kicks off at 7pm from the carpark and should finish for 8.30am – 9pm (or later if you fancy stretchin’ yer legs).
Many thanks
Barry 07766463369
Tim & I decided to work off some of the beer and chips/kebabs we had consumed at the Edinburgh Real Ale Festival on Friday. Tim was keen to do the Whangie but I managed to persuade him to try something different, the descent off the ridge between Dumgoyne and Strathblane. We took in the riverslide along the way and down the Westie which they have ‘improved’ so there is no losing the front wheel, axle deep in mud, but the old railway path was just as wet as ever. The big climb up was repaid with a fantastic sunset and views over Loch Lomond. There then followed a certain amount of bog trotting, yes it has been particularly wet recently, following various and vague quad bike tracks. Saddles down, glasses on to try and keep the mud out of your eyes, but the real difficulty was keeping the sun out our eyes as we headed down. At this point Tim announces that his front brake isn’t working too well. Hmmm we are now well and truly committed as we reached the edge as the path drops out of sight and Tim’s jaw drops. Thankfully Tim’s new grippy tyres compensated for the lack of braking as he ripped down past me. Running home on empty tanks, Tim suggested it would make a good sunday morning ride.
Had a great time at the Glentress 7 race on Saturday. The race was really well organised and the marshall’s were the most supportive bunch of guys I’ve ever seen at a race – well done. Pretty much an xc route with a couple of steep climbs with the rain adding some interesting line choices later in the day. Fantastic event and definitely worth doing, the guys at Tweedlove managed a sterling job of hosting it. Oh, and I managed 8th.
Tuesday Ride Report:
Route: the Whangie, relatively dry conditions and a great night for it – except for Stuart who managed to land in the mud on the way down. 16 riders out. A puncture and a disintegrating rear mech before even leaving the car park made for a late-ish start. 3 more punctures and Bradley’s tumble near the end meant we weren’t back until after 10pm. Despite the mechanicals and a few falls it seemed like everyone who was out had a great ride and it was the first time up the Whangie for a few folks. If anyone who was taking pictures can post a few that would be great.
Rides This Week:
Wednesday introductory ride: Local Ride, departs St Andrews Hall Car Park, Milngavie, 7pm
NB: Mix up in the calendar. The Old Kilpatricks was on the calendar for this week but some folks did it last week. So, suggesting……..
Wednesday ride: The Whangie, departs St Andrews Hall Car Park, Milngavie, 7:45pm
Thursday ride: Road ride, departs St Andrews Hall Car Park, Milngavie, 6:30pm prompt. Duration: 1.5 – 2hrs – Please post if you are doing this as Simon won’t be out as he’s not well just now (hope you get well soon Simon!).
Sunday: Local Ride, departs St Andrews Hall Car Park, Milngavie, 9am – or, alternatively, suggest a ride for Sunday!
4 of us met up at the Bowling Basin carpark: Euan/Superlight, Euan/Boardman; Dean/Lapierre and me. Euan SL lead us off to a path between the garage and pub behind the houses and then on to the Crags Circular path. The instant climb quickly warmed us up as we headed up behind the quarry. Great views over the Clyde and sunshine promised, butdidn’t happen. We continued to climb up through the trees with me trailing behind and then out along to Loch Humfrey where it started to get wet as we headed back to the Crags path. Dean now led us down the now very wet grassy fast path. So difficult to see though our mud spattered eyes, was our only complaint. We then climbed around Overtoun House and down that narrow rutted path into the houses. All the climbs were well worth it, the best fun I have had in the mud and rain for a while.
Hi all.
8 intrepid souls set off on the inaugural Social (Pub) Ride. After the usual GMBC flaffing we got going about 10.20. We have all had a day on the bike when nothing goes right. To-day was Stuart’s turn. We only got as far as the bomb hole before we realised this. He did not make it up the far side, thanks to the mud on the bottom, grabbed at a tree but could not hang on and scraped his arm from elbow to wrist. Ouch! On the riverside one of us got a puncture. You guessed it. Stuart. Things got slightly better after that.
We dropped down to the Carbeth via the bracken descent. The trails were good. We were not the first in the Carbeth as a hairy motor biker got there before us. To his credit he was only drinking coffee and eating a bacon roll. One of our company suggested it was too early for alcohol, this was not the general opinion and mostly beer was consumed.
Next up was the Blane Valley Inn. Pretty uneventful section except the determination of a few of the group to ride up the steep slope on the old railway line. I would say they all did it at the second attempt but technically I am being kind to two of them. We sat at the Beer Garden at the back of the Inn. Phil had a bowl of soup which surprised us all, following his bacon roll at the Carbeth. I felt he was on a mission to sample each pub’s fayre. More alcohol consumed we set off again.
The section from Blanefield to Milton of Campsie, along the cycle path, was flat boring and into a strong headwind. A means to an end.
The Kincaid House hotel was were we had lunch, had a game or two of pool and stayed longer longer than we should. We also met up with Simon, Hannah, Bud, Alison and Gerry. The Kincaid had a roaring fire which seemingly burns all year round no matter what the weather outside, great for the winter but not so good for a lovely summer’s day. The beer helped us stay cool. Stuart was running out of time by now and had to head back.
On to the Stables, along the canal, we then had the wind at our back. Alison and Gerry broke off from the group in Kirkie to go home and tend to their steak pie. Once Simon fished Bud out of the canal we settled for a refreshment. . . . . . mostly more beer. By this time it was 5.30, where had the day gone? Many of our party were having to make phone calls as they were expected back long before now.
Davy and Lorna headed back to Kilsyth via the canal, Simon, Hannah and Bud accompanied them to Kirkintilloch. (On the red tandem)
Another short burst along the canal for us then we dropped into Torrance just as the Campsie Show was packing up. Adrian headed back in to Glasgow at this point, this was his first ride with the club!!
Ryszard, who had been in touch, met us at the Wheatsheaf Inn, Torrance. We had a drink in Torrance then took the back roads to Milngavie. At Esporta Ryszard, Barry, Phil headed down the single track, while Tim and I returned on the road. We were to have a farewell drink at Cyan but there was a private party on and we couldn’t get in, maybe just as well. We went our separate ways at this point, Phil, Ryszard, Tim and myself cycled home, Ryszard accompanied Tim. I arrived home just after 8pm.
I would like to thank all those on the ride for making it such a fantastic day. We had a great day, a good cycle and even had the weather on our side.
Groundskeeper. John.
