Just a quick write up a very random mix of weekend biking.
The M8 traffic was kind to us on Friday night so myself, Graham, Robin and Ross all made it Glentress in great time. However, as it wasn’t dark at 6pm we had to invent new ways to faff (wheel build anyone?). Once it was dark we headed off and rode sections of the black, red and blue and we ended up doing three hours so it was a proper ride.
Glentress is good during the day but I think we all got an extra buzz from trying to tackle the same trails in the dark at speed. We stayed in the excellent Kailzie bunkhouse and enjoyed a few post ride beers before heading back out in the morning for a quick spin. It was agreed that we need to do more quality night rides, so I’ll try and get something in the calender shortly.
Robin on the Southern Upland Way
For a complete change myself and Robin headed to Dumfries & Galloway to do a more natural ride on the Sunday. Starting from the Mennock Pass on the B797 we headed up onto the Southern Upland Way towards Wanlockhead. The weather had improved and it was looking like a good ride. The trails had held up surprisingly well considering the rain. The views were fantastic all day, with great views across the strange scarred hills that make up this part of the country. However, as this area isn’t visited very often, a lot of the paths exist more on the map than in reality. This meant we were “off-piste” for a good part of the day, chasing feint tracks and generally getting confused. With a bit of knowledge (and a better map) it would have been easier to stay on the right paths.
There were sections of great singletrack, especially the final descent back on the Dempster road. If you like a good technical challenge with the potential for a long tumble then this is for you. The extra dimension to this ride is the industrial legacy that scars the landscape. Robin described the ride into Wanlockhead as “a post apocalyptic waste land”. Even if it is a post apocalyptic waste land, the tea room in Wanclockhead is first rate.
I would definitely go back and do more riding in this area. It seems fairly weatherproof and there are great climbs a descents to be had. I would say a 1:25000 map and a compass would be handy for navigation, as the larger scale map doesn’t quite have enough detail to make sense of the web of tracks and paths.
Apocalypse Wanlockhead
Yip, great place to ride. The Enterkin pass is like the dempster road, but much longer and faster, and you can start and finish at drumlanrig, making it a much longer ride.