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
It was a most excellent day out. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing, except, perhaps, being stuck on a garage roof.
Interesting, I read that you were going to Drumlanrig last week, but had no idea where it was. And discovered it accidentally last Tuesday. I had a job in Dumfries that morning, and took my bike. I had a vague plan to go to Mabie or Ae, but after my job I felt just like having an easy ride and set off along smaller roads to Sanquhar. I knew about the castle, but choice of forest trails and cycling museum was a nice surprise. Just did the shorter blue loop as I did not want to miss my train.