Glentress - ze overview

02/08/2008 by Missus Toast.

Well, we’ve been back from our honeymoon for a couple of days now, and we’re already missing Glentress. OK, we have broadband and our own fridge, but Leamington is so…flat.

Anyhoo, needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed biking north of the border. I didn’t attempt the red route - I was content to stick to the skills loop and the fantastic blue route, in an effort to get my confidence and basic skills up. I think it actually worked too - I even successfully tackled a skinny with a rocky finish:

Yes, I’m aware that a) The skinny is lower than a kerb, b) I look like a terrified hamster, and that c) I’m glued to the saddle. But that’s not the point! I gave it a go and didn’t die! Huzzah!

The cafe at Glentress, The Hub, is fantastic - really good food. Observe!

There was also a really good atmosphere there, with everyone talking about their rides, whilst sneaking covert looks at other people’s bikes. It’s interesting: the more you get into mountain biking, the more you look at bikes. Eventually, you stop looking at people and just look at their bikes, and end up branding them thusly: “Heckler dude”, “Yeti Guy”, etc.

On the penultimate day, I took some photos at the freeride park whilst Mr Toast decided to give it a bash. “Be careful!” I said, in a wifely fashion, and he said, “I will be, it’ll be fine!”. Then an ambulance pulled up, part of the course was sectioned off. Paramedics went in, paramedic came out, paramedic went back in with a leg brace, paramedics came out with broken freerider. Ouch.

Fortunately neither Mr Toast or I injured ourselves - yes, I even did some of the freeride course…gave the downhill boardwalk a miss though! Mr Toast tackled it with his usual aplomb though:

Aaaand here’s a few pictures of peeps that were a bit nifty at freeriding:

I’d really recommend Glentress to anyone who’s interested in mountain biking - there’s trails for all levels of ability, and loads of opportunities to hone and improve your skills in a controlled and pressure-free environment. And if downhill is more your thing, there’s the DH course Innerleithen just down the road, along with a black graded XC. One day, maybe!

Posted in Mountain Biking | 3 Comments »