From Haggis to Hills

When my Mum and Dad said that we were going to Scotland for 2 days in November I couldn’t think of anything worse. I imagine Scotland in November being a mix of rain, more rain and a hell of a lot of wind......

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But I thought wrong. As me and my dad pulled up at the red bull car park, shadowed by ‘mt inners’, the skies were clear and it was even t-shirt weather! As a lot of you have probably seen there has been a petition on descent-world that has been signed by hundreds asking pleading for a chairlift to be put in, and for good reason. The push up is EPIC from the bottom switchbacks to the start hut, you wind your way up the hill, it even makes you start to think why you started this sport in the first place, and then you get to the top…
Fist off we did ‘make or brake’ from right at the top this time (the start hut). This track is classed as a red I think and involves tabletops, berms, doubles and many other features. Man this trail is fun, my dad was hooked. For people just getting into mountain biking this is the type of trail they need to be introduced onto, because I doubt they’d look back. Towards the bottom you hit some awesum switchbacks with rollers and fly offs taking you all the way down back to the car park. A quick refuel and back up you go, starting the epic trek up the hill again. Chairlift anyone? Someday…
Next track was the infamous nationals’ course; well at least I think I did it. This is named in conjunction with red bull I think and it’s a hell of a track. Out of the hut you fly over some roots and into the darkness, the overcast skies above me didn’t help in here either. Now the gradient drops, you’ve gotta pick your line carefully and watch for the off camber roots which nailed me into a tree.
Over a wall and out you come into the open down a steep rocky chute which you can air into. Hit the roadgap and land in complete darkness not being able to see anything, then just hold on for grim death blasting through the tunnel of darkness and hit a sharp left which takes you into a maze of trees which ping pong you around until you get it together. Some nice tight singletrack through the trees, traversing the hillside until you jutter your way down the lasts section of breaking bumps and out onto the fire road. Off a rock drop landing off camber and take a sharp left over some doubles and tabletops before hitting a awesum drop into the open, with a stadium like entrance. Fly down the straight and off the fly off landing somewhere near the take off of the next double. Straight over them in a blur and hit the gas over the last man made sections. Blast down the fire road skipping in and out of bus stops and hit the three big ass tabletops and fly into the last wooded section. Out of the infamous bombhole jump and fly through the tight switchback berms and sky the last few little kickers and your back at the car park to refuel. Me and my Dad repeated these two track as many times as we could manage to walk back up without passing out , I think we ended up going 5 times right to the top, which aint a bad effort for an old man. We went back to drop my dads bike back off at the hub café in Glentress, wow those guys have got it sorted there. It’s the best set up I have ever seen for a mountain bike centre. The shop alone is brilliant but the hire bikes are the best I’ve ever seen in the UK. Other places should take note.


I was only up in Scotland for 2 days so the second had to be spent doing something with ‘the family’ (yes how gay am I) But it’s not as bad as it sounds. I was guide for the day round Glentress trails. The weather had decided to try and drown us in the morning with my sis actually getting blown off her bike to eat concrete in the carpark! But we set off towards spooky woods along the steady climb up the fire road. The final part of the climb switchbacks up the hill and for this I borrowed my dads rental bike the Scott genius. One thing, that bike is actually genius. To be honest I don’t think those x country boys even have to be fit to do what they do with technology and such little weight on a bike! Joke. The wind was so powerful now that jumping was getting a bit scary but that trail is to much fun and the push up too big not too enjoy it to the max, regardless of the conditions. Pump your way down the whole track; rail the berms and air the tables before u get spat out into some awesum switchbacks. After all this we were so wet and cold we hit the escape route and headed back to the ‘freeride’ park. Now this places has had some effort put into it, with wallrides box jumps tabletops and ladder drops, but I can’t help thinking if they got a pro in to design it, it could have been made a hell of a lot better. A few runs over the box jump and off the drops and I called it a day because I could no longer feel my hands. So time to tutor the sister, firstly I managed to get her to go off the drops and she flewww of them from first to last attempt. After that she learnt how to jump properly on the tabletop line and I can’t tell you how impressed I was.

She had no fear and just went flat out into them nearly clearing some smooth. Finally I talked her into following me into the box, instead of rolling off the end she hit it too fast and hucked off it into a nose dive but just held it. I can’t tell you how dead I would have been if she nailed herself that time.
That’s about it, just one motherlord of a car journey home and tones of dirty kit to hose down, If you haven’t yet get yourself up to any of the 7 stanes you wont be disappointed I promise.