Day 3:
By Carl-Nils Kuchenmeister
Now anybody who rides, knows that sooner or later your buddy’s are is going to mess with your bike and stuff. Some people can handle it while others can’t and have full blown thrombies if someone even dares to turn the rebound adjustment one click on their shock…boo hoo. We fall into the first group luckily. Now having said that, you have to draw the line somewhere…Dan (hehe! –Ed). At some point during the previous evening the punk had been busy screwing with mine and Harry’s bikes.
So there we are the next morning outside all dressed in our riding kit just about to jump onto our bikes when Harry discovers that both his shocks where totally deflated, I found the same problem on my rear shock…Nice. In the mean time Dan and Louise had left us for dust and where heading full speed to the Innerliethen trail centre where we where going to ride that morning. While I was pumping my shock up and having a good look at my bike to make sure that nothing else has been messed with I realized that my brake levers felt different…hmm. Upon closer inspection I realized what the problem was, my brake levers had been swapped round!! Later Dan said he was going to challenge me to a skidding competition once I had caught up at the trail centre….lucky for me I worked out what he’d done before I even got on my bike. I owe you dude…
So once our bikes where in working order again (sort of) and we had caught up with Dan and Louise, we headed up the Innerliethen trail which is a bit different to Glentress. It doesn’t have the same variety in grade of trails and the trails are a bit more technical, there is only a red route with a short black section that branches off for about a kilometer. I wouldn’t recommend the trail for beginner or inexperienced riders. The ride started off the way it ended -STEEP! The first 2 or 3 km’s was pretty much just climbing up some pretty sheer singletrack peppered with nice little chainring eating rocky sections.
After the initial climb things flattened out a bit and we all got a chance to get some air into our lungs, then it got flip moer steep again which suited me really because I like trying to push myself on climbs. I took the opportunity to get ahead of the rest and try and take some pictures. Although Innerliethen is only about 6 km down the road from Glentress the trails and scenery are very different, the trails are a lot more rugged and natural. I spent the rest of the meandering climb to the summit speeding ahead of the Harry and Louise tucked up behind Dan and taking every opportunity I got to push him off the trail into the bushes!
The hard slog up there was well worth the effort, because what lay before us on that very windy open Scottish hilltop was probably the best down hill any of us have ever ridden! The run started off as an open trail that wasn’t too steep and didn’t really seem like it was going to be much, but soon became very fast and really flowing, with very cool little rock jumps thrown in every couple of hundred meters. The best thing about the trail was really just the sheer speed of it, I was averaging almost 60 kph most of the way down no problem. Harry and Dan had set off a bit ahead of me and I was doing my best to catch up, but I was close enough to hear the odd “WHOOOOO HOOOOO’S” and “YEAH’s”. While I was approaching a super fast section with a tricky double rock jump I heard a faint whoo WOOOWW!! SH*T!!! …I got tothe scene and found Dan stopped on the side of the trail pissing himself but no Harry? Then I looked back at a tree that was situated at the exit of the corner I had just been through and spotted Harry fighting his way out of the tree he had just ploughed head first into.
After a quick check over we worked out he had gotten away with only a few scratches, bruises and some pine needle puncture marks all over his chin and arms. Pretty good going really! His bike was fine too, but obviously didn’t appreciate the extra abuse and paid him back about about a kilometre later with puncture number 6 near the bottom of the down hill. The rest of the trail was scattered with a few really nice very fast down hills and a pretty decent technical optional black trail shown below.
The very end of the loop was a super steep switchback section which had a series of pretty big drop off’s that as the sign at the top of the run stipulated required ‘mandatory airtime’…… they weren’t kidding.
Harry’s bike obviously still bitter about the earlier bail gave him puncture number 7 right after he landed the second jump. (Harry just wasn’t willing to compromise his grip with higher tyre pressures…you wingnut –Ed)
After all making it down to the trailhead safely we headed home for a some lunch and a well earned rest…and to plot revenge!
We had another short ride that afternoon on our favourite blue trail in Glentress. We where all sitting at the top of the second climb of the day and having some well earned munchies, which included some massively over sized jelly beans that Louise had bought the previous evening. That’s when Dan decided to lob one of them at my leg as hard as he could. The damn thing ricocheted off my left shin and then bounced off my already mangled right shin and if you have never faced the wrath of a giant Jelly Bean I can tell you that it sucks!!
After that incident, most of the remaining Jelly beans where used as weapons. The rest of the afternoon’s riding was pretty uneventful except for the compulsory puncture from Harry and my second crash of the trip while coming out of a fast bermed corner and sliding on my head for about 30 feet and twisting my handle bars in the process. (Which I’m sure where pre-loosened?!!-(I wouldn’t go that far Carl! –Ed))
We went out that evening for a pub dinner in Peebles at a nice little place called the Courthouse …which I’m guessing was a Courthouse back in yee olden days , even if it looks more like a church.
After a good meal and watching Uruguay cheat their way into the Semi finals of the World cup, I decided to give Dan some well earned payback by putting a crushed up sugar cube down the back of his shirt. Unfortunately that didn’t end so well for me because the punk then hurled a sugar cube at my head so hard it made me bleed and left a pretty decent lump. Two sugar related injuries in one day is pretty abnormal, I’d say!
Day 4:
Our last day of awesome riding in Scotland was spent just mixing and matching all the trails we liked in Glentress. Having spent a week of epic riding up in Scotland I can highly recommend the Glentress and Innerliethen trail centres, there is something for everyone to ride no matter what your skill level is and scenery is beautiful.
Thanks for taking the time to read and if you’d like to see more photos check our facebook page here
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