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Off to Dumfries & Galloway for a week in the van tomorrow before heading up to Fort Bill for the WC. Staying nearish Galloway forest park.
Plan is for us to ride some of the 7Stanes. She hasn’t done much riding the last few months due to training for the London marathon, though she smoked me up a climb the other day and wasn’t even breathing hard at the top which was some what depressing, but her technical skills need brushing up. She’s coped with Glentress Red before but that was a year ago.
Any recommendations as to which order of Stanes / trails to do them in as a good progression?
Also recommendations for good cake vendors and infact restaurants etc appreciated, and anything else worth seeing!
Ta.
If you've got the Red at Glentress under the belts, then the D&G Stanes are all largely at a similar-ish level technical-wise.
Glentrool (Blue, but it's got an ace descent to finish on and is properly out in the wild feeling) and then Kirroughtree are the obvious 2 to start with, especially if you're based out that way.
Dalbeattie (longest @ 16m) and Ae (probably the climby-est but superb off-piste) are the two to build up to, if that's the game plan.
They're all great - we locals can get a bit blasé at times at just how well we've got it having all of these trails on our doorstep.
What a brilliant way to spend the week - enjoy!
Oh - obligatory 'also check out Drumlanrig' while you're up mention too; it's a very different trail to the Stanes (costs more to get in though), but it's great as well. Older style, rooty singletrack and hardly any fireroad at all on the Red or *Black routes.
(*bar a handful of off-camber rooty bits, all of which can be walked or pushed round, the Black at Drumlanrig truly isn't much harder than a Red, just longer).
Dalbeattie is fairly for a newbie tbh, Drumlanrig is good in that the first mile is probably as hard as it gets really.
Kirro red is lovely, but has definitely lost a bit of its attraction due to the place looking like it's been napalmed.
Just got back from a week in D&G. Such a beautiful place when the sun is out, as it has been.
Did nobody mention Mabie? The red loop is great fun and very flowy, with a few rocky bits which can be taken with caution. Not too long at 17km and under 500m climbing.
There's some brilliant twisty off piste trails there too, not too severe but probably not right for your other half.
Snap from last week...
Glentrool followed by kirroughtree red as you're out that way for progression. If more Dumfries then mabie then dalbeattie (but it's a bit brutal if you're not feeling the techie love). Newcastleton definitely more friendly but getting away from where you're based.
IME Dalbeatie red can be a bit too "walkie" for proper beginners. Even ones that can manage all of GT red.
Mabie is closer in technicality level but not as fun but still has the odd slightly more difficult (rocky) bits than GT Red. (GT red has easy chicken lines/options on pretty much any technical features)
Drumlanrigg is more natural but fairly flat with actual roots etc (unlike GT red). and has ONE corner repeated and mirrored all the way round. If you can ride that style of corner there's nothing too difficult there.
Ae is technically fairly easy but not all that much fun.
Is it too late just go to GT and do the Red lots of times? 😉
Agree with geex that Dalbeattie is a bit much if you're rusty, it's proper nadgery in places and really pissed me off the first time I rode it.
Kirri red and Mabie are the most straightforward, Ae is simple enough just rough at the end. The big switchback climb in the middle is great if you're fit, I really enjoyed it last time. Drumlanrig is excellent too, red isn't too technical, but is really nice, more like the woody off piste stuff at Cannock than a trail centre.
Never ridden glentrool, but if you're staying near Kirri it's probably worth a go. I normally stay near Dumfries bso haven't been over to kirri for years and years
In terms of progression (skills, not fitness) ... Glentrool, Mabie, Ae, Drumlanrig, Kirroughtree then Dalbeattie.
In terms of fitness ... Drumlanrig, Mabie, Glentrool, Ae, Kirroughtree then Dalbeattie.
Btw, Kirroughtree is based on the Black route as ... why the heck wouldn't you do that when you've gone that far?
Thanks for all the advice, we are coming up from the West Midlands so I’m not that bothered about a bit of a drive around D&G to get to places I wouldn’t otherwise get to ride.
Going to be based by Loch Ken so pretty central for most of them. Glentrool followed by Kirroughtree or mabie sounds like a good starting point.
Sorry for the post jacking. Me and my lad are having a few days in the area doing roughly the same thing... Are the off piste stuff around Mabie, AE and kirroughtree easy to loop into the red routes?
Not really, mabie possibly the easiest to combine. Ae off piste is pretty much all around the dh area. I dont think the off piste stuff at kirro is as good as the marked trails tbh...
Are the off piste stuff around Mabie, AE and kirroughtree easy to loop into the red routes?
Do you use Trailforks? Look for the off-piste near the top of Descender Bender at Mabie - there are five good trails on a compact bit of hill there.
You can then finish on "New Zealand" and ride round to Elevator for a brief climb and the final descents, or just go back up and ride the whole thing from Descender Bender.
At Ae there are plenty of off-piste tracks near the DH runs (don't miss "Turn Down for What") but IMO better stuff is over on the hill that the first red climb (Rab's Slippy One) goes up. Check out Quarry Trail, RMS and Scrambled Eggs.
End of Scambled Eggs takes you back to the trailhead/start of climb, pretty much.
mabie is pretty gentle. Took my eldest round it without any issues.
I've not done the stuff on that side t Ae yet Stace, think I'll go down one night next week.
then the D&G Stanes are all largely at a similar-ish level technical-wise.
This is a bit surreal. Almost as if I'm reading a different thread from other people.
Kirroughtree are the obvious 2 to start with,
Crickey. I would have put kirroughtree firmly at the end of the list. Fair enough it's probably fifteen years since I was there but mcmoab and the rest of the black was proper tricky.
Agree that Dalbeattie also has some gnadgery sections. My son gave up early on that route, which doesn't happen often.
I’ve not done the stuff on that side t Ae yet Stace, think I’ll go down one night next week.
I climbed up Tod's Ticker (IIRC) to access the trails I mentioned, seems the LBS crew do the same as they caught me up and let me join on their ride.
Fair enough it’s probably fifteen years since I was there but mcmoab and the rest of the black was proper tricky.
Kirry red would be great for the OP's needs, the black has some fun tech surprises but most can be ridden on sight on a modern geometry bike. My SolarisMax was in it's element there last weekend.
I'll be honest I don't bother with McMoab.
Update:
Did Glentrool to warm up. About half way round Ms O_H_H announced that it was a bit boring. Went to Kirroughtree, did the red, walked a couple of the rockier bits but then quite frankly I failed misery to pedal over some of them. She smoked me up the climbs, turns out 6months of marathon training is better than 3months of not really riding my bike... my legs fell off a lot.
Going to Mabie tomorrow, Drumlanrig weds for riding, castle and cake, and then Ms O_H_H has a training aeration at Dalbeattie on Thursday, so I’ll prob have a slow pottle about Dalbeattie Thursday as well.