[Closed] Glenlivet red route

It's good fun. Climb is long but fine. Worth the trip.

Smooth rather than rocky.

great thanks really looking forward to it

The on site cafe makes it worth the trip!! Great burgers and cakes.

so ive read and heard like i say really looking forward to it

any tips while up there shortcut

its a blue route and not woryh the climb imho.

its a blue route and not woryh the climb imho.

It's certainly very straightforward. I wouldn't come from miles away to ride it but then it's not my favoured kind of riding. If you like nice views, pleasant rather than challenging riding and a good cafe then it should be right up your street.

Turn up, ride it (blue and red together). Have good, go to the Castle Whisky shop in Tomintoul. Try whisky and buy some.

That's about it really.

Its definitely fun, not much tougher than the blue other than the greater distance. Burgers are great there!

I've not ridden it yet, but was chatting to a bloke out on the Moray Monster trails the other week who reckoned it was the closest thing to skiing on a bike that he'd ever experienced. Sounds worth a trip to me.

Nothing like Laggan, Golspie etc. However, I would go with the skiing comment above, it is definitely one to ride fast and flowey.
I rode it some time ago with a chap who spent more time in the air than on the ground, and can testify that he was having a ball.
There is a rather impressive drop in, that the gentleman in question styled big time as he proceeded to land near the bottom - very impressive.
Would I ride miles to get to it - absolutely. If you are coming up from the south there are loads of great natural Cairngorm trails to supplement it, and laggan is only about an hour away to add to the fun.

If you stay close by it's okay I don't think it worth a car journey to get there. It pretty much a path through the woods which has loads is switchbacks, It is more a blue grade not a red, however it's a lovely part of the world and the roads driving up to there are pretty amazing.

What bike you riding it on? Hardtail perfect and up to 140mm full susser would be fine. Anything more and you'll just steam roller it all. Be prepared to crank it a fair bit to keep the speed up as it feels like you are either climbing or traversing, no major downhill type sections I felt.

If I was passing I might pop in again but though it a fine enough blue/red but defo not a red.

Going up with family as got a cabin in Tomintoul so got other things planned. Seems fine for what I'm looking for as just recovered from knee op. But tired of glentress red and already done Golspie black/red. Be riding ma 130mm trance x 29er.

Ok, so it's not red like dalbeatties rocky sections or like Innerleithen's caddon bank drop offs, but it does offer an achievable but challenging climb and a long fast flowy singletrack descent which doesn't burn it's altitude too quickly...
Think of it as Minch Moor with just a tad less speed but loads longer.

FYI - everything is easily doable if you have even a modicum of skill (and don't slow down to check it out because it's your first time round), just be ready for a tight left hander just after you break into the woods at the start of the descent!

All this grading needs sorting out properly - how can Sherwood Pines, Cannock Chase, Dalbeattie and Kirroughtree all be Red graded?
We need to split the distance and skill level into two separate categories with defined classifications for trail obstacles/grades and then an average classification of the entire route (ie. one drop off in a 20k route does not a black route make!)
If a route is mainly Blue for instance - let's say everything is rollable for now - then the grading would be blue, with detours to red and black sections not on the main route. Dalbeattie manages this well with the qualifiers it has for the slab.

Nice route - fast and flowy. However, the one or two rocky sections sort of catch you out as they are "out of place".

All this grading needs sorting out properly - how can Sherwood Pines, Cannock Chase, Dalbeattie and Kirroughtree all be Red graded?
We need to split the distance and skill level into two separate categories with defined classifications for trail obstacles/grades and then an average classification of the entire route (ie. one drop off in a 20k route does not a black route make!)

As for Glenlivet? Try telling the people wheezing and pushing up the red climb that they are on an overblown "blue" route. The ones who have overshot the corner mentioned above or the "blind" drops which even the MBUK guys thought were badly placed 😳

Would agree however that for those of us living hours away it is only worth going to as a weekend or longer holiday taking in other attractions.

Going up with family as got a cabin in Tomintoul so got other things planned. Seems fine for what I'm looking for as just recovered from knee op. But tired of glentress red and already done Golspie black/red. Be riding ma 130mm trance x 29er.

[quote=Trekster ]The ones who have overshot the corner mentioned above or the "blind" drops which even the MBUK guys thought were badly placed
Not just me then.

Thanks guys totally agree with the grading after blasting down glentress red many time thought I was Steve peat then did fort William red with cable car pickup and some of that certainly did test me to my limits. As for glenlivet that's for the tips on blind spots and their certainly looking forward to it.

scotroutes - Member
Trekster » The ones who have overshot the corner mentioned above or the "blind" drops which even the MBUK guys thought were badly placed

Not just me then.

Some pics;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27084274@N08/sets/72157637315533686/

MBUK team;
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/10676530794_45c354dd17_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/10676530794_45c354dd17_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/27084274@N08/10676530794/ ]Glenlivet mbuk[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/27084274@N08/ ]john_henry_mtb[/url], on Flickr
Just after the "blind drop"

Was up today and agree with pretty much everything said above. Legs still sore from that 3 mile climb.
Red is definitely a red. The main red line of the big descent is not that technical but the overall length of it is a proper challenge. Black sections are unnecessary and seem totally out of place in the feel of the trail. Most people will never hit them blind and they only encourage some to stop and check them out from below, as I found out coming over the final couple of drops only to startle two guys with the camera phones standing in the middle of the trail.
Favourite section was the first long descent of the blue, total Star Wars speeder bike stuff.

I finally got round to riding it at the weekend.

First the uncontentious stuff; the burgers are indeed excellent 🙂 The beef comes from the butcher in Dufftown and the one I had was lean, full of just the right amount of pickles and relish and cooked to perfection.

As for the trail itself; I can't agree with those who say it's just a long blue route. OK, there aren't too many rock features (we have Laggan for that) but some of those that are there would be out of place on a blue route and I still experienced a few WTF moments sticking to the red line (mainly because the rocky stuff kind of catches you out). Nothing you can't roll of course but enough to keep you concentrating I thought. I had one interesting moment when I popped the saddle back up for what I thought would be a pedally section, only to hit a step down.

The climb is a bit evil too. All the way up I was thinking "this is great". Some ramps to keep it interesting with flatter sections to get your breath back and nothing that required the granny ring. Perfect, I thought. Then I hit that last loose ramp up to the start of the descent and I was very glad I had the granny ring after all.

Overall I thought it was great fun and was indeed the closest I've come to skiing on a bike. The main problem, for me, is that it was 1:15 in the car to get there, so that was two and a half hours in the car, for what turned out to be 1:43 of riding. More importantly, I have to drive past a number of other great places to ride in order to get there. So, despite the burgers, I doubt I'll be going too often. I hope it thrives though.

The main problem, for me, is that it was 1:15 in the car to get there, so that was two and a half hours in the car, for what turned out to be 1:43 of riding.

You are allowed to do more than one lap ;).

It's a nice change of scenery - but I agree that you're driving past or away from a lot of Aberdeenshire's best to get there.

Last time I was there, we had a group all about the same speed and it was great fun chasing each other down the descent. Knackering - a lot of pedalling to keep the speed up - but a lot of giggles.

So the recovery is going well?

You are allowed to do more than one lap ;).

I know, I blame the burger. It was delicious, but I wasn't about to take on that climb again straight after eating it.

So the recovery is going well?

Not too bad thanks. Back to see the physio tomorrow. Sixteen weeks after the crash and I still can't lift my arm above my head. It's getting a bit old I can tell you (and making me even less comfortable doing anything that could result in another break), but I can ride, which is more than some poor sods, so I aint complaining.

The blue is good and gets better the faster you go. The blue downhill start and the final blue downhill sections are the best and you are definitely grinning as you break out of the trees into the trailhead area. It flows a lot better than the red. I have ridden it 2 weekends in a row combined with a bit of riding on the natural trails. I'm starting to feel at home on the bike after all my Spring upgrades. I did a 21 mile loop on Saturday and the drive home was weird as I took a few miles to stop shifting my weight and leaning as I approached corners! Defo like skiing! My only gripe is the final section of uphill red before going back on the blue. It's boring!

Red been done in under an hour now!

The guy is injured at the moment as well!

Red been done in under an hour now!

Sorry to be a pedant but no it hasn't! 46 seconds less and that statement would be true...

Depends which strava segment you look at for the red. No matter, JY is predominantly a DHer and has a seperated scapula just now which is why he is doing tame stuff. He told me he could do it and I doubted it. He reckons that 40m is possible. I don't think so but if anyone could it would be him. I now have to get within 10 minutes. That's gonna take a summer of pain 🙁

This is why strava is bad, riders on a mission to get the best time cutting corners shouting at those in their way whilst on their timed run.

The ones posted in the cafe are the 'official' ones apparently. I was surprised the EWS rider wasn't a bit faster. Tobias Woggon was there on Saturday.