Fort William getting ready for World Champs
August 31, 2007 on 10:31 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
A small town in the Highlands of Scotland gets ready to host around 700 of the best mountain bikers from across the world next week. The population of Fort William will double by drawing over 40,000 visitors throughout the week!
Good luck to the Scottish participants:
Ross Creber (under 23 xc)
Hamish Creber (junior xc)
Ruaridh Cunningham and Chris Hutchens (junior DH)
Ruth McGavigan (elite women’s xc)
Duncan Shaw (trials)
Still accommodation and tickets available on http://www.fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk/.
Jenny Glumoff
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Main activity sport climbing but love all types of climbing, surfing, mountain biking and hill walking!
Fort William local trail guide.
August 27, 2007 on 2:59 pm | In Mountain Biking | No Comments
Well we all know that Fort Bill is gearing up for when The Worlds kick off next week but for all those travelling and taking our bikes there’s a bit of a black hole if you’re looking for places to ride. The Forestry Comission’s Witch’s Trails are closed for competition from the 3rd – 9th Sep and I’ll probably end up with withdrawal symptoms and be itching to get out as soon as it kicks off; so if you’re anythink like me then a local trail guide would be handy… I’ve attached this guide for Fort William, aiming to provide you all with some quality alternatives in the area.
As a double, consecutive IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association) Global Superstar, Scotland is shaping up as the place to be for amazing mountain biking; so when you’re planning your trip, don’t forget to pack your cycle legs and some midge repellent along with the rest of your kit.
See you there!
Download the Fort William and Highland mountain bike trail guide.
Ben Thorburn
http://www.freeskiing.co.uk
Freeskiing and telemarking are my main sports but in the off season it's all about the mountain bike... that and a bit of hill walking and running.
Fort William Down Hill rocks!
August 16, 2007 on 3:33 pm | In Mountain Biking | 1 Comment
Last week me, Robin and Ben went to Fort William to test the tracks before the BIG event kicks off. I never in my life thought that I would actually go on the down hill; I wanted to do the Cross Country, but the down hill scares me just looking at it! Under pressure from Ben and Robin I did do both the cross country and down hill after all…
I wish I could say how tough I am and how well I did - but the truth is I was shaking so much I nearly fell off! It is a very intimidating track. Thanks to our two excellent mountain biking guides, Donald and Bob, from Nevisrange I did make it down. The track has got some steep rocky bits, drop offs, natural forest parts, roots and finishes of nicely with ”the wall”… No wonder the best mountain bikers in the world are coming to ride it on 3-9 September for the World Championships.
Ben and Robin were riding like professionals - well done! Although Ben had a close encounter with a massive root at one point ;-). I was tasting the mud after the very last rocky drop off, like 20 metres from the car park. What a shame!
It wasn’t only scary, it was also one of my best experiences ever! Imagine riding in the shadow of the mighty Ben Nevis (the top of the cross country trail sits just next to the Ben), with excellent views over the Great Glen. The tracks are also so extremely well built by Forestry Commission Scotland, it’s like a reward to ride them. I would advise anyone to have a go - but get the kit and a guide! The DH bike did make me much braver, as did the full body armour. Off Beat Bikes in Fort William have everything you need. I walked maybe three-four sections of the DH track and had no aspirations to ride all of it - I just wanted to enjoy and make it down. Next up will be to visit the World Champs and see how it’s really meant to be ridden!
Jenny Glumoff
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Main activity sport climbing but love all types of climbing, surfing, mountain biking and hill walking!
An Epic in the Cairngorms
August 10, 2007 on 4:25 pm | In Mountain Biking | No Comments
Wow! Last Sunday saw a crazy amount of rain in the Cairngorms. On the previous day, I had hiked high up onto Sgurr Mor with some friends on a beautiful blue sky day. But Sunday, on Sunday - the rain! Fortunately, such conditions are perfect for a bit of adventure mountain biking!
I took a couple of mates up Glen Quoich in the southern Cairngorms. We had an epic day! After a long, hard climb on a rough track, the trail levelled out. While this was a relief, it also meant that the trail became flooded to such an extent that we were regularly crossing pools of water 50 or 60 feet wide, not sure how deep they were or if they were hiding any surprises under the water!
After about 10 km, we reached the head of the glen and the point where the track crossed not one but two proper rivers! The water levels were up but we checked them out and deemed them safe to cross. As we hauled our bikes through the knee deep water, we were so wet we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Laughter won, just! Once through the rivers, we then enjoyed an even wetter but much smoother return down the west side of the glen. Lots of whooping as we sped through deep pools, hoping that we’d not get stuck in the deep mud at the bottom!
Emerging back onto the road, there were 3 beaming smiles as we realised we’d made it and that a hot bath was just 2km away. Cruising along the quiet road, we managed to spot 2 roe deer and a red squirrel sitting on the edge of the road. The mist and cloud swirled among the Scots Pine trees, creating a magical and mystical feel to the glen.
Despite having the worst weather of any day of our long weekend break, the three of us were in no doubt that this day of torrential rain had been the best. That’s one of the great things about mountain biking. And also one of the great things about Scotland.
Stevie Christie
http://www.wildernessscotland.com
Director of Wilderness Scotland & also of the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival. Into most mountain sports, esp mountain biking, walking, climbing and sea-kayaking.
MTB at Drumlanrig Castle
August 1, 2007 on 10:37 am | In Mountain Biking, Uncategorized | No Comments
I made my second visit to the mountain bike trails at Drumlanrig Castle near Dumfries last Sunday. For those of you with families / partners who are not into biking, this is a great place to come as there is a castle, craft shops and an adventure playground to keep non-bikers happy while you have fun on the trails. Even if you are riding with novices, it is a good destination as there are some nice blue trails which run alongside or close to red trails.
As I was there with a novice rider and we didn’t have a lot of time on our hands, we followed trails 5 & 6. Trail 6 is a blue trail with some easy riding but also some fun singletrack sections. Trail 5 is red but follows Trail 6 for much of the way. However, it has lots of little detours of red standard which provide an excellent challenge and a break from the more sedate blue trail riding, and these can be followed without leaving your partner for more than 5 minutes at a time.
With lots of natural trails such as the twisty Whirley Birley and more challenging descents such as Dr Evil, this route provides a refreshing change from constructed trails. I’m already planning my next visit to check out the rest of the routes.
And given that Drumlanrig is less than 90 minutes from Glasgow or Edinburgh, shouldn’t you be planning a visit too?
Stevie Christie
http://www.wildernessscotland.com
Director of Wilderness Scotland & also of the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival. Into most mountain sports, esp mountain biking, walking, climbing and sea-kayaking.
