MacRetro chat and rides thread
- Thread starter kaiser
- Start date
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Dave, his pal Stu and I have been to Glentress and found 2 of the hidden trails 
The first called 'Zoom or Bust' is not all that secret but is a great bit of twisty rooty single track that descends from near the free ride park to the start of the green run. Big smiles and plans to return.
We do not know what the name of the second trail is but as its as gloomy as the pie run a pie related name should be applied. This run is very technical, very steep, muddy and has lots of boardwalk. I felt it was a great challenge that I'm going to try again but with better tyres, mud tyres or something gnarly recommended. To get here you need to follow the black run from the radio mast and just as you cross the boundary wall, turn immediately right and follow the wall, often pushing through deep mud untill the trail enters the trees. From then on you've hit pay dirt but you need to know this is proper black grade difficult, I scooted along feet down quite a bit :roll: Finally your spat out on the blue trail at its furthest point. Recommended !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm off to the lakes this week but I can't be bothered to take a bike. Should I be desperate to ride I'll hire a bike at Whinlatter, other than that I'm doing the hill walking bit, hopefully finally reach the top of Catbells, have not succeeded since early 90's :roll:
Have fun,
Velo
The first called 'Zoom or Bust' is not all that secret but is a great bit of twisty rooty single track that descends from near the free ride park to the start of the green run. Big smiles and plans to return.
We do not know what the name of the second trail is but as its as gloomy as the pie run a pie related name should be applied. This run is very technical, very steep, muddy and has lots of boardwalk. I felt it was a great challenge that I'm going to try again but with better tyres, mud tyres or something gnarly recommended. To get here you need to follow the black run from the radio mast and just as you cross the boundary wall, turn immediately right and follow the wall, often pushing through deep mud untill the trail enters the trees. From then on you've hit pay dirt but you need to know this is proper black grade difficult, I scooted along feet down quite a bit :roll: Finally your spat out on the blue trail at its furthest point. Recommended !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm off to the lakes this week but I can't be bothered to take a bike. Should I be desperate to ride I'll hire a bike at Whinlatter, other than that I'm doing the hill walking bit, hopefully finally reach the top of Catbells, have not succeeded since early 90's :roll:
Have fun,
Velo
*Rubs Hands* Hmm, these sound interesting, especially Zoom or Bust - must investigate...
So as my mind and body return to normal after the madness of Kielder, I think I am just about ready to look at a bike again. This probably means that the Spesh will finally get a wash tonight and a strip down from unsatisfactory 1x9 mode. And going by the noises I was hearing on Saturday, I'm also convinced that some of that lovely Kielder sand and mud soup has gotten into the BB and done some damage.
So what've folk got going on this week? I'll be redoing the brake cables in pink on the Stumpy and get it into SS mode for Thrunton. Big eck's loaned me a flex stem to try (cheers big fella), so I'll be slapping that on too and seeing how I get on with it. In 2 minds whether to stick with the Mythos XC tyres that I've currently got on it, or pop on the skinny Panaracer Fire XC Pros - any thoughts from the massive? If there was one good thing to come out of Kielder, its that I really like those Panaracers. And hopefully by the time Sunday rolls around, I may actually be looking forward to getting out on a bike again.
A few random thoughts that I've been mulling over about Saturday:
If you've got no idea what the terrain is going to be like, assume the worst and take an appropriate bike. This may well rule out retro (but suspension will save your back, hands, sanity, etc).
Train hard on horrible routes. More lung busting climbs. Gentle bimbles around the Pentlands over similar distances won't do it.
Is it all really worth it? 5.5 hours effectively spent on your tod with your back in agony for most of that is not my idea of fun. Yes, there is a certain sense of achievement from gutting it out, but...
So as my mind and body return to normal after the madness of Kielder, I think I am just about ready to look at a bike again. This probably means that the Spesh will finally get a wash tonight
and a strip down from unsatisfactory 1x9 mode. And going by the noises I was hearing on Saturday, I'm also convinced that some of that lovely Kielder sand and mud soup has gotten into the BB and done some damage.So what've folk got going on this week? I'll be redoing the brake cables in pink on the Stumpy and get it into SS mode for Thrunton. Big eck's loaned me a flex stem to try (cheers big fella), so I'll be slapping that on too and seeing how I get on with it. In 2 minds whether to stick with the Mythos XC tyres that I've currently got on it, or pop on the skinny Panaracer Fire XC Pros - any thoughts from the massive? If there was one good thing to come out of Kielder, its that I really like those Panaracers. And hopefully by the time Sunday rolls around, I may actually be looking forward to getting out on a bike again.
A few random thoughts that I've been mulling over about Saturday:
If you've got no idea what the terrain is going to be like, assume the worst and take an appropriate bike. This may well rule out retro (but suspension will save your back, hands, sanity, etc).
Train hard on horrible routes. More lung busting climbs. Gentle bimbles around the Pentlands over similar distances won't do it.
Is it all really worth it? 5.5 hours effectively spent on your tod with your back in agony for most of that is not my idea of fun. Yes, there is a certain sense of achievement from gutting it out, but...
Some thoughts on Thrunton bikes. As its my local weekly riding spot I have a Thrunton specific bike. Last week I took the Goat in the same trim as Saturday and whilst it was good 80% of the time the rest of the time it was pants. I have riden old bike there lots of times and its all perfectly do-able but don't be shy of fitting V brakes, Discs and modern rubber to your old steeed for the day- you will enjoy it even more!
My Thrunton bike is fully rigid (440mm forks so a little higher at the front) but most importantly it has super disc brakes and the widest tyres I can stuff into it. It is SingleSpeed as there are plenty of rocks just waiting to rip off a rear mech (32/18 gearing is perfect as its more technical than flat out).
Tyres... Thrunton drains very well and there is little mud but plenty of sandy sections with wet roots and rocks. Pinch flats are common so going tubeless is not a bad idea as you need to run at around 30psi maximum to get the best grip. I'm currently running a 2.5 Kenda Nevegal Stick-E downhill tyre up front to give a little shock resistance and a 2.4 Conti Mountain King Protection on the rear.
Make sure your seatpost goes right down and you can get to your levers when hanging off the back.
Finally, if you have lights bring them. It can get pretty dark in there even in the day especially on Burnham Rocks and Traverse of the Dogs/Cresta run.
I'm going up there later this week in daylight and will get some pics so you can get a better idea of whats in store.
My Thrunton bike is fully rigid (440mm forks so a little higher at the front) but most importantly it has super disc brakes and the widest tyres I can stuff into it. It is SingleSpeed as there are plenty of rocks just waiting to rip off a rear mech (32/18 gearing is perfect as its more technical than flat out).
Tyres... Thrunton drains very well and there is little mud but plenty of sandy sections with wet roots and rocks. Pinch flats are common so going tubeless is not a bad idea as you need to run at around 30psi maximum to get the best grip. I'm currently running a 2.5 Kenda Nevegal Stick-E downhill tyre up front to give a little shock resistance and a 2.4 Conti Mountain King Protection on the rear.
Make sure your seatpost goes right down and you can get to your levers when hanging off the back.
Finally, if you have lights bring them. It can get pretty dark in there even in the day especially on Burnham Rocks and Traverse of the Dogs/Cresta run.
I'm going up there later this week in daylight and will get some pics so you can get a better idea of whats in store.
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
ZigZag, to get to Zoom or Bust, ride up the road by the free ride park as if aiming to go off on the black route. On the left about where the road turns right around the wall ride look for a signposted walkers path to the left of the road and go down this for about 100 yards. You'll see some trail going off to the left with rocks and roots, no hardcore surfacing. This is the start, have fun
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
- Locked
