Update on Kirroughtree trail conditions 30/12/09

Following the overnight snow and rain a slight thaw has set in today, the blue and red routes remain rideable with care as the previous post.

A check of the black route shows the open forest road sections to be soft wet snow and ice that is difficult to ride, if we get a frost it will become a difficult push.

On the single track sections of the black the parts under the trees are largely clear of snow but in the open a mix of wet snow and ice is very challenging and will be even harder if we get a frost you would probably end up walking some of it either way.

I suggest sticking to the red unless you are after an epic. McMoab looks very challenging!

Take care and remember snow and ice conditions change quickly, only ride if you have the experience to assess the conditions for your self.

Chris

Kirroughtree trail conditions 29/12/2009

Trail conditions at Kirroughtree yesterday were better than you might think, dont be put off by the frozen car park ( you need to park on the grass by the entrance). The access road is very icy, dont try to drive or ride it and some of the open areas a bit slippy but 80% of the singletrack on the red and blue routes is snow free

The rest of the trail has a light covering of wet snow

The forest roads are snow covered but ridable with care

The black route will have more snow but is probably doable though you may have to walk some bits.

We have had a light fall of fresh snow here in the southwest over night followed by rain at low level this morning, the trail should still be riding well but any patches of snow or ice could get very slippy if things freeze again.
If you want to ride over the new year Kirroughtree is probably the best option but only for skilled riders able to assess conditions on the day.
Have a great New Year
Chris

Trail Conditions Update for Glentress, 27/12/2009

Got out Boxing Day afternoon to check on the trail conditions at Glentress and took a few pics. Here's how it's looking at the mo':

UPDATED: 29/12/2009: a hard frost on Sunday/Monday nights has made the lying snow hard and icy - making the lower sections of trail that were rideable (see below), much sketchier to ride, with frozen tyre ruts to contend with (thanks v.much to Emma from the Hub Bike Shop for the update). Dusting of fresh snow Tuesday morning. Recommend waiting until the snow/ice thaws before coming riding.

Carparks: tarmac access road at forest entrance from A72 has snowy/icy patches. 7stanes carpark is shut. Osprey car park is open but take care as there's icy snow lying with some deep patches. Red Squirrel and Buzzards Nest car parks and access road to them are closed, due to deep snow.

Buzzards Nest car park


Trails: For experienced riders used to riding in snow:

The climb up to the Buzzards Nest car park is mostly rideable, but hard work - it has a compacted ride line developed which, at the time of writing is still quite soft under tyre.


Cardie Hill Climb - switchbacks just above entry

The Blue Route from the Buzzards Nest down is mostly rideable, though very slippy and unpredictable (Electric Blue, Good Game, Admiral). The snow is currently still quite soft (not hard ice). The Red/Black finish on Falla Brae has a ride line down to the normal trail surface developed in places but overall is still very slippy with soft snow.



Flyover Bridge on Electric Blue



Falla Brae - Red/Black trail just before passing under powerlines and into trees

Above the Buzzards Nest there are no defined ride lines and with the snow being so deep (1 foot+), riding is very difficult and it will be mostly pushing. Even the downhills will involve some pushing due to the depth of snow. Not recommended. The Skills Area, Green Route and Freeride Park are all too deep in snow to ride.


Top of Freeride Trails, start of Essentials Freeride.

Overall, for experienced riders used to riding in the snow, the Blue Route up as far as the Buzzards Nest and then back down again is the only real option. It will take you a lot longer than normal though and is very slippy. There are several bail out options on the climb, if you need to cut the ride short. For less experienced riders, it may be worth waiting until the snow goes before visiting. You can call the local FC Ranger on 07834 435380 to get the very latest trail conditions.

Note: the conditions may change from the above over the next few days depending on the weather. Be prepared.

Cheers,

Andy
(MTB Ranger)

Winter Riding at the 7stanes

Riding in wintry conditions is possible, but with it brings additional dangers which need serious consideration:

Colder, tougher weather - Be prepared. Having suitable winter riding kit and spare clothes in your pack is essential, as is having experience riding in wintry conditions. It’s physically much more demanding and you’ll burn calories quicker – make sure to carry enough food and fluids. When you stop you'll cool down quickly and it'll take longer to warm up again. Carry a survival bag/space blanket. A small group shelter is a very useful addition to your pack and can be used even if stopping for a short snack break (they’re not just for emergencies).

Snow on the trails - Greatly increases the technical difficulty of a given trail. Traction is reduced, steering becomes lighter and your wheels will slide around, often. Even fairly gentle climbs can become unrideable - be prepared to be off and pushing alot.

Snow on the trails also slows you down considerably! Think about this when judging ride times and plan in bail out options to cut rides short. 7stanes trails have escape routes back to the car parks on the waymarker posts but make sure you can read the trail map too - most waymarker posts are numbered and these numbers are on the trailmaps to help locate yourself.

Less daylight - in winter it's easy to get caught out, especially in the forest where many of the trails are under the tree canopy. A nightlight or headtorch is a very useful piece of kit to carry on winter rides.

Rapid changes in weather - riding at a trail centre is no different from riding in the open hills and is subject to the same weather. Be prepared for quick changes in weather. A sudden snow storm can rapidly make trails unrideable, reduce visibility and if combined with wind, will be very unpleasant or even impossible to ride in. Check the weather forecast before you head out.

Ride with a buddy/in a group - safer and more fun. Seriously though, it means if you do get into trouble, there's other people around to help. Important as even busy trail centres get a lot quieter when the conditions are wintry - another rider may not be along for several hours.

What's your route? - Tell someone what route your planning to do and when you aim to be back, whether going out on your own or in a group. If you get into difficulty, it'll make the job of finding you quicker and easier. Carry a fully charged mobile phone and remember that if you need to make a call to the emergency services, you should still be able to make it on your mobile even if it has no signal (calling 999 your phone is able to use any network signal available).

If there is a lot of snow, access into the forest may be very restricted for emergency services - it'll take them much longer to get to you. If you have a problem and have to stay in one spot, extra warm clothes/survival bag/group shelter could be a lifesaver...

More snow the higher you go - even if there is only a dusting of snow at the trailhead, higher up on the trails there may be several inches of snow. It will also usually be colder and windier. Be prepared.

Ice - Trail centres often suffer from this on the trails themselves from many riders compacting the snow into hard ice on the ride line. Wheels will slip away even quicker. Try to minimise sharp turning and braking. The ice will also stick around after the snow around about has melted away, especially in spots sheltered from the sun.

Black Ice - can make the trails/forest roads pretty much unrideable. Often occurs when ice has thawed then refrozen. Not always obvious to see and very dangerous to ride on..

We keep the trail conditions at http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ upto date. We also add additional info on the trail conditions on this blog site. Use this and check the weather forecast when you're planning your trip. You can also phone the local FC Ranger (numbers on the trail conditions page) to get the very latest on the conditions on the ground.

One last thing - the access roads into the forest and car parks themselves may not have been gritted and so may be very challenging to drive/park on. Drive with care. Some normally open forest roads and car parks maybe closed if too snowy/icy. The Buzzards Nest car park and access road to it at Glentress is often is closed when there's snow/ice.

Alot of things to think about, but do this when your planning/out on your ride and it'll keep you safer whilst still having fun on the trails.



For more general advice on the riding the trails check out the 'trail grades' and 'skills and riding tips' pages at http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/


Cheers,

Andy
(MTB Ranger)

Red/Black Route diversion at GT removed for Chrimbo

Hello,

The diversions that have been on the Red and Black Routes at Glentress have now been removed for the Christmas break. The harvesting (tree felling) works have been completed for now and the woods are looking really good - the contractors have done a great job with the thinnings.

There's still a fair bit of timber to be removed from the roadsides though so please look out for timber lorries if you're out on the trails and if you come across one please stop and wait for the operator to wave you through. A big log on your head is going to hurt!

We've not managed to clear all the brash off a section of trail at Ewok Village so instead have set up a short but very fun diversion that uses an old section of trail next to the dyke to bring you out at the start of Double X.

In January the machines will be back in to complete the thinning works, so the diversions will be up again then.

We've been well chuffed with how riders have kept out of the harvesting areas and stuck to the diversions during the works - thank you, it's been very much appreciated by the Recreation team but also the Harvesting team. It's kept everyone safe and allowed the operators to crack on.

cheers,

andy
(MTB Ranger)

Glentress wins 'Best Trail Centre' Award

Just got word that Glentress 7stanes has won the award for 'Best Trail Centre' at the 2009 Singletrack Magazine Reader Awards.

We're all super stoked about this, especially as there are several excellent trail centres across the UK.

Here's what Singletrack had to say about Glentress:

"Another perennial Award winner – by quite a margin as well. There’s still no beating this place’s combination of trails, café, bike shop, staff and facilities. And cake."

Thanks to everyone who voted for us and to everyone who comes riding at Glentress.

Thanks also to everyone who's involved in making Glentress what it is: FC Rec team, 7stanes staff and wider district FC staff, trail contractors, the fine folk at the Hub cafe and bikeshop, Glentress Trailfairies for the power of volunteer trailwork they do, Borders College Workwise Group for their help on the trails, Tweed Valley Bike Patrollers, Osprey Watch volunteers, Peebles CC who do great work with the Kids Club, Dirt Crit Series etc., and all the event organisers who work hard to put on damn fine events.

This award fires me and the rest of the team up to improve the quality of the trails further, to keep progressing things and to keep improving the service we offer to visitors.

Cheers,

Andy

Spookywood Descent Fettling

With the frost (albeit temporarily no doubt) out of the ground, Mark (fellow MTB Ranger) and I got upto the top of Spookywood Descent on Tuesday to do some resurfacing work on the 2 rock tabletop jumps.


Rock tabletop jump 1 runout before:

New surfacing raked and shaped, about to be compacted:

Surface compacted:

Wackerplates are a super effective way to compact a trail surface hard enough that it can be ridden on straight away, no bedding in period required. Unfortunately if there is too much/too little moisture in the material the effectiveness of the compaction is reduced. In our case it rained all day meaning the surfaces are still a little squishy (and it's been raining again all day today, sods law!). They'll firm up, but just need a little time to dry and harden. So we've had to close off the resurfaced sections to allow this to happen. Hopefully we should have them open for the weekend but with frost and possibly snow forecast for the end of the week, it might take a little longer. In the meantime you can get by the features no problem using the easier options on the right hand side. Look out for the signs and barriers, especially if your up nightriding!

18/12/2009 - UPDATED: We've had snow on Thursday and Friday, which looks likely to be around into next week - so we're going to keep the barriers up until the snow is away. Sorry about this.

The resurfacing work is part of our regular maintenance work we do on the trails. We've got a lot more maintenance work planned on Spookywood Descent over the next year and further ahead including:

• Regular deberming (puddle removal)
• Tweaking of some dips from outsloping to insloping (with pipe under trail for water to drain) to improve flow and reduce trail wear. With the Trailfairies
• Digger work: replacing the 'mini rollers' near the top with a tabletop jump; resurfacing the worn braking bump section 2/3 down
• Resurfacing spots where puddles are getting too deep to deberm

With the work we are planning, the aim is to ensure Spookywood stays in good shape and remains super fun to ride.

Your thoughts on this and anything trail related are always most welcome - just leave a note here or contact me at: andy.wardman@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

cheers,

andy

Hey guys!

Just to let everyone know that the trails at Dalbeattie shall be CLOSED next tuesday, 15th December for the day. This is to allow harvesting of one tricky wee corner which has all 3 bike trails passing next to it! Please do not go near harvesting sites, they really aren't mountain bike friendly places at all!!

Cheers!!