Reviews for The Black Trail - Glentress

Summary:
Another Great Trail at Glentress

Review:
I love the Red so much that despite having biked at Glentress quite a bit I had never got round to doing the black. In truth I did not fancy biking it alone as you are a long way from the road if things go wrong up there so when my bike club ‘the Woolybacks’ touted a trip up there I jumped at the opportunity. I had definitely missed out as the black is another excellent trail to boost Glentress’s credentials as a top notch Mountain Biking Centre.

The black is not a great deal more technical than the red but is a lot more arduous. To be honest a 30 km trail climbing up to 600 metres at it highest point is always going to be hard work but the big climb (Tower Ride and Shieldgreen Kipps) really is a grind. One of the technology enthusiasts riding with us said the height gain in this section was 227 metres over 3.1 kilometres so if you ride all the way up you are doing well. After the shelter there is a brief respite as you descend Britney Spears then a mercifully short but sharp uphill to the mast which marks the 600 metre high point. You should take a minute or two at the mast to admire the view or more likely shelter from the rain, don more clothes and scoff a bar or two as we did. Whatever you do, you definitely owe it to yourself to be fresh for the next bit as there follows a peach of a descent down Shane McGowan and Leithen Door which must go on for 10 minutes or so all told. The trail is variously natural and armoured but all of it is quality. If you put your mind to pumping the trail and flowing you barely have to peddle during this whoop of a descent. In fact you mostly descend by stages until the bottom of the redemption climb at about 240 metres.

After Redemption there was a diversion in place which cut out probably the last 2 or 3 kilometres of the black but I will certainly be back to do the lot as soon as I can. I think as a thrill ride the descent to climb ratio of the red is hard to beat and you could blast round it in about 1 ½ hours. The black is realistically 4 hours or so and a more serious undertaking but I loved it.

Summary:
Great trail. Tough ups, long downs but Ewok Village is no more.

Review:
In the past few years I've managed to do this trail twice. It's not everyone's cup of tea with the climbs being so long and steep and some of the descents being a little white knuckle in places. I'd have done it more but it's no place for beginners so, visits to Glentress often take in the Red route instead which is much more do-able for the majority of riders. Some day I'll be able to do the whole thing, full-belt, no stopping and no pushing but, so far that bloody climb mentioned in the description is just enough to force me to take a breather. It's tough and long... and bumpy too. Be nice to do it more often so it's less of a shock to the system. Best effort has me knackered for days!

Like others have said. Ewok Village is no more. Dunno why. Just is. Still a great trail without it.

Summary:
Superb Trail

Review:
Rode in January 2009 along with Ae, Mabie, Dalbeattie, Innerleithen & Kirroughtree. Then went back Easter 2009.

Proving that you do need to do some climbing to have some fun, this is an excellent trail.

When I rode it, it was very icy, which made the dark wooded sections even more interesting.

Some of the descents went on for so long I had to stop part way to give my arms a break!

The North Shore section about 75% of the way round provides some interesting variation, I cleaned most of it, but didn't fancy the see-saw. As of Easter 2009 this section had been demolished, so I've now pegged back my rating by a mark.

Summary:
Brilliant!

Review:
This trail is so good and full of technical features. Its just awesome. I love ewok village. If you havnt tried this trail then you have to go - Glentress is brilliant :D
Have fun!!

Summary:
Big and Hard

Review:
It is hard work up and down but that is what is so great about it. Do it!