More pix here.

It was the ride where every single thing went wrong, but we came out of it having had a blast anyway.

First off, we couldn't get our clothing right coz it was raining and cold and we were climbing. The anoraks came off and then got put on again. We just couldn't decide! Then shortly into the ride, I took a spill onto a rock. It was one of 'em really stupid spills where my back wheel washed out from a root, and I landed directly chest first (or pretty much hugging) this rock:


Grrr

My chest and ribs took a bit of a blow but in general I was alright. BUT my camera had taken a bash as well, so the entire LCD screen is buggered! I needed a couple of minutes to catch my breath so all was good. Still, the nerves were a little rattled after and my technical skills just went to pot. Obviously I was totally gutted about the cam though, seeing as it was a gift from all my best girls from my hen night. But I told myself I'd look into getting it repaired and it'd all be fine - It has a few new dings on it though.

Then there was that blasted section that freaked me out. It wasn't even very technical but my nerves were gone and I was being a wuss [insert chicken noises here]. Mo and Hubba totally knew where I was coming from though and were extremely patient - They wouldn't let me wuss out and said I needed to get over the fear to continue the ride. And I'm so glad I did really - Once I got down, I felt really bewildered and stupid. I knew deep inside I could have done it, but my body was totally rejecting the thought. Anyway, I felt a bit foolish once the deed was done and I didn't wuss out on any rideable segment on the rest of the trail.

Then there was the I LOST THE CAMERA moment. The husband wanted to get a shot of something and reached into my pocket to get it, when we realised it had gone! I abandoned my bike and retraced my steps. The boys did the same but on their steeds - They went all the way to the start of that section, but couldn't find it. So I told them to ride towards my bike and I'd join them in a bit... I walked it to the start of the section and RIGHT when I was going to give up, I saw my camera shimmering in a bush!!

I had one of 'em cartoon rub-eyes-blink-blink-am-i-imagining-things moments before picking it up and giving thanks. I guess in hindsight I'm overjoyed that I lost the camera, coz now I'm not that gutted about having cracked the LCD screen :)

Oh yeah, I stopped to pee in the bushes and accidentally got some on my shorts. Needless to say the wind was blowing cold enough to freeze it within a few minutes. Woopee. -_-

The rest of the ride was awesome. Epic. Friggin' monumental technical climbs against super strong winds. Descents so long my arms and wrists started to ache. Technical sections that were totally unrideable to me. Almost washed out a couple of times coz of the crazy winds blowing me out of the ruts...

And then there was that one long crazy section leading back down to the carpark that had me doing drops that were far more scary than that silly one I took ages to do before. I finished the ride on an absolute high, which was great stuff. The boys were totally psyched as well. The ride distance spanned only about 20km in total, but it was a black route and we took a good 4.5 hours to complete it. Ack!


download trail map here

So in summary:
- Took spill on rock
- Broke camera LCD screen
- Nerves rattled
- Freaked out on section
- Made myself complete section
- Lost camera
- Found camera but peed on shorts by accident
- Blistering cold winds + long climbs
- Longgass descent (8km)

Video later. Gotta get the Haggis on the hob...

'It is singletrack from the car park, curling steeply up through the forest to leave a (pleasant?) burning sensation in the legs as you hit wider bridle paths – some of them shared with other users – over more level ground in the forest. Bits are very dark, and very gnarly with lots of exposed roots and rocks and steep drops.'

Read more about Innerleithen here.


click to watch

click here to watch movie

I was tired this morning - Hardly the feeling you want to get when you're all pumped up for a good weekend on the trail.

It was tough - I felt my body drag itself around, refusing to react to any form of caffeine or sugar. I guess it was to be expected since I worked myself hard every single day this week, but I refused to give in to the feeling 'coz we were finally making it to Peebles for our virgin ride at the 7stanes trail, Glentress.

The first part of the ride was pure climbing and when the husband asked me how I was feeling, I thought for a second before saying, 'I'm okay'.

Truth be told, I was telling myself a great big lie and that I felt far from it. But I figured self-denial would stave away any form of negative thought for the afternoon... At least long enough for us to get to the fun bits of the much-raved-about red route.

And I must say it worked. In no time at all we were at the mouth of the famous Spookywood Descent and all revved up to go!

Glentress is, without a doubt, the best trail I have ever ridden in the few years that I have been biking.. Lots of switchbacks and the like, but accompanied by a load of berms and moguls that made for extremely smooth riding.

Everytime you thought you were losing momentum all you had to do was put your weight into a turn, get onto a berm and off you'd go. It was fantastic! Definitely thought of the warriors and the wayngelas all the way through and knew they would be absolutely lovin' it if they were on the trail with us.. Especially Waynetta!

(Mate, you're such a free-rider at heart. You would so love what this trail has to offer.)

We did Spookywood twice coz it was just so thrilling - And I managed to keep up with the boys on the second attempt, hardly touching my brakes. Even caught some air a couple of times and absolutely loved it! I think the second ride gave me some confidence to bomb down other sections after - Grrrrreat!!

It was sad to think I wouldn't ride the trail again. Better get a lot of rest tonight... And I hope I'm alright for another long ride tomorrow!


download trail map here

More pix here.