7 Stanes Tour - Newcastleton, 19th June 2005
Welcome to the first instalment in the Loosenutz whistle stop tour of the 7-stanes.
We start at Newcastleton which under went the 'Stanes' treatment late last year.
As usual we had a very early start - which was unfortunately a little too early for some, since the local McDonalds in Kingston Park (Newcastle) didn't open until 8am (bugger)!
So with hungry bellies we set off
for Newcastleton. We travelled via the A69, to Brampton, then took
the B6318 and the B6357 before arriving
1hr 45 mins later in the little town just inside the Scottish borders.
1st things 1st, we needed some breakfast, and to the delight of our stomachs we found a great little hotel - The Grapes Hotel, who were kind enough to rustle us up some food. The hotel is situated right in the middle of the town and had some excellent facilities.
The owner
informed us that he has some bunk bed accomodation at £20
a night including breakfast (plug - plug)! So if you are looking to
stay a bit longer this would be a great place to base yourselves as
it is within easy driving distance of several of the 'Stanes' sites.
After a good bit of nosh it was off to the trails! Arriving at the car park it was easy to see where we needed to set off from, since everything was well signposted.
The 3 of us prepared the bikes
and got changed. After putting on the most hideous (and downright
gay) jersey we have ever seen, Andy D finally
gave in to peer pressure and changed to something a little less gay
(albeit a jersey which struggled to contain is 'ample' stomach!).
After having a laugh at him it was time to start pedalling.
Following a small hill out of the carpark, you reach the trail heads. All the routes start from here, and as it was such a small climb we decided to start on the skills loop. This is a short practice area which prepares you for what you'll meet on the real trails, and it was certainly a good laugh. There is a little North Shore area to have a go at, and with our limited skills, we were impressed that we could actually stay on it (it was about 4ft wide afterall!).
Our plan for the day was to start with the red route as this was the longest and most technical, and then move onto the 2 blue routes.
The red route is a real barrel of laughs with lots of little jumps and berms and bridges. It also has a little North Shore in places which is quite hard to ride when you are not used to it.
The first bit of
North shore on the red was near the start where a nice bridge traversed
a lovely looking stagnant pond of brown water
- you certainly don't want to fall off there.
After completing that bit, the trail follows the hillside and drops you down via plenty of switch-backs.
All of us had a great time!
Without the benefit of the masses of altitude available at the likes of Glentress, the trail builders have really had to use their imagination to get the most out of the available terrain - and they've certainly come good!
Short steep climbs and long bermy descents with plenty of natural (and man made) jumps, the trail builders really have managed to ring every ounce of fun out of the landscape.
Andy H was on his new steed which we have to say is a lovely looking bike (Commencal Meta 5.3). Andy was originally riding an Epic so this is a big departure from that bike as the Meta has loads of travel. Andy was flying round in his usual style until a gear problem brought him to a halt, this was easily solved but led to the local midgies gaining pints of english blood!
The red route then doubles
back on itself leading to a much more open bit and this is when the
real fun began.
Both Andys' did their usual disappearing act up the hills and left me bringing up the rear. In my usual overconfident manner I'd told Andy D that i'd kick his butt on the hills, unfortunately the plan backfired and I struggled to keep up wiht the fat fast git!
We then moved onto the last bit of the red and this was where we found the best trail!
After turning right off the fire track, the route climbed through the forest before opening out onto a cleared area. The track turned left and the gradient got a little steeper. We followed this track, and took in the new singletrack area which the trail builders had obviously been working on, before rejoining the fire track.
Following
the excellent sign posting, we then turned right, and headed back
into the forest. Unfortunately for us, the track was again headed
in the 'up' direction, but it was well within our capabilities!!!
Near the top, there is a view point, which on a good day can provide
panoramas
of the border country.
The trail then headed downwards, and what a fantastic trail it is! There are great jumps and berms, and if you could carry loads of speed then you could get some cracking good air and a great buzz! There is one section that has 3 large rocks to jump one after the other, and if you timed it right you ended up with a 6ft jump - mountain biking extreme!
When we reached the bottom of the trail we were back at the start of the red.
Time for lunch! The trail took us 2 hours but as we were stopping taking pictures all the time it could probably be completed in about an hour if your feeling fit.
After some lunch back at the car, (and me having a play with my RC car!) we headed up again and started on the Linns Blue route. After about 3 kms, the signpost dissapeared! At this stage we all looked at each other and said lets head to the red!
The blue route takes in
some lovely views but really is just a forest road ride, so there's
nothing to do except enjoy the scenery. This
would be the ideal route for families and less experience riders.
Back to the red which was easy to find and some more fun. Andy H screamed ahead and left us for dead and Andy D pulled out the usual gap on myself. However, Andy D did confess to having an off, but it wasn't serious by the looks of it, and was more down to a bit of brain fade than any other action. After completing the red route again it was time to clear off and get a well deserved pint!
All in all we had a great day, the weather was outstanding and very hot at a mid 20 degrees C, the trails are great and are really enjoyable to ride. Just remeber to bring some midgy repellant and you'll have a fab time!
Take a look at our photos of the day!
