Glentress | New Trails and Great Trails

[@neilmcauley7750]

Great vid, I'm planning a trip up to glentress in the next few weeks, this is perfect

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Ah cheers mate. Hope you enjoy it buddy 👍

[@grahambush3524]

Great trail recommendations, thanks Jamie. Tried most of them today and had a great time!

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Ah nice. That's great to hear. Cheers buddy 😁

[@rossjacksonmtb]

Great video Jamie. Love Glentress- think I still prefer the old trails to new so great to see some featured here 👍🏻

[@streetpigeonmtb]

So many good trails at Glentress 👌

[@Mtbcaelan]

Great to see an honest progression and a local mtber to me. Absolutely flying 🔥🚲

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Ah, cheers buddy. Really appreciate that 🙏

[@craigdunn7305]

Mate I absolutely love your videos. Keep them coming ❤

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Cheers Craig. Really appreciate that 👍

[@darrencooper4251]

Great trails you was smoking 🔥💪 out there great stuff keep them rolling 🏁👌👍

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Thanks mate. No plan on stopping yet 😁

[@nathanross8459]

ran the off piste at the weekend. wet up hush hush made for some dodgy riding! you were flying, love it.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Thanks mate. I have a real soft spot for the off piste at GT. So many good trails!

[@ab_mtb]

Love thunder struck, prob my favorite trail at GT. Totally agree regarding maintenance on the "offical" trails. Official trails at GT have always had that "that'll do" feel to them. Really don't like what ever they have used to build the new trails. If u get off line at all, your into rubble. The surface at tarlands is much better

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Careful. Apparently giving an honest opinion about trails is very triggering for some 🙈

[@ab_mtb]

@@streetpigeonmtb 🤣🤣 what isn't these days. Keep up the great work mate. Great vid as always

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Cheers buddy.

[@stevenfyfe585]

Great lunch at the Riders Retreat hotel. Thank you the recommendation

[@streetpigeonmtb]

No worries buddy 👌

[@andylanigan5267]

Always good to see some GT off piste stuff Jamie great wee vid. I've got Mazzas on atm and they've done me proud but going back to Minions (they are eyeing me up in my shed) as they have never let me down. A real shame about the new trails I was there last week and nearly wiped out due to rocks and shail sadly someone wasn't quite so lucky and took a ride in the air ambulance 😢

[@streetpigeonmtb]

That's rubbish Andy. I'm really dissapointed at the lack of maintenance on the new stuff. Especially as we are heading into the busy season! At the end of the day, people are going to spanner themselves. It's not really good enough 😕

[@stevenfyfe585]

Lunch at the Riders Retreat hotel was great today , thank you for the recommendation New menus item , fish finger hot dog

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Not had that one yet. Dirty fries are really decent 👌

[@MindfulTrailBiker]

Thoroughly enjoyed your Friday ride squire. That’s 3 new to me off piste trails for me to try, cheers for the heads up and the low down on those. Shame about the condition of the flow trails, I remember they opened them on a weekend of a storm last year. Probably didn’t get the best start from a longevity perspective, hope they’re fixed soon. Tyres change is an expensive experiment, I tried schwlabe before and hated them, £100 down the toilet or hassle of eBay selling, think that’s why most stick with preferred brands. The spesh tyres that just came on the Eeb seem pretty good so far, don’t suppose there’s much bad rubber around these days. Superb edit!

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Cheers Jon. Glad you enjoyed the edit! Looking forward to getting a ride with you. Would love to show you the off-piste at Glentress. There is so much!

[@MindfulTrailBiker]

@@streetpigeonmtb let’s get that date booked in dude!

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@MindfulTrailBiker hell yeah 👌

[@DrFaroon]

The OG.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

👌😁

[@simonhull5581]

First time there a few weeks back. The new trails were ok, but just the same every time down them and as you say, could with some maintenance. We found some of the older trails and definitely impressed with those. Mild peril one of them possibly? If we were to go again would try to ride with guide of some sort. Thinking of doing golfie next time, never rode there yet.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Mild peril is very good. If you liked the off piste you will love the Golfie. The next vid is from there actually 👍

[@mscustomlures]

Stayed in GT pods on may had a mega weekend with the weather. Rode inners, Golfie and then GT before leaving on the Sunday. Twitcher definitely needs some maintenance although it looks like that gravel patch they've put in the braking bump on that berm has got larger since then so maybe they class that as ongoing maintenance 😂 Golfie could possibly be one of the best places in the UK to ride downhill/enduro imo

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Ha ha! Yeah, the Golfie is ace. So good! Next vid is coming from there. Glad you got some solid riding in 😁

[@mscustomlures]

@@streetpigeonmtb we've got some brilliant trails in Wharncliffe and win hill off piste in the peak District if you ever get down this way

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@mscustomlures cheers buddy. I hope to get to all these places one day 🙏

[@TrailTrackerSwitzerland]

🔥

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Cheers Darren 🍻 👌

[@GoingDownhillMTB]

The new trails are a welcome addition, but they get som much hammer they're getting quite blown out. The natural trails are so quiet these days.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Yeah, I've noticed that.

[@dougieloughridge]

I was recommended Mazzas for my hardtail. Really liked them so went for 2.6 eMazzas on the Eeb too. How did you find the carbon bars? (Great video).

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Carbon bars have been great. More compliant than my alloy so all of a sudden the chatter I was struggling with has gone 👌

[@richardhuntington1393]

Didn't realise there's so much off piste stuff at Glentress, hope it's easy enough to find, riding there on the 19th and 20th of this month.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Very easy to find. Honestly, this vid doesn't scratch the surface. There is so much good off-piste stuff 👌 Get on Trailforks 😁

[@MTBScotland]

Quite a few different trails but the climbs back up from them suck ass 😂

[@richardhuntington1393]

That's why I'm taking the ebike 😂

[@diggagt3574]

Tried Steep & Loam twice, spent more time off the bike than on it. Properly sneaky line.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Yeah, it's surprisingly tricky, especially if you overcook those corners!

[@diggagt3574]

@@streetpigeonmtb Ponduro looks worse, but my success rate on it is way higher - I get down it, one way or another. Steep & Loan is deceptively tough.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@diggagt3574 yeah. Ponduro is tricky though. Especially one wee section near the bottom. I always just point and hope for the best 🤪😆

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Was this filmed last winter?

[@streetpigeonmtb]

😆😆😆 Nope. Peak scottish summer, 2024. Aka, two weeks ago!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

@@streetpigeonmtb Actually I have had a lot of wet rides here in Italy.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@bestdayevermtb2 yup. That rain is getting around at the moment!

[@f-godz3342]

Weird that they'd spend so much on new trails and not budget any maintenance. Wonder what the thinking is?

[@streetpigeonmtb]

It blows my mind. I just don't get it. Such a shame as the trail design is so solid. Such a missed opportunity IMO.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@andrewcunningham9256 yeah, that's not maintenance IMO. I rode Tarland one year later. Trails are effectively like new. 17km of flow trail kept on top of with regular dig days. It can be done. With Glentress the trails are just left to degrade. No one is expecting every trail to be bowling green smooth, but likewise, no one is expecting to get injured in cave-sized braking bumps on Twitcher. I mean, they haven't even finished the signage for the new trails, let alone kept the trails in reasonabke condition. It's poor no matter how you look at it.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@andrewcunningham9256 now it's just you being purposely antagonistic Andrew. The fact is, people are getting injured on Twitcher. In the last month I know of at least two folks that needed assistance down and one MRT call out to an unconscious rider. And yes, I am a half decent rider. So trust me when I say that Twitcher is no longer a red due to the condition. Ironically there is one person in this thread who clearly has an agenda. And it's not me. One final note. I put a survey up on one of my socials and asked folks whether they thought the maintenence of the new trails was being well managed. The results, if you are interested: Yes 4% No 71% Not sure 25%

[@ChrisWood-z3n]

Shame to slate FLS and encourage people away from spending money in their facilities when you're profiting off their free facilities so regularly. Why not use your platform to encourage people to attend volunteer dig days, promote DMBIS etc, set one up even rather than belittling the staff who are underpaid, have no training and are already over stretched.....?

[@streetpigeonmtb]

I do use my platform to promote TVTA and other dig days. I have used my platform to promote DMBinS. I give money to the TVTA and helped out on dig days before. I have absolutely done my bit to promote mountain biking in Scotland. At the end of the day we need to be able to speak up about the apparent mismanagement at this FLS site. I am not directing this at individuals because ultimately individuals' hands are tied by organisational policy and process. However, the reality is something so much more positive could be created here. Community dig days, further investment. It has been done elsewhere and could be done here. I also want to add that I don't think you could say that I've discouraged the popularity of Glentress. If you look through my socials and previous videos I have continually encouraged folks to ride here. Indeed, this video encourages people to visit the area. So apologies if you are an employee and I've upset you. However I still feel that FLS need a more progressive plan for this location before it gets so run down that peope avoid it.

[@allandoyle9550]

Some thoughts on this. “Glentress” doesn’t have dig days anymore. Not for a LONG time. The FLS trail fairy project ia pretty much dead. DMBinS have no say as they are not attached to FLS in any way. They merely share a government building. They have no remit to intervene. The TVTA do not operate inside the FLS boundry in Glentress forest. They have on occasion, but only when specifically asked. The forest is also managed by FLS for Scottish ministers making it public land which under SOAC 2003 members of the public can use said land for business and recreational pursuits within a set of strict criteria. Regardless, You-tubing at this level, I can tell you without any doubt and absolute certainty is NOT profitable or profiteering. Also popular creators bring immense value to the Tweed Valley and other areas in general despite what folk like to think. A citation (from you) on why FLS are not trained or budgeted for maintaining trails would also be useful to the conversation. Given the above shortage of “free” labour, this does seem to support Jamies comments? Not saying I agree with Jamie on not, but your hyperbolic comment is not useful in making any kind of point. If any of the above is incorrect, I reckon any reasonable person including Jamie may re-think their comments? Glentress is an incredible asset to the public, businesses and stakeholders of The Tweed Valley. But the forest and it’s management should never be beyond criticism. Play nice folks 😊

[@ChrisWood-z3n]

Totally agree its a "management" issue and it's right to highlight. Ultimately the issue is way above local management it's down to how these projects are funded, a massive lump sum is put up by government and handed to contractors, but it falls to staff and volunteers immediately afterwards. You tread a very fine line when you're a "public figure" and you're totally right to highlight flaws, it just didn't seem constructive or point to any solutions. 100% you're allowed to be frustrated and it's not upto you to fix, I guess it's just balance that's hard to find, even more so when you've been such a champion of the development previously.

[@MTBScotland]

Dude the trails were falling apart within a week of them opening. Commenting on the lack of maintenance is completely valid given the history of glentress. Spooky wood used to be a nice ride but it’s just full of holes now. There is no point in spending millions on cabins and trails if they are not going to be maintained. Who wants to travel to trails only for them to be fucked and unenjoyable.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@ChrisWood-z3n hey Chris. Fair point regarding the solutions. In retrospect, maybe I should've been more proactive in my dialogue, but a vlog didn't seem like the place to get into it. For the record, I love Glentress. All I want for it is to succeed as I genuinely believe that it could be one of the finest locations to ride in Scotland. I really do believe that with the right management we could make this area benefit everyone. MTB could bring in tourists. Those benefitting from MTB could perhaps put money back in to fund trail development, with trail work being done by trail associations and community groups. It could be a location with a sustainable infrastructure that would benefit all. My criticism comes from frustration at the management of Glentress and is not directed at individuals. I hope you can see that 👍

[@Adasrast]

Thunderstruck it’s also my favourite trail in Glentress 👍🏻🚵🏻‍♂️

[@streetpigeonmtb]

It's a classic for sure 👌

[@DAVEYNESS]

What's the drumnbass tune at the beginning??

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Hey man. I don't know off the top of my head. I get all my music from Epidemic Sounds so that it can be used without copyright strikes. There is some half decent d and b in there though 👌

[@DAVEYNESS]

@streetpigeonmtb enjoyed your vid cheers 🤙

[@streetpigeonmtb]

@DAVEYNESS thanks mate 😁