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Post by hodgy on Feb 9, 2015 22:51:35 GMT
Well ..finally got it together and chose what will probably be my one and only MTB jolly away this year ..the fantastic Isle of Arran ..where there is some unfinished business
I'm delighted to be going with Dave& Jean ..who missed out last year ..and Colin BM ...who didn't .
This was the venue that I voted as my favourite riding last year .We will be doing 2 half day rides and "The Classic " ( full day ) which having visited twice before is yet to be completed ..however we won't have to dash for the ferry home this time !
Here is a taster of the Clauchlands route...which I would vote as the shit scariest descent I have done ...not for any technicality it has ..but on occaisions it gets mighty close to the edge of the cliff where an off balance wobble to the left gives you a nice 300' drop into the sea or rocks below ..where dying could seriously spoil your day
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Post by Jimbo on Feb 9, 2015 23:04:34 GMT
Looks great. Have a nice time and lots of photos
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Post by Chopper on Feb 9, 2015 23:21:07 GMT
If only ....if only i wasn't helping out at Tweedlove for the EWS i'd join you, looks good , enjoy
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Post by hodgy on Feb 10, 2015 7:35:22 GMT
If only ....if only i wasn't helping out at Tweedlove for the EWS i'd join you, looks good , enjoy And you would have been more than welcome Kev. There is not much left in the way of accommodation at the small hotel we stay at ..which is excellent ..a 10 min.walk from the ferry .The Glenartney.... One of the better rides is at the North of the island along the coast starting at Sannox ..with a bitch of a road climb to drop to Lochranza ..where there just happens to be an excellent distillery ... This is where the off road starts with a cracking climb over the top to drop down to the ruin at Laggan ..before a chilled trip along the coastal path .. If anyone ever heads that way the full selection of route maps can be found on the Facebook page for Arran cycle club ..they are free to download and excellent |
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Post by glynnsixo on Feb 10, 2015 16:42:41 GMT
looks excellent theres something about a cliff top ride. liking the soundtrack an'all
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Post by hodgy on Feb 10, 2015 18:31:49 GMT
looks excellent theres something about a cliff top ride. liking the soundtrack an'all Obviously that's the boys from Arran MTB Club ..but just like every other go-pro ..it's a hell of a lot steeper in reality ..including the drop to the side ..I took a wobble last year and remembered to fall to the right ..impaling my upper arm on the barbed wire fence ..still have the scar I can honestly say that as scary as it was at times ..I've never felt more alive ! Really looking forward to getting back again ... The music is by Queens Of The Stone Age or Them Crooked Vultures ...it's def Josh Homme 's vocal ... |
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Post by Chopper on Feb 10, 2015 18:35:42 GMT
No one knows QOTSA, amazin drums by Dave Grohl
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Post by glynnsixo on Feb 10, 2015 20:47:27 GMT
looks excellent theres something about a cliff top ride. liking the soundtrack an'all I can honestly say that as scary as it was at times ..I've never felt more alive ! Really looking forward to getting back again ... The music is by Queens Of The Stone Age or Them Crooked Vultures ...it's def Josh Homme 's vocal ... yep! when mrs sixo questions my riding motives I tell its to remind me im alive......not many better reasons than that. and yeh iv got a copy of the album, tho 'no-one knows' is the only track from it I play. I still prefer the classic 70s rock 
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Post by hodgy on Feb 10, 2015 20:50:24 GMT
I'm with you there !
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 7:34:04 GMT
Looks good, I also love that track too (QOTSA)
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Post by hodgy on May 3, 2015 7:46:32 GMT
Well only 21 days to go and we are now getting quite excited ..tinged by the fact that due to his recent horse riding fall on the African continent ..Colin is racing against time to be in any condition to ride ..although he has said that he will be coming anyway which is great news I've decided ( if this works ) to post up the 3 rides we will be doing while there ..2x half day rides on the Saturday & Monday ..taking into account our ferry crossings to get there and back ..and the Classic Route on the Sunday which will be my third attempt at finishing the ride as we have missed the last section on previous occasions dashing back to catch the ferry ...this time it gets done ! Day 1 ..arrive in Brodick at around mid -day ..drop off kit at hotel ..and straight out to do the Castle / Goat Fell route ..this is mixing the Arran MTB route with a route in Scotland Mountain Biking " The Wild Trails" Vol 2. By Phil McKane ...Vertebrate Publishing. These books have become our Old & New testaments when travelling over the border .. The route   For the most part it is following the Goat Fell route ..but then on the descent down ..cutting off for points 4 through to 11on the Castle Route Map . Day 2 The Classic Route   A fantastic route with some of Arran MTB Clubs " trail built " sections which are so natural as to be untrue ! Day 3 Another half day ride before returning home on the ferry ..that's if we survive the cliff top descent !   Apologies for the quality of the route maps & instructions ..I have them on a PDF format ..which wouldn't allow me to copy & post on here . If anyone wants to follow in our footsteps just send me a personal message with your email address and I will forward PDF copies to you Roll on the 23rd ! |
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Post by hodgy on May 6, 2015 15:14:31 GMT
Dave T ..who is also going to Arran has just sent me this by Email...knowing how much I love water bars ....NOT!
And one from Arran Bike Club..( Classic Route)
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Post by hodgy on May 15, 2015 4:03:43 GMT
Good to hear that ColinBM can still make it ...he has been out on his bike for the first time since his fall from a horse while on holiday in Africa .
He may not come on the rides we have chosen ..preferring something more sedate..and a strong rumour that he is bringing his rods ...but its always good to see the owld bugger !
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2015 5:31:58 GMT
Not long now Neil  bet your getting excited |
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Post by hodgy on May 15, 2015 5:44:58 GMT
Too right ....
First up though ..a terrific cheviot ride ..you will see what I mean by the pics ( if it's sunny!) ...sure you don't fancy getting up at 2.00am ?
You should also be looking forward to the Bowderdale ride on the 24th ...one of the best rides in England in my humble opinion....
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2015 5:57:12 GMT
Too right .... First up though ..a terrific cheviot ride ..you will see what I mean by the pics ( if it's sunny!) ...sure you don't fancy getting up at 2.00am ? You should also be looking forward to the Bowderdale ride on the 24th ...one of the best rides in England in my humble opinion.... Fingers crossed the weathers good for you guys yes pal shame we could not sort a date out for bowerdale loop  but still summer not over so we mite get chance to ride it together |
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Post by hodgy on May 19, 2015 11:12:21 GMT
Well this is almost here ...a bit of a mixed bag weather wise is being forecast ..sunshine & clouds for Saturday ..rain for Sunday ..which is the big ride ( typical) and don't know yet for Monday Caledonian Macbrane ..have been told by the Scottish government to reduce the cost of their ferry crossings ..and as such these have become very popular ( £ 37.00 return is almost half price ) ..to the extent that Colin who has decided to take his car ..couldn't get the times he wanted and is now staying somewhere on the Ayrshire coast on Friday night ( he has friends & relatives there) to get the 7.00 am ferry on the Saturday . Every cloud has a silver lining though as he is now meeting us in Hexham on Friday to take our luggage with him ..as we are travelling as foot passengers ( bikes go free) . We have a 6.30 am start to catch the 11.05 crossing which takes 55mins . This is the hotel we are staying in ( same as last year) they go out of their way to look after bikers with secure storage and a drying room ..with hot air boot dryers ! www.glenartney-arran.co.uk/mobile/Pics & report(s) to follow...can't wait !! |
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Post by hodgy on May 24, 2015 5:56:10 GMT
Day 1
Arrived at Daves 15 mins early ( 6.15am) ...having awoken at 2.00 am and then just dozed until 4.00am .
Lovely sunny day and made fantastic time to Ardrossan..just missing out on the 10.05 am ferry ...however it transpired that we wouldn't have got our bikes on anyway ..as we joined the line for the next ferry ..there must have been a roadie convention on the island ..coz there were at least 50 bikes ahead of us !
Colin was already on the island of course and a few texts went back and forth but the best news being that it was a great day weather wise .
We had already decided that we would not be going up Goat Fell ...Colin's healing injury wouldn't allow him to push / carry up there ..and it didn't seem quite right to leave him doing his own thing ..so we put 13 miles of exploring just some of the numerous singletrack trails in the grounds of Brodick Castle ..and hardly scratched the surface of what's available ...finishing off with a trip up Glen Rosa ..with the views getting better the further you went ...eventually the track degraded and there were just too many water bars to ride the bike for more than a few metres ..so we crossed over the river and headed back down a singletrack we'd spotted on the other side ..which again was stop start due to the width of the bloody culverts ( why can't they just put one slab over the top ?) ..it did eventually get better ...
Top marks went to yours truly for the best ( and only ) " off" of the day going OTB on a downhill section which had a stretch of wet mud on what otherwise was a bone dry track ..nowt really damaged though..just pride for looking a total tit !
A few pints and a fantastic Lamb curry in the Brodick Bar ..ended the day with everyone getting a reasonably early night for the main event ( the Arran Classic ) today .
Only an hour and a half to go before the fantastic full Scottish breakfast they do here !
We are really only here for the food and drink!
Pics will have to wait until I get back home ..it's been raining overnight but is due to be only cloudy for the rest of the day ....
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2015 10:38:48 GMT
Sounds fantastic Neil. I am very jealous.
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Post by hodgy on May 25, 2015 4:11:39 GMT
Sounds fantastic Neil. I am very jealous. Well don't be jealous ..just put it on your list of places to go with your bike and get there one day ...it's great . |
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Post by hodgy on May 25, 2015 4:34:19 GMT
Day 2.
The Arran Classic
After a huge Scottish Cooked Breakfast ..absolutely needed for body fuel ( !) we eventually got moving at around 10.30 .
It was mizzling so waterproofs were donned and stayed on all day with a sunshine and showers mixture .
The beauty of this ride is that you head down the drive of the hotel , turn left onto Tarmac go 50 metres and then the road degrades into rough track and you are on your way .
This is a fantastic route with just about everything you can think of from a mountain bike perspective ..fantastic views ..and every mixture of surface ..even a bit of Arran MTB Club's version of a "trail centre" ..which although man made is just so so natural !
This was my 3rd attempt at this route and the previous two for different reasons had us chasing the day to catch the ferry ..this time we had all day and night if need be and we weren't going anywhere until we had notched the elusive last section down Glen Cloy...and boy was it worth it !
Pristine singletrack that just begged you to ride it as fast as you could ..big grins all around at the bottom...
More food and drink last night ..superb but pricey Haddock & Chips ...but more about where we ate when we get back ..another full breakfast on the horizon ( I've gained 3 stone!) ..and then some cliff top dicing with death before heading back on the Ferry ..funnily enough I slept like a log last night ....
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Post by glynnsixo on May 25, 2015 8:53:50 GMT
It all sounds a bit brilliant! Sunshine and showers usually makes for dramatic scenery
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Post by hodgy on May 25, 2015 21:07:17 GMT
Got back about an hour ago ..well knackered ..so will do today's ride report tomorrow along with lots of pics to post !
I did however just want to take time to thank first of all Dave & Jean for transporting me there and back ..much appreciated and Barkin mad for putting himself out to take his car over which was mainly used to transport our luggage to and from the ferry to the hotel and back again ..he unfortunately paid the price for this generosity when one of the Calmac ferry's broke down and the 6.00 pm crossing was cancelled meaning that he didn't get onboard until 7.20pm then had a 3.5 hour journey ahead of him ..
It was a brilliant 3 days the rides are superb ..and should be a destination for every mountain biker living in these Isles!
Finally my thanks and gratitude to 3 fantastic people ..it's great to share these experiences with you ..
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Post by hodgy on May 26, 2015 4:25:15 GMT
Day 3
The Clauchlands Route.
Another massive breakfast under our belts ..bags packed , bill paid with thanks to our hosts and we followed Colin into downtown Brodick where he parked the car with our luggage and having retrieved his bike we set off on a mini road climb before turning off for South Corriegill and the Clauchlands .
The trouble with starting a ride at sea level is that you have to gain every metre climbed from a starting point of zero...inevitably this ( as the track turns rough ) leads to some pushing / hike -a-bike ..and in our case a grumpy Scotsman who hates taking his bike for a walk ( not least because this puts undue pressure on his recently crushed vertebrae ) ...mutiny was in the air ..all very quickly forgotton though as the ground levels and then turns into a fantastic descent !
The views from the Clauchlands ridge were tremendous with Holy Island on one side ...and views of Brodick & Goat Fell on the other .
Having quelled the grumblings and put a smile back on the face of our mutinous tartan freind..it was time for our cliff top descent ..the highlight of the trip for me ...and where we met the only two other mountain bikers we had seen over the course of the time we had been on the island ... The photo's don't do justice to how steep & close to the edge you really are ...and this all got a little too much for Jean when the track really narrowed and reduced her to walking the last very narrow stretch .
As Jean herself said it wasn't that the track was that technical ..more that the drop to the side was very daunting ..and having seen her clear stuff 10 times more techy than this I knew exactly what she meant ..if you have even the slightest touch of vertigo ...this is not the track for you !
In any case ..she tackles stuff that would have other women of her age ( ...errr 32...) quaking in their boots !!!
Dave was heard whooping on the way down ...so I guess he liked it ...and Colin like myself doing it for the second time just quietly took it in his stride with the minimum of fuss..
A large pot of tea ..and some of the best millionaire shortbread ever tasted followed in the Pier cafe in Lamlash
..before the climb back out on the excellent track to Fairy Glen and back down into Brodick brought our trip to an ( unwanted ) end .
It had all gone to quickly ...but we'll be back .
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Post by hodgy on May 26, 2015 4:39:29 GMT
Day 1 Waiting for the ferry in Ardrossan ..loads of bikes going over..mainly roadies   Breakfast Calmac style ...  Brodick here we come  Colin heading on one of the numerous marked trails in the grounds of Brodick Castle ( there are loads of unmarked trails too! )     The beginning of the trail into Glen Rosa ..it soon deteriorates into something unridedble !   The boulder/ water bar strewn return leg !  Day 2 & 3 to follow ... |
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bet your getting excited 
