Day three, Saturday 4:th of June, one could really feel the previous days in the legs, luckily
the plan for the day is to take the route in Innerleithen, no 10km ride to get to the trail! :)
The weather had now changed and there was a grey overlay in the sky and the temperature had dropped a bit, perhaps a good thing since there were some major climbing on the agenda.
There was a "local" bike race going on, got a flyer but forgot what it said, think it was a charity race around the area, rider passed by for at least an hour.
Back at Alpine Bikes to pick up bikes from service, the great discount had to be taken advantage of! :)
More familiar views fron the start of the climb in Innerleithen.
The first climb before getting here is a real challenge with tired legs!
Waiting for the photographer to get set up further ahead. =)
Another familiar spot! First time for others. I rode down the steep section and got my first and only flat tire, got a snake bite on my rear tire...
More magnificent views during the climb.
A bit blurry shots in the woods.
Magical forests!
The track just kept going upwards, just like I remembered it. :)
Made a short stop to take a shot of the bike in a otherwise monochromatic surroundings.
Finally a snack stop! We got some directions for InterStellar from Andy but we were a bit uncertain where it started and had some discussions about where it might hide. It's supposed to be a pretty gnarly trail and it sounded worth looking for! :)
Well, there was a plan to climb up again after lunch so we kept going on for now.
More fine views when we started to get close to the top, the wether was clear enough to see for miles.
Quite gentle climb from here on.
Final "corner" before the summit of Minch Moor!
The concrete pillar was still here and the pile of stones. =)
Was a bit windy here so we didn't stick sournd for long, we also knew what fun(Plora Craig)
was ahead! :)
Took the time to immortalize the moment with my Reign at the top!
No shots from "Plora Craig" since it was way to much fun so here are some from the almost as good "Oh Deer"
Just flowing trails with sharp twists and turns where one has to look out so not to end up in the vegetation! :)
A short breather before the final part of the route.
View from the last decent, "Cadon Bank", just gets better the more times one rides it! Starts with three drops that just gets bigger as you pass them, then into a roller coaster style "humps" and into to the woods where the fun just keeps on going! At the bottom of some of the "valleys" one can feel how the bike compresses under the load and the fly over the tops! Pretty insane speed at times, should one crash I wish I had full pressure suit and full face helmet but I was having too much fun to worry about that. =)
The bridge we have passed so many times.
Street scene from Innerleithen. The final part is really a blast!
Here we had lunch and while waiting to get on with the afternoon ride some of us found a pump track on the backyard of the church.
Took a while to get used to and I suppose the big bikes we had was not so optimal, but really fun. Later we found out that the track didn't belong to the "public" but was a private track belonging to one of the houses next to the church! Oops... I hope we didn't upset anyone, dumme Schwede!
Niklas trying to look unaffected during the second climb of the day. ;)
New and old cone.
Making the best of the climb.
Had to use the flash in the woods, starting to get dark in there.
Jonas at the end of Taniel Hill just before getting out on the gravel quarry, where I got a flat in the morning.
Anders entering the trail after the road climb.
So tired that the camera just caught blur. :)
Still trying to take shots without flash, my poor Casio didn't manage to get fast enough shutter speeds.
After we went down Interstellar we bumped into some riders from Edinburgh, one of them managed to breake the chain so Per lend a chain tool to them as we kept climbing. They were in much better shape than we were! :)
Inter Stellar was crazy steep at some point, really nice, too bad we dinät have the strenght to ride it a second time, apparently I and Niklas managed to take the easier trail to the left while some took to the right and that was supposedly pretty gnarly, following a ravine and under some fallen trees and stuff. Must go back some time and try that too!
Over the summit the second time. More riders this time!
Then it was basically a copy of the last time but some of us got a private guiding to some other more down hill kind of trails, trying to remember what it was called nut my mind is blank, have to ask Per if he remembers. Really steep and technical, the Edinburgh bunch said they had never seen the track this dry before and it felt like one had full control all the was despite the trail characteristics.
Wish I had some GPS-plot of all the new tracks we rode so I could see where we were.
We ended up at the last part of Cadon Bank, that much I know. =)
I was completely exhausted by the time I got back,, just a quick shower and out for dinner, Fiko's again, this time I think everyone ordered starters and we got a few bottles of wine. :)
I took the Mega burger, not as much food as the Calsone but still plenty enough!
Another great day, so great to explore some "off the track" trails, starting to feel like a local. ;)
Fun to meet some Scottish riders, some of them was going to Åre later this year, hope they enjoy it!
We also made a visit to the local "pub" next to our house, it was by invitation only but nobody seemed to care, it got a bit quiet when we got in to the bar area but I think we blended in pretty well after a few beers and some whisky. ;)
Tomorrow, Sunday it's a early morning and a trip to Kirroughtree.
GPS-plot. Interstellar got registered at least. 5h. and 30min. Think it was like 6h for me, more than 40km.
Got some other stuff too.
A couple of shots from today's Wednesday ride.
Riding through Saxdalen:
The ride leader for the day had come up with a (evil) concept for the day, the plan was to visit several steep hills on the route, a sprint to the top, the "winner" rides down again and when the others climbing up meets him they turn around and go down too.
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