Glentress itself is a very nicely laid out mountain bike park. A couple of painful miles to the top of the hill to prove how unfit I am, followed by some very nicely laid out downhill. Berms, jumps, and bridges taken at top speed. A completely new experience for me, since I'm used to mostly road riding, and my mountain bike is an ancient steel-frame unsuspended piece of junk.

The warning signs at the top were amusingly scary; talking about how people have had accidents on the trails, and some of them needed to be helicoptered out. As I get older I find I pay more attention to such things. When I was young I didn't know what broken bones felt like and would go stupidly fast for the rush of it. I still try to, but those warning signs are always in the back of my mind.

Rode the red trail today. Uphill was tough since I need new brakes and they were rubbing a bit, and I'm recovering from a chest infection. Mmm... Phlegmy... Downhill was almost as bad on a bike with biological shocks only. My hands are knackered, and I came within an inch of smashing my face on the bars a couple of times. Also missed one of the wee bridges and landed in a burn. Which was a laugh, though cold.

Lovely weather though, nice views and very friendly, helpful people riding today. Foyle's law: Whichever sport you do, there's always an 8 year-old in a helmet who's twice as good.

A+++++ Top fun. Would ride again!