Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Just got back from a week's break at Dumfries (well, near Dumfries). All the family went and 'cos Cubester had a bruised piriformis muscle ( rugby injury) he wasn't up for cycling until midweek. We spent the first three days doing various walks of various lengths in various forests, and on Thursday decided to see whether he was up to a longish ride,. Cubette has been struggling with confidence over off-road riding so we took her to do the blue route at Mabie. It was all over too soon and in truth a bit featureless but we made up for it in the skills park where she did some berms and rolled the dirt jumps. She decided to try the step down/drop-offs, and really got into it.
Next day Cubester and I set off to ride the red route at Ae. The guy in the shop hinted that it was a bit steep and rocky, but bloody hell! Not ideal territory for a XC hardtail even with wider higher bars! It was as much as I could manage in terms of technical riding to be fair, but I rode stuff I wouldn't have dreamt of riding last year. It was a blisteringly hot day and we ran out of fuel and fluids, both hitting the wall at the 75% mark, arms pumped to hell, blisters on the webbing between thumb and palm, sunscorched and dehydrated we hit the blue descent for he last 5km. We both declared the red route the best we had ever ridden, every inch a challenge with adrenalin aplenty.
Saturday we were washed out. It hammered it down all day and only came good around teatime, so a couple of hours walking the dog in Dalbeattie forest before a curry takeaway was all the fun we had that day.
Sunday then we took Cubette to Dalbeattie. The way she had ridden the skills park showed me she was braver than she gave herself credit for, so we rode the taster loop out to the blue, and got her up and running on that. The blue at Dalbeattie has some techy little stretches of singletrack, with some "getting on for red" features to play on. All very rideable and she came out of one section with rock gardens and steps grinning from ear to ear. She expressed disappointment she had bottled one particular descent, and so we took her back and showed her how to let the bike run though a rocky chute, and she went back and nailed it twice more.
The last few km are back on the taster loop, where there's more and more features. She loved the wall ride, where she and Cubester sessioned it for twenty minutes.
The last km is a balls out techy little descent with loads of step-ups and rock gardens, and each time I had to work hard to clear one I half expected to hear a clatter and wail behind me, but to her credit she rode every single one. She was so pleased with herself she was in tears as she told her Mum all about how well she did when we stopped for lunch. Even Cubester was grudgingly proud of her.
An afternoon back at the skills park in Mabie rounded off a perfect holiday, with Cubette hammering the berms and dropping off the big red drop-off like a pro.
Downside? Her forks have packed up completely and she's buckled her back wheel, so here come the upgrades............
Next day Cubester and I set off to ride the red route at Ae. The guy in the shop hinted that it was a bit steep and rocky, but bloody hell! Not ideal territory for a XC hardtail even with wider higher bars! It was as much as I could manage in terms of technical riding to be fair, but I rode stuff I wouldn't have dreamt of riding last year. It was a blisteringly hot day and we ran out of fuel and fluids, both hitting the wall at the 75% mark, arms pumped to hell, blisters on the webbing between thumb and palm, sunscorched and dehydrated we hit the blue descent for he last 5km. We both declared the red route the best we had ever ridden, every inch a challenge with adrenalin aplenty.
Saturday we were washed out. It hammered it down all day and only came good around teatime, so a couple of hours walking the dog in Dalbeattie forest before a curry takeaway was all the fun we had that day.
Sunday then we took Cubette to Dalbeattie. The way she had ridden the skills park showed me she was braver than she gave herself credit for, so we rode the taster loop out to the blue, and got her up and running on that. The blue at Dalbeattie has some techy little stretches of singletrack, with some "getting on for red" features to play on. All very rideable and she came out of one section with rock gardens and steps grinning from ear to ear. She expressed disappointment she had bottled one particular descent, and so we took her back and showed her how to let the bike run though a rocky chute, and she went back and nailed it twice more.
The last few km are back on the taster loop, where there's more and more features. She loved the wall ride, where she and Cubester sessioned it for twenty minutes.
An afternoon back at the skills park in Mabie rounded off a perfect holiday, with Cubette hammering the berms and dropping off the big red drop-off like a pro.
Downside? Her forks have packed up completely and she's buckled her back wheel, so here come the upgrades............
). Have thought about a full susser but have no room, no money and thus just the one bike at the mo. My biggest fear are drop offs rather than steep descents although I have never fallen opn a drop off but have on a steep descent (Go figure 
). Glad to see your confidence is back. I hope mine will soon follow 
(yes i come off ending up down a steep bank)lol BTW some top pics 
