CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Sport
"Crown Estate wheels out mountain bike trails plan"
(15 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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"Park planners have approved a Crown Estate proposal to build two trails near Tomintoul, including one of the longest single-track descents in Scotland."
I wonder if there will be a ski style lift put in place for the lazy MTBers. Most I see on full sus bikes push them up hill rather than cycle up.
Posted 12 years ago # -
We were walking from Stow (on the A7) to Innerleithen on Sunday, and we saw a few cyclists up towards the top of Priesthorpe Hill. They were going the Opp way. We saw them again hanging out at the bike shop in Innerleithen, when we reached the town. I was reminded how fast they desend.
Posted 12 years ago # -
This is probably a good thing for places like Tomintoul. There needs to be something to attract more people and a wider variety of people, walkers are all well and good but often as not they drive up in the morning and drive home with out spending the much needed money in the local businesses.
My mate and I used the SYHA in Tomintoul in August the hostel was basically empty and the town had the air of a place that was dying. There was one little shop a couple of empty b&b's and a small pub attached to the one remaining hotel. We counted another 3 fairly grand hotels that were closed and probably had been for a while and the aforementioned b&b's this was a Friday night in late August. There were also a whole load of empty housing and that was just from a ten minute walk on the high street. Aviemore is continually expanding and was mobbed but that side of the national park was empty.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I wonder if there will be a ski style lift put in place for the lazy MTBers. Most I see on full sus bikes push them up hill rather than cycle up.
You need to try riding one of the big bouncers, they weigh the same as a small person, the wide tyres and soft suspension makes them very hard work to ride.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"the town had the air of a place that was dying"
Well it's famous for being the first place cut off by snow every year, which isn't perhaps the most positive image!
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Objectors said the centre, which will be two miles from Tomintoul, is too remote to have a positive impact on the village..."
Glentress - Peebles = 2.4 miles.
"... questioned the viability of the business with fears bad weather could see the area being inaccessible for several months... "
Several months? I know they get more snow, but several months? Might as well not have a ski centre at Glenshee...
" ... [worries about] the effects on existing tourist accommodation business."
Er? What? Exactly how can more people coming and wanting to stay have a detrimental effect on the area's existing tourist accommodation business which, as has been pointed out above, is in fairly serious decline...?
And the first comment:
"The reason people hike to the Cairngorns is because they can get away from the rat race. they dont go there to mountain bike. By adding access paths for biking you are going to ruin the peace and quiet , and its going to encourage idiots to take their motorbikes up their [sic]"
I'm not entirely sure Laggan or Glentress or Ae or Mabie or any of the other big centres have a particular motorbike problem. And as for ruining the peace and quiet, the cycle tracks will be completely separate from the walking tracks. Glentress is a good example - you can go walking there, one of the busiest MTB centres in the UK, and not see a cyclist save for on the fire road heading up to the trails...
Bleurgh, NIMBY-Scottish-smallmindedness-dinnae-change-anything-let-us-die-in-peace
Posted 12 years ago # -
I do wonder if the commentators have ever been to some of these places or if they just drive to the bottom of the Munro and "bag" it.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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Interesting that the Scotsman has filed this under "transport", rather than something like "business"/"economic development".
The economy up there is pretty much farming, whisky and tourism, so you'd have thought that anything that can assist in that would be welcomed. There may be a perception that MTB'ing may conflict with the other tourist draws of walking and stalking, but there's a lot of hillside up there.
There are some great quiet roads near Tomintoul and a real opportunity to promote both MTB and road cycling.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Aye the roads round there are fairly quiet considering and the ride down from The Lecht is fantastic, the ride up to it is horrific! But if you can attract more people there is some fantastic road riding to be had on that side of the Cairngorms away from Aviemore and the A9.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I don't think that where these trails are quite counts as the Cairngorms (although it may be in the NP?)
There already seems to be some kind of cycling provision there (marked 'Cycle Trails' on OS maps).
Quite an extensive network of trails in the wider area already:
http://www.glenlivetestate.co.uk/cycle.html
http://www.glenlivetestate.co.uk/Glenlivet_Cycle_Trails_Map.pdfPosted 12 years ago # -
Anth"And as for ruining the peace and quiet, the cycle tracks will be completely separate from the walking tracks. Glentress is a good example - you can go walking there, one of the busiest MTB centres in the UK, and not see a cyclist save for on the fire road heading up to the trails..."
I agree with Anth on this point. I also hill walk and we tend to cut through woods but don't exclusively walk in woods as unless its well signposed its difficult to navigate as tracks are always changing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Glenlivet estate already advertise over 60 miles of waymarked mountain bike trails.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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