Video: Scotland - Land of the Brave?

 petition Rampage to invite me. We'll see what happens from there eh!

 The Rampage and Redbull broadcast is awful commentators. i´ll go Spotify on their as..s.es & mute the TV
UCI & Rob Wallner is perfect, good & fun to listen to.

 Thanks for the appreciation. Well, I didnt actually say it is in the Highlands (and know it isn't). I mention the Highlands to suggest that if the often fierce weather in the Highlands isn't to your liking, then the trail centres (eg, Kirroughtree) are a great option for some 'wintery' riding.. ie, all weather surfaces, protected in the trees etc. We hit Glen Coe afterwards to ride the Devils staircase Kinlochleven loop and got snowed out. Headed over to Glentress instead where it was sunny and warm.

 hope you didn't throw away your litter like you did at Kirroughtree

 It should be on everyone's bucket list. Dan Barham/Seb Kemp's current Bike feature captures it beautifully. Scotland is amazing. I go every year for good reason. I've even shot a big snowboard story up there for Transworld. But thats another kettle of salmon.

 Your really not helping our stereotype here...pal

 I must visit that trail centre soon. Its just too far.. 4 hours to Golspie and also 4 hours to Kirroughtree..

 Yeah its a long way Trauty. You have to make a weekend of it.

 Make a week of it.. hit the Kirroughtree, Mabie and Ae....

 Just a heads up, laggan's center has closed down until they begin construction on a new one in a year or two, but the trails are still good.

 and waterproof shorts.

 And big hairy arsed Scots who just man up. :-)

 And people who ride whatever the weather !

 Since the last high tide I think. I actually said if you dont like the weather in the highlands then the trail centres are a good alternative. I must write myself better scripts to avoid all this confusion.

 You should have seen where we travelled from.

 Now if we did that, what the heck would the squirrels have to play with after we left? I heard they scurry about at night collecting aluminium cans and recycling them into bike frames. Waste of time now of course as everyone wants carbon, so thats the squirrels out of a job.

 lol

 Me too. Anywhere in the world.

 Dan, have you ever been up to Balblair? Just along the road from Golspie, it's great fun. Not got any huge descents, that is what Golspie is for but it has plenty of slab rock and short technical descents. Definitely up there on my list of favourite Scottish trails.

 Sounds like Balbair needs to be on my next trip agenda then. Luvvin' the tech. Look out for an episode on Spain and one on Fabien Barel teaching me to kill it on the enduro scene in January!

 Its a brill challenge, cleaning the whole thing in one smoothe go. totally do-able and helluvalotta fun. And no coyotes.

 It's an acquired taste, but slowly it is taking over from Rioja.

 Why wait that long?

 A couple of hundred feet? are you being serious. Try doing The Glentress Black route or Innerleithens Minch moor then.

 i'm not talking about total ascent/descent accomplished within these routes i'm talking about altitude from sea level at 7stanes. a guy mentioned that everyone assumes all of scotland is in the highlands & snowcapped throughout december and (jokingly said) dumb/crazy to ride there in november. dalbeattie, mabie, glentress, ae most 7 stanes are in low altitude; very southern borders of scotland & i would encourage anyone to travel to ride there anytime of the year (unlike scots fortunate enough to live in mtb heaven!!). thats all i was trying to explain.

 fadgadget how do you rate glentress against the other 7stanes?? i & a friend temporarily living in dumfries will prob ride all of the 7 stanes eventually (did ae & mabie last month) but glentress bit more of a drive.

 Hi Mate. I was talking about the highest points at which you top out on.....EG, Innerliethen starts at 100 metres ASL and tops out on the minchmoor at 567 metres, whilst GT lies at 170 metres and climbs straight up to the transmitter mast at a height of 605 metres. Two big climbs, I'm sure you will agree, and both can be snow capped often in winter.
As for Glentress, well its my local TC and TBH, I don't go there very often as its a case of over familiarity breeds contempt I'm afraid, so I find it hard to compare it to others, I will say this, though, if you like fast groomed trails with lots of berms and not too much in the way of technical difficulty, then you may enjoy the red route. The black route is much longer and tougher with rougher sections of singletrack and technically a little harder(EG Deliverance) and you will find it much quieter too. If you value facilities and convenience the GT has it all, with the on site shop and café, and the chippy just a couple of miles along the road in Peebles. For me at least, the riding leaves me a little cold compared with Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Laggan, Inners, Golspie etc as its not technical enough, and being a selfish git, I don't like crowds. There is more to biking than the Seven Stanes, for example Drumlanrig, Glenlivet, Laggan, Balbair, Golspie etc etc. If its your first visit, then you will obviously see it in a different light from me.......so enjoy when you get there.

 I've hit Kirroughtree a few times now and it is always up there on my list of rides... it seems to have so much natural feeling flow, with enough good tech to keep it feeling less 'man-made'. Glentress red is great.. plenty of climbing, but the climbs are longer and so are the descents. Its kind of big up, big down and repeat, with a lot of berms and little jumps but not a lot of tech. Laggan Wolftrax is amazing for riding laps, climbing the jeep track and dropping down the black or red and repeat. They worked wonders there stretching out so many Kms of flowy trail from a pretty easy climb up. Ride several laps in one session. Black has some committing tech. Red is slabby but flowy. Then go hit some natural trails. Some of the best in the world up there... and great people, great whisky.

 You got a spare room? Would love to come to Portugal.. where should I come?

 come and i have accomodation for you, no problem with that

Sintra and Lousã you should visit, no doubt about it!!
could guide you too,
cheers

 It's the guy who does the EpicTV 10by10 questions or whatever it's called. He did one with Mark Weir, I remember it being pretty funny. But yeah, strange dude

 "Strange" is the new "normal".

 He pinch flatted his bagpipes and had to head down.

 shouldn't that be head doon?

great vid....

I head north of the border at least twice a year to ride. I was lucky enough to win a weekend cottage break via the 7stanes website. Extended it to a week and manage Kirroughtree (again...love it there), Dalbeattie and Mabie. So much quality biking in such a tight area.

Ae is next on the bucket list