My son and his wife invited friends and family to Scotland to help them celebrate their 10th anniversary.I spent the first night in the small town of Peebles, jumping head first into Scottish life.Peebles sits along the famed Tweed River, the birthplace of flyfishing. The Tweed Valley is known for horses…and mountain biking!I just couldn’t force myself to eat everything in a Scottish breakfast. The beans and black were two of the very few things I didn’t appreciate about Scotland. One of the other things was the driving. Never quite got used to the narrow roads, driving on the left side and the constant roundabouts. Might not look like much from this angle, the Riders Retreat at Glentress was one of the best mountain biking experiences I’ve ever had.Glentress provided an introduction to trails that are uniquely Scottish: rooty, rocky, steep and open year round.Ran into a group from London while riding the black loop. The dark mossy forests are unlike anything I’ve ridden anywhere. Unfortunately, I had to leave this incredible spot ahead of the lads to get back before my rental Specialized Levo turned into a pumpkin. I forged ahead into a Scottish downpour and made it down the mountain. I found out later thru Strava that they nicknamed me “Hank” and invited me to the UK for some proper British riding. The chef at Riders Retreat talked me into trying the Haggis Poutine…and I liked it so much that I had it again for dinner the next day. I can’t recommend the Riders Retreat enough: Murray and crew provide the perfect place to enjoy mountain biking with a group of like-minded people. The view across the road from the Glentress Ride Center: remains of a castle circa 1200 in a field of sheep. The Glentress Ride center is a short ride on a rail trail along the River Tweed to the small town of Innerleithen, home to the famous Golfie enduro trails and no less than five bike shops!Witches and faeries abound in the forests of Scotland- but you won’t a single NoTrespassing sign. Glentress is one of the 7Stanes ride centers in Scotland, a government initiative to bolster trail construction and attract riders. Like everywhere else, as Murray told me, the system is not without its conflicts and issues, particularly with the Scottish forestry service that clear cuts large sections of the forest. Because of land access laws, riders can (and have) built off-piste trails nearly everywhere on public lands. The recently added flow trails at Glentress were mostly government funded, tho. Prime example of a Scottish off-piste enduro trail: steep, wet, rooty and in many cases, beyond my ability level. Scotsman are mad riders! Don’t go to Scotland if you miss your dog. The Scottish attitude toward dogs reminded me of my experiences in Canada: people are just cool about dogs.The scenery in the Tweed Valley, and most hilly regions of Scotland, is made unique by the deforested hill tops and alpine regions. Its vistas are strikingly beautiful. Emerging from the darkness of a forest to a moody sky – I have to admit I didn’t miss the sun.Riding alone most of the time, I took it slow and carefully. Met my son and his wife and plenty of friends and family at an estate near Edinburgh for a five-star meal. Then got lucky to meet StreetPigeon the local YouTube star who frequents the Riders Retreat. His videos played a large part in my research of the riding of the Tweed Valley. With Murray’s advice, I did some navigating and found the route from Glentress to Innerleithen, which took me to the back side of the mountain on a ridge decent into a wild valley of isolated sheep farms. I had to keep stopping to comprehend the beauty of it all. I found that the black trails overall were within my ability level but just too “twiddly” ( as a British rider called them) for me to risk riding by myself, so I tried to stick to the Red trails, one step up from the Blue trails. Sheep everywhere. And stone fences. And ancient ruins. The castles and stone houses give Scotland a sense of permanence and deep culture missing from our country. Yes, everywhere. Checked off the list by doing an extended emtb ride with a re-charge in Innerleithen. Should devoted more of my three days in the Tweed Valley to the Golfie trails. Next time. I think I saw a total of two MCDonalds my whole time in Scotland. Ironic since McDonald is one of the two largest clans.The Santa Cruz-themed bar at the Traquair Arms hotel in Innerleithen. Horses along the Tweed. You can ride anywhere in Scotland as long as you don’t do anything dumb and make sure you shut the gate behind you. The rivers, however, require special permits for fishing.The Scots clearly have a higher tolerance for the possibility of death on the highway, but I am now a huge fan of hybrid cars. I was unprepared for the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. the gray clouds are an essential part of the landscape. Narrowly avoiding a night spent sleeping in the back of my rental car ….I found a small room in the Castle Inverlochy for the night, the Ghillie’s Closet, which had everything I needed, including grapes….A sewing kit and robe…And a Snooker table. The witches were looking out for me, but I now owe them a successful hunting trip. A grove of Sequoias line the lane leading to the castle, planted by the founder of the estate, Purdey, who supplied weaponry for Darwin’s expeditions.The graves of the barons who died in the wars rest eternally among the groves of well-tended trees and gardens. By some uncanny coincidence, my son and daughter-in-law planned to stay at the Castle Inverlochy in the coming days. Fort William. Home of the legendary and iconic downhill mountain bike racing course.The track doesn’t look all that gnarly from the gondola. With the encouragement of some riders I met, I decided to give the course a try, after a couple of lift-accessed runs down the much tamer Blue Doon.Unfortunately, Top Chief was closed, so I was quite unprepared for my first ever run down a World Cup track.The rock gardens are gnarly and I picked my way down them. I cannot imagine how big your balls haven’t be to ride this track at World Cup speed. After being passed over by the UCI this year, the sentiment among the guys at the bike shop was dark especially since a local racer got pretty smashed up at the South Korea venue.If I go back, I’ll rent a legitimate downhill bike and body armor. I was unprepared for the alpine nature of the Highlands since the max elevation is less that 5000 feet. Honestly, I had more fun and sense of camaraderie at Glentress. The whole ski resort thing is not my “scene” but the area felt much more like the American west. Rented a Saracen emtb and did some roaming on my second day at Fort William on the UCI XC mountain bike trails. Where the witches drift out at night and look after poor fools like me. Probably should’ve. spent more time exploring the coast. Everyone says the Isle of Skye is incredible.Finally got a view from the Base Camp Hotel of Ben Nevis, which gave me inspiration for my last ride. Sweet Trek Rail with bell and reflectors from Nevis Cycles. I have one at home with a Bosch Gen 4 motor. The Gen 5 is an everyman’s bike. Tooled around Ft William for a bit. The best way to explore is by bike. A long way from home. The ride up to the CIC Hut on the north face of Ben Nevis.I had to ditch the trusty Rail halfway up the singletrack, tho, because the going just got tricky.Weirdly, it finally felt like I was in a European alpine setting. Met a group of people from Singapore who graciously offered me food, then had a wee dram of single malt at the bothy, one of my trip goals. Met my son and daughter-in-law again for dinner at a pub on the grounds of Inverlochy Castle, where, coincidentally, they were staying. Yes, the same Castle where I found lodging in a stroke of sheer witchy luck a few days earlier. The sun finally came out the last day, which was perfect for viewing the highlands of Glencoe. A stunning landscape that I would like to revisit. The Kelpies near Falkirk. Hard to stop looking at these amazing sculptures. Don’t go to Scotland alone. You’ll end up missing riding horses with your wife. The national soft drink of Scotland, which fortunately has not been co-opted by the States.The musical hall of fame at Boston Logan airport. This good witch of Boston appears between Aerosmith and James Taylor.
Travels with Pops 