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Freeride Junkie - Innerleithen Trip

Sunday, 16 November 2008

One of the Freeride Junkie lads and his local riding crew made a trip up to Innerleithan over the weekend of 18^th/19^th October for a bit of uplift action. Here's Tony's account of the trip...and yes that is the Inners car park above!!!

So the lads were up for a trip to Scotland, Spooky Woods, Bike Park on Saturday and DH Sunday was the order of events. Five of us were going up Saturday morning and another two joining us in the evening for a good night and a better day DH on the Sunday.

Well, the weather was bloody awful from the go, a LWB Merc Sprinter with high sides, 8 bikes and all our gear seemed a good idea till the howling gales on the M6 caught us, interesting – I drove from the border and Neal looked less than impressed as his van bounced around the motorway at the winds discression. Then the rain, not long after we arrived the Moffatt road past the Greymares Tail and St Mary’s Lock was flooded and closed, not a good omen for Sunday.

So the riding, wet probably describes it best, possibly very wet, or f**kin wet is nearer the truth, Spooky Wood was more like Drowned Wood, with a force gale in your face from the top. The jumps weren’t jumpable but the further down the hill we got the better it became, as we dropped out of the wind if not the rain. The new stuff in the woods near the end flowed nicely and by the time we got to the bottom everyone was smiling again – if a bit bedraggled! Time for the bike park ?

Straight in on the Northshore, of the drop, round for the ladder drops – of the big one, over the berm at the bottom – ignore the wall it’s raining! Hang a left and go on then I’ll hit the wall ride, but it’s raining, (as a side point here I’d like to mention the previous blog on FRJ were Bob mentioned doing the walls before it rained – good advice dude!!) SPLAT cue a Tom and Jerryish moment as my tyre instantly washed out on the greasy wood, pinned me to the wall to slide straight along it and hurtle into space to land in a big heap on the floor at the other end. Dragging myself up to shout Noooo!!!! As Julian came hurtling of the drop on his Stiffee with much the same idea in mind.

Another run or two and we were ready for the pub and a few beers, ok too many few beers, good food, good company and a tasty bar maid to leer at the Traquair Arms.

Mike and Dave turned up after a diversion around the floods and we joined up with Craig from Ride On, who had been road-showing the excellent Empire DH bike at Innerleithen, more food, more beer, the usual - saw us all stagger of to bed some time after midnight.

6.30 am saw Julian waking everyone up in time for breakfast at 8!! Thanks.

The drive up the road found the whole of Innerleithen Car Park and the fields all around flooded, only the road was clear and that by inches. Shit! Still after some hasty re-arranging the uplift went ahead via a diversion through the village. We managed 6 uplifts for the day so very good considering.

Uplift number one saw Julians Yeti 303 break down, so he spent the rest of the day on the Stiffee and the Empire courtesy of Craig. After Matador he was complaining the wheels would need re-truing but respect to anyone doing the big drops on a hardtail!

The weather held off and we continued in a muddy, wet smelly kind of a way for the day. My SOCOM behaved well – I am the limiting factor by far – handling the 8 foot and the seven footers with ease, Keith’s new V10 worked well, the Cane Creek Double Barrel is a superb shock for the well off!! Jacko’s Demo 8 still going strong, Mikes on the new Marin Dh and riding it very well, Neal’s on the M3 – the one with the wheels that won’t get of the ground ? Daves on another Socom and getting o well with it after a shaky start with a reverse 180 – in other words landing on his head!

So considering we were going to go home and not bother we had a great, wet weekend in Scotland.

Thanks lads, a great weekend, Cheers to Craig for the advice and lone of the empire to all who needed it.

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