Tweed Valley Enduro MTB long Weekend

Our Tweed Valley Enduro MTB Weekend is an awesome riding experience through one of the UK’s finest Mountain Bike destinations and home to world class trails and events like the Enduro World Series

What to expect?

The Tweed Valley is apart of the Seven Stains mountain bike area in the Scottish borders with some of the older trial centres in the UK. We will explore the finest trails in this incredible Scottish Mountain Bike mecca. Having hosted the EWS several time we know the trails here are world class but so is the scenery and history. We explore beyond the trail centres and roam free across these magnificent hills past Loch and Castle to bring you a true riding and cultural experience on two wheels.

Our local guides know this destination inside out and will be there from the first night to the last dram and anything in between. From singletrack to ancient horse & cart roads we ride it all.

From glens to lochs and everything in between you can expect a huge mix of terrain and scenery on this incredible tour of the Tweed valley.

Getting ready for 4 days of mountain biking in fairly full-on, remote locations can be a major task. With 7 riders (plus 2 guides!). These notes will help everybody know what to expect from the trip and what to bring. If there’s anything else you need to know, or want to check, please don’t hesitate to ask.

This is only a sample itinerary and can change at any given date, we are always working to improve the trips and alterations are common to improve and adapt.

Day 1 – A classic, Gypsy Glen, Cademuir Ridge, and Mannor Hill 

• 40K
• 1100Mtrs

Today we explore the natural trails in the upper Tweed Valley! A perfect mix of old school XC and modern Enduro style riding. Getting away from the masses at the trail centres and climbing up to the classic Gypsy Glen route (537Mtrs) to start a 2k singletrack descent surrounded by purple heather all the way back to Peebles.  A swift coffee and cake stop before tackling the John Buchan way climb up to the old Roman hill fort that marks the start of the Cademuir ridge. After completing the ridge we ride some more hidden single track through the woods and over the Neidpath viaduct (1864) back to town along the stunning River Tweed path under the historic 12^th century Neidpath castle. As we enter back into Peebles we pass the local river swimming spot of the “Dookits”. This is a great place to cool off before a refreshing post ride pint and the delights of visiting the best whisky shop in South Scotland.

Day 2 – GlenTress to Meldons

• 50K
• 1000Mtrs

Today we explore the local trails around the Soonhope valley before descending to Peebles for our first coffee stop.  We then head cross country along beautiful 13^th century drove roads for another coffee and cake stop in the luxurious setting of the 16^th century Barony Castle and a visit to the huge 3d Polish, Scotland Map. We travel back through the stunning Meldons iron age valley site, Lyme station. Look out for Ospreys and Herron as we travel along the Tweed River and home through the 800mts long disused rail tunnel and beers on the lawn of the Park Hotel.

Day 3 – Enduro day

• 30K
• 900Mtrs

Riding from the Valley floor to the top of Cairn Hill (500mtrs) before tackling the valleys longest Enduro trail “Feed The Pony” (also used by EWS 2021) A well-earned lunch stop at Caberston café before crossing the valley floor and climbing to Minch Moore and descending the Innerliethen Red trail and Caddon Bank.  Another chance of a swim when we get back just on the Traquair Hotel doorstep

Day 4 – Loch Eddy to 3 Brethern

• 40K
• 1200Mtrs

This is an awesome run, showing the upper Tweed Valley from above. A perfect mix of old school XC and modern Enduro style riding.  Climb over to The Glen area, visit the beautiful and remote hidden Loch Eddy and Glen House before climbing to reach part of the Southern Upland Way taking in the views along the hill tops to the cairns of the 3 Brethern .  2k of stunning descent on Tweed Valley sigletrack takes us back to our transport on the valley floor.

What’s included?

• Accommodation – 4 nights accommodation in a stunning 200 year old coach house hotel
• Meals – 1st night welcome meal included with drink. (Other nights we eat out in local restaurants,  not included)
• Breakfast – Choose from a beautiful full scottish breakfast, eggs benedict, Pastries and more each day.
• All guiding – 3.5 day’s guided riding with 2 BC Level 3 Guides – maximum client to guide ratio 8-1
• Transport – When required to travel to and from the trails 
• Safety Equipment – First aid kits and emergency shelters carried by our guides alongside your personal equipment packs
• Financial failure insurance – Ensuring your money is 100% protected from the second we receive it until we have delivered your trip of a lifetime.

(Evening meals not included apart from 1st night, eaten at pubs and restaurants in town)

It’s quite likely that no 2 days on this trip will be the same. But we can try…

We’ll have breakfast together at a time agreed the previous evening – usually quite early. Sorry, I know it’s a holiday but we have a lot to cram in. This usually includes a short final briefing and a check on how everybody’s feeling. After breakfast please be pretty much ready to ride at this stage so there’s no major faffing and we are off.

In the evenings, it will be ideal if we can meet for a pre-dinner drink and have a chat about
the plans for the next day.

Riding skills and fitness

Many people ask us about the riding and their skills and fitness. It’s a hard one to answer as difficulty is so subjective and we can have up to 10 different riders, all with different fitness levels and technical abilities.

Riding skills

Firstly, the riding isn’t as tough as it sounds. We’ve chosen routes that give a real Snowdonia flavour but still make for an enjoyable weekend without killing you.

There will however, be some long days (possibly 6-8 hours or more) and some technical downs (some of which probably everybody will walk a few metres). As long as you can keep smiling when you’re tired and pushing your bike then you’ll be fine.

In terms of riding ability, this trip won’t suit anyone who isn’t happy riding red / black grade trails in typical UK trail centres (please ask us if you would like more detail).

Fitness

It’s much more about stamina than speed or strength. There are some long days and we won’t be racing anywhere. On the bigger days, we’ll ride at a relaxed pace that can be kept up all day. We’ll also take more care than we would at a trail centre as a bad fall in a remote place is not good news.

The best training for this kind of trip is actually just getting out riding – preferably longer distances at a steady pace. 30km at a steady pace will be more useful than 15km at racing speed, so if your local trails are short, slow it down and do 2 laps!  Check out this blog by Matt Mooney of MTB Fitness regarding preparing for this kind of holiday https://mtbguiding.co.uk/uncategorised/guest-blog-6-top-training-tips-get-mtb-holiday/

I’m sure everybody will have their own strengths and weaknesses and everybody will have good days and off days. If we pull together as much as possible, a strong team will achieve way more than a bunch of fit individuals.

There is always the option to sit out a day at any point if your

Bike cleaning and maintenance

We’ll have secure storage for bikes overnight at the accommodation and a hose, brushes and a full cleaning kit, supplied by Fenwick’s Bike Products, so you can clean your bike after riding. We’ll also have a bike stand and some tools for fettling and repairs. Please bring any tools that are specific for your bike.

Maps

Yup, we’re guiding so you don’t need them. But if you like following routes on your own maps, it’s best to discuss that with us in Scotland in case plans change and you bring the wrong ones! If you just want printouts or GPX tracks of where we’ve been when we get home, let us know and we can sort it.

There’s no getting around it, 9 mountain bikers will be pretty conspicuous and we’ll have some impact on the landscape and other trail users. As a company, we’re 100% committed to minimising our impact in every way we can.

We operate a strict ‘pack it out’ policy for all litter (including banana skins and orange peel), and we try to leave as little trace of our passing as possible.While we’ll enjoy some epic descents and trails, please ride in control and at a speed that reflects your line of sight and abilities.

We’ll certainly meet walkers and we want any interactions to be as positive as possible. It’s important to give mountain bikers a good name. For more information check out Do the Ride Thing and also the websites listed at the end of these notes.

Weather

On this Southern Snowdonia Singletrack mountain bike tour we could experience everything from hot sunny days, wet and windy days to full on blizzards. We’ve made many trips to the Lakes throughout the year and had a real mix. When packing, please bring winter and summer clothing so we can make more informed decisions about what to wear and carry on the day or the night before.

Insurance

We don’t need medical insurance in the UK, but I strongly recommend travel insurance just to cover you should you get injured or fall ill before the trip or during it. Try YellowJersey and use the discount code – MTB75

Kit list

The weather can be very varied in the Snowdonia so we need to be prepared. We’ll have a briefing every evening to give you an up to date weather forecast and plan the next day. We can share some of the kit to keep packs as light as possible.

Riding kit

Please let us know if there’s anything you haven’t got that you may need.

Essential, please make sure you have the following

• Hydration pack big enough to carry everything in the list below – suggested size 15L to 20L
• Mini pump for your valve type
• Inner tube (even if you use tubeless)
• Tubeless repair kit (if you use tubeless)
• Puncture patches (if you don’t use tubeless)
• Tyre levers
• Multi-tool
• 1 set of spare brake pads
• Rear gear hanger for your bike
• Power link for your chain type and speed
• Any medication you need

Recommended

• Dry bag to keep everything dry inside your pack
• Cable ties
• Duct tape (we suggest wrapping 1m around your pump)
• Mobile phone – in a waterproof case or plastic bag
• Small personal first aid kit

You’ll also need the following

• Water and snacks – gels, energy bars, jelly babies etc
• Lunch (this will be provided but you’ll need to carry it)

Recommended clothing

Essential, please make sure you have the following..

• Helmet
• Waterproof jacket (a full-on waterproof is recommended)
• Insulated jacket or very warm emergency layer
• MTB shoes (you must be able to walk in them!)

Recommended

• Knee and elbow pads
• Cycling shorts and/or waterproof shorts (or trousers)
• Wicking base layer or cycling jersey
• Mid layer (fleece or soft shell)
• Woolly hat or buff
• Riding glasses
• Gloves (worth having a spare pair if it’s wet)
• Waterproof socks

Bikes

Your bike needs to be ready for the rigours of the mountains – steep and rocky climbs and very rough descents. A lightweight x-country bike probably won’t be strong enough for the descents and a downhill rig will be too heavy for the climbs. Just about everything in between will do the job.

Tyres are important too. Lightweight racing tyres are easily torn. We recommend good trail or all-mountain tyres such as Maxxis High Rollers/Minion DHR/DHF in a Double Down casing and possibly with inserts.

Please make sure your bike is ready for 4 days of hard riding. Anything that looks slightly suspect will almost certainly break.

There are good bike shops Wales along the route but nothing very convenient