STAR LETTER NEXT-LEVEL BLUE
My wife and I live on the Isle of Arran, a ferry trip and drive away from the Nevis Range and its ‘Blue Doon’ descent. Most of our mountain biking has been at Glentress, and we’re confident on blue-graded routes and competent on reds. We’d been wanting to ride ‘Blue Doon’ ever since it opened, so we went to give it a go.
We took the gondola up, marvelling at the stretches of the [World Cup] downhill run that we could see, and found ourselves at the start of ‘Blue Doon’ on our full-sus bikes. Now comes the cautionary bit! This isn’t one of those speedy little blue trails that’s over in one minute – this is 11km of sustained mountain trail.
The surface is rocky and very loose in places, with some stretches requiring seriously accurate line selection. Some turns lack support, and there are very fast sections. It’s not a place to have an accident. There are no major [technical] challenges, but it’s fast, and the lower section is tight – especially as it runs into ‘Blue Steel’ – requiring good bike handling skills. The run requires stamina, and the chattery surface is hard on the wrists. A casual Glentress blue this is not, and it does require more than ‘blue-level’ skills.
Having said all that, we found it to be a really great run, and the views are superb if you take the time to stop and enjoy them!
Brian and Amanda Grindall, Isle of Arran, Scotland.
It sounds like you had a great time at Nevis Range! Scotland is deserving of its reputation for great riding for all abilities, and we think your letter highlights that perfectly. Thanks for your story, which has got us psyched to head north of the border and have a blast down ‘Blue Doon’ ourselves this year.