Quiet, Extensive Trail System
Kirroughtree - 7stanes的点评
点评:I am comparing against Glentress and the comparison is a bit weird. There are far fewer facilities and services at Kirroughtree; however, it works for the remote location and the little traffic it gets compared to Glentress. The car park is large and fairly cheap. A day is only a GBP or two higher than half a day. There is a small cafe that has decent food and a decent vibe. Some trail crew were having a meeting there. There is the bike shop where rentals are reasonably priced. There is a playground and several walking trails. Given the narrow and long road, there were still many people there.
What is bizarre is the difference in leveling. The greens are fine. The blues at K are less flowy and I found to them to be a bit of a joke. The reds though are significantly harder. The blacks, which are half the centre, were way too much for me. I can clear the blacks at my local bike park with no problem. Basically, advanced trails are significantly more challenging than GT but the blues are generally not worth the time unless that is your maximum level.
I arrived around 11am and rode until 4pm without a break I just barely completed the blue loop and the red loop. Either split your riding into two days or make a choice to do black and nothing else. I appreciated the progression of the trails. Some trails were blue/green combined and you have to ride the red loop to get to the black unless you take forest roads. So, it's easy to make a decision to commit or abort the blacks. There are also several bail-out points.
I personally find the 7Stanes centres I've visited to have terrible signage and terrible maps. There are so many unmarked trails off of forest roads that make you lose confidence and I got lost several times. There is even a sign labeled "Visitor Centre" that points in the complete opposite direction of where it actually is. Some of these forest road rides are long and take forever. That was true at Glentress too though. Using Trailforks helps a ton but it doesn't solve the problem here. I recommend an eBike for these bike centres.
One of the entrances involves a one lane road with almost no shoulder and the locals go practically 60mph. There are two ways to get there. Take Cairnsmoore, then make a left and follow the road. It's a straight shot and still a one lane road but there is more of a shoulder. Do not take Old Military Road. That one was treacherous.
I'd probably go back but only when my skills are at KT's version of black diamond.
翻译:我拿它和格伦特雷斯作对比,不过这种对比有点奇怪。基罗特里的设施和服务要少得多;不过考虑到其偏僻的地理位置以及相对格伦特雷斯而言较少的人流,这样的配置也算合适。停车场很大,收费也相当便宜。全天停车费只比半天停车费贵一两英镑而已。那儿有一家小咖啡馆,食物不错,氛围也挺好。还有一些自行车爱好者正在那里开会。另外还有一家自行车店,租赁价格也挺合理。那里有一个游乐场和几条步行道。由于道路又窄又长,那里仍然有很多人。
奇怪的是各种难度级别之间的差异。绿色难度级别倒还行。K点的蓝色难度级别则不够流畅,我觉得有点儿像在开玩笑。而红色难度级别明显要难得多。至于占整个场地一半面积的黑色难度级别,对我来说实在太难了。我在当地的自行车公园里能轻松完成黑色难度级别的路线。基本上就是这样。高级难度级别的赛道比GT赛道要难得多,不过那些蓝色难度的赛道通常不值得花时间去挑战,除非它们就是你所能应对的最高难度等级。
我上午11点左右到达,之后一直骑行到下午4点,中间没有休息。我勉强完成了蓝色环线以及红色环线。建议要么把骑行行程分成两天来完成,要么就只选择黑色难度的赛道而放弃其他。我很欣赏这些赛道在难度上的循序渐进设计。有些路线是蓝绿双色标识的,除非走林间小路,否则必须先骑红色环线才能到达黑色难度级别的路线。因此,判断是否要挑战黑色路线就变得很容易。此外,沿途还有多个可以折返的地点。
就我个人而言,我觉得自己去过的那些7Stanes骑行中心的指示牌和地图都糟糕透顶。林间小路上有太多没有标记的路线,这让人缺乏信心,我也多次迷路。甚至有个标明“游客中心”的指示牌,指的方向却与实际位置完全相反。这些林间骑行路线有的非常漫长,要花上好长时间才能走完。不过在格伦特雷斯也是如此。虽然使用Trailforks很有帮助,但它并无法解决这个问题。对于这类骑行中心来说,我推荐骑电动自行车。
其中一个入口处是一条单车道公路,几乎没有路肩,而当地人开车时速几乎能达到60英里/小时。前往那里有两种方法:走Cairnsmoore路。然后向左转,沿着道路前进。这条路很直,虽然仍是一条单车道道路,但路肩稍宽一些。千万别走旧军事路,那条路非常危险。
我可能会再回去,不过要等到我的技能水平达到KT所说的“黑钻石级”才行。