This is the type of view you get from Dumyat, the most easily-accessible of the Ochil Hills for riding, if you brave what may seem like murky conditions at ground level. To explore the Ochils, why not come out with Stirling Bike Club?
Pic by local ripper Steven Smith. Click on the image to go through to see more of his stuff.
The Danny MacAskill: Way Back Home film has only been out for three days and already it feels like I’m late to the party. It will have been blogged, tweeted and facebooked all over the world already, so I wondered whether it was worth reposting on here.
The great thing about this film for me is the beautiful scenery. Danny’s first film showed off his incredible skills on a trials bike, but also his creativity and imagination- that he even considered riding a certain obstacle or clearing a gap. Pushing the boundaries like skateboarders such as The Gonz, Tony Hawk and Danny Way.
Here we see him literally riding the landscape, which brings us two simultaneous pleasures: jaw-dropping tricks in, on and amongst our beautiful country.
Cheap thrills were provided for me when he rode the edge of, and dropped off Old Stirling Bridge. The other locations are creative too, and these are mentioned briefly in a teaser film:
What does it take for a global company such as Red Bull to sponsor such a beautifully shot film that is a great showcase for Scotland? Simply a rider of Danny McAskill’s outstanding talent!
Corrieris Cafe was featured as an unusual ‘pick of the week’ on the Velocast podcast a while ago, and ever since then I have been meaning to give the place some proper blog love. It was mentioned by Scot Tares of Skinny Tyres today, which reminded me.
It’s a Scots-Italian cafe to the north of Stirling, on the Causewayhead roundabout, and is very much worth a visit, especially if you are a cyclist. The coffee is excellent, and the food ranges from cakes and ice creams to high-quality pasta and pizzas.
For years the cafe has put up prize money for the Corrieris Classic, a local 10 mile time trial traditionally run by the Denny Road Club. In 2010 this event will be put on by Stirling BC, further strengthening the ties between the club and the cafe. Stirling ends most of its road runs at Corrieris – between 12:30 and 1:30 on a Saturday you’ll be sure to find a number of cyclists in there – come along or avoid as you prefer.
In addition to the great fare and cyclist-friendly atmosphere there are some nice touches. A big portrait of Fausto Coppi in the mountains hangs on the wall in the airy, bright back room, while tucked away above the serving area hangs three jerseys: a Motorola jersey with a photo and Giro start sheet signed by Scotland’s own Brian Smith, a Carrera jersey signed by Claudio Chiapucci, and a maglia rosa signed by Paolo Savoldelli.
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MTBcut, an online mountain bike TV producer, have created a video exclusive showcasing the new Orange Five.
The vid features MBR’s Alan Muldoon talking things over, trials superstar Danny Macaskill hill climbing, and DH ripper Joe Barnes cutting through the rocks.
Apart from the fact that the Five is adored by a lot of mountain bikers I know, this vid also piqued my interest because it features one of my local trails, Dumyat, a hill in Stirling. The way Danny Mcaskill gobbles up the big rocky steps is awesome to behold, but it’s good to see he’s human as he loses the back wheel on the dry, gravelly descent.
The testers also make short work of Glentress’ swoopy berms, but it was the display of skills on the natural trail that really impressed me in this video.
Thanks to Stu Thomson of MTBcut for the video. It’s running a bit slow on this blog- please allow it a few moments to load up- worth the wait- or try going to the 2011 Orange Five sneak peek on the Orange website, or the MTBcut facebook page.
I saw a lot of things on today’s training ride around the Trossachs: the Sam Robinson memorial road race (in which clubmate Rob Wilkins finished a superb 2nd), as well as a very close shave with a startled wee bunny rabbit, and another close call with a very fast hare.
The highlight for me was the “Bicycle Tree” in Brig O’Turk. The sycamore tree is said to date from the 1800s, and stands in the yard of an old blacksmith.
The story goes that a man hung his bike on the tree before going off to war. He never returned, and the tree enveloped the bike. Today, all that is visible is a pair of handlebars and forks, camouflaged by their rust against the brown bark.
The bike is not the only metalwork that has been swallowed up by the tree- apparently it grew around various other items of scrap from the smithy.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I focus on road riding, because that’s what I am into at the moment. However, when I started cycling seriously, it was off-road, in Edinburgh’s Pentland Hills, that I spent most of my time.
I found two excellent videos today of off-road riding in Scotland. The first is from Stirling rider Steven Smith, who treats us to a display of effortless-looking riding through Stirling’s Mine Woods. As the name suggests, this wood was a copper mine, opened in the 1500s apparently. Now it is home to one of the best little trails in the local area, including natural obstacles such as steps, drop-offs and a big bombhole, as well as some man-made berms and kickers lower down.
I appreciate good photography as well as good riding, and it’s no different with video. Steven has taken the time to pick good conditions and good camera angles and edit the shots together to a video that flows almost as well as his lines through the Mine Woods.
Mark Beaumont is on a UK tour of 38 venues with his show The Man who Cycled the World. Mark will be at the Albert Halls on Friday, April 30, at 7.30pm. Tickets priced £12.50 are available from the box office on 01786 473544.
To most readers of this blog, he needs no introduction: round-the-world record-breaker, cycled the Americas, you know.
Mark has used social media in his expeditions, particularly twitter updates and posting photos to flickr.
I am proposing to meet twitter friends for a pint at the Corn Exchange Pub (formerly known as Pivo), which is just up the hill from the Albert Halls, before AND after the show.
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Please post comments if you’re up for it.
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I started the Scottish Climbs series of posts with grand plans, but as it turns out I think I am going to have to scale back to something more parochial such as Stirling Climbs. I have this problem- instead of photographing the hill, I’d actually rather focus on riding up the damn thing. The first climb up to Stirling Castle I posted about takes you up the cobbles, while this second route takes in hairpins, a graveyard, and an ancient pub, and is both interesting and steep from both sides.
Image from bikehike.co.uk
From the potholed Cowane Street, that heads out of the town centre, Upper Bridge Street climbs sharply straight up. The gradient shallows a little, and on the right is a white pub, the Settle Inn. It’s Stirling’s oldest alehouse, and has been serving since the 1700′s. The walls seem to be a metre thick, and you don’t get a mobile signal inside. 
After the pub it rises sharply again towards the castle. Here I’m standing up in the 39×25, wheezing smugly as the obese workman scoffs his lunch in his parked van. Keep going but save something for the hairpin. 
The bend snakes left and then doubles back right, with the castle rearing up in front of you. At the junction, go left to join the last section of Scottish Climbs: Stirling Castle (part 1) and continue up to the esplanade, or go right to descend down the back side of the castle hill. On the day in question I was in a hill repeats mood, and opted to go right and down the hill. Here the road is flat, and you pass an old graveyard on your right. The road bends sharply left and down towards the Back o’ Hill Road. 
Coming back up you have a brief view of the Wallace Monument, Sherriffmuir, and the Ochils in the distance before the trees close in and your lungs begin to burn again. I ‘enjoyed’ this route for hill repeats as it was about as traffic-free as you are likely to get, and it had a few nice views. There was nobody to give you abuse, only the odd bemused tourist.
Wallace Monument barely visible in this fantastically exposed mobile phone picture
Stirling Castle hairpin- back up again
Related posts
Stirling Castle Climb (part 1)
PruTour Prologue 1998
Eddie Addis has been one of the fastest-improving riders in Scotland over the past couple of years. After switching from recreational mountain biking to road racing, he’s risen through the ranks and how has his category 2 license and is competing in the Premier Calendar Tour Doon Hame in Dumfries this weekend.
Eddie Addis (left) - Dick Longdragon RR 2010, image © Granite City RT
When did you first get into cycling?
I’ve always done a bit on MTB’ing. Never really took it seriously until I moved to Striling and joined SBC. Think that was 7 or 8 years ago now. Getting out with local riders that knew the trails was excellent and really motivated me to do more, especially through the winter when the weather was bad, as before I would have just sat on the couch eating pies.
You were mountain biking before you got into road right?
I mainly stuck to the MTB for the first 5 years as a club member then bought a road bike with the aim of losing a bit of weight and gaining a bit of fitness! Next thing I know I’m comparing shaving techniques with women and fitting white bar tape to my bikes, it all spiralled out of control from there, but warned MTB’ers it’s a slippery slope. Road is definitely what I’m into at the minute but that may change. Quite fancy having a season of XC racing at some point, but we’ll see what happens.
Do you do still do much mountain biking these days?
Not as much as I’d like to. I still really enjoy riding the MTB but it’s hard to find time in between shaving my legs and weighing my pasta. I would like to try and get out on the mtb once a week through the summer to try and keep my skills at a reasonable level. However I find if it’s wet or the trails are in bad condition I prefer the road as there’s a lot less cleaning of bikes and kit involved after a quick blast.
How quickly did you discover you were up for racing?
Once I lost a bit of weight and got a bit fitter I found I was quite strong on the flat and rolling roads so decided to give racing a go. My first race was the Lake APR, 2007, I was still about 3 Stone heavier than I am now. I got put in a later group and got dropped on the 1st lap, think I finished 2nd last. That was the only race I did that season. I did enjoy it, in a strange kind of way, and if anything it made me more determined to get better and try again.
Great season last year – which result was most satisfying?
Thanks, yes I even surprised myself how well it went. It’s a hard one to call, it’s very close between the Scottish Champs, Falkirk Trophy RR and the Mid Scotland Champs. I would say winning the Mid Scotland Champs was the most satisfying as it was the 1st race SBC really rode as a team and controlled the race, which went exactly to plan and got the result we wanted. Plus we managed to take the Mid Scotland Trophy away from the Falkirk!
Are you willing to share any of the secrets to your success, just lots of training?
No real secrets just plenty of miles, training with quality riders helps a lot, especially at the Tuesdays and Thursday night wheel abouts. Trying to hang on to Rob’s wheel certainly pushes you to you limits and sometimes beyond. The new chaingang circuit last year definitely contributed it lends itself perfectly to a bit of race simulation with plenty of changes in gradient and direction. It’s and ideal loop for this sort of training, tough but not to tough!
Who are the toughest opponents in the Scottish peloton?
Obviously this year Endura are the strongest team in Scotland, and have some very talented and extremely strong riders. Apart from them there are the usual suspects, the Glagow Wheelers have stronger team this year, and Leslie Bike have made some good additions to their squad over the winter. However I think that SBC are still one of the top clubs in Scotland and on our day can match all of the other Scottish Domestic Squads.
Do you have any big goals you are able to divulge?
Not really, Rob and I are going to ride the Tour Doon Hame, which is a 3 day stage race in Dumfries that forms part of the Premier Calendar Series. I’m not expecting anything apart from a good old fashioned kicking, but it will be a good experience to ride against Britain’s top pro teams. Apart from that I’d like to do respectably in the Super6 series, and successfully defend my Mid Scotland Championship. I’d also like a top 20 finish in the Scottish Championships, which this year is on a very tough course.
Eddie Addis and Rob Wilkins - Tour Doon Hame 2010
I’m in my second season trying racing- how did you find when you were at that stage?
Last year was my second season racing, it went a lot better than I had hoped. Fingers crossed I can build on that this season. It’s amazing what a couple of good results can do for your self belief which is a huge factor in road racing. It’s too easy to go into a race worrying that everyone else is stronger than you, which immediately puts you on the back foot. If you believe you have as good a chance as anyone of doing well, it puts a whole different perspective on the race. Road racing is about tactics and luck almost as much as fitness…
What are you into outside of cycling?
There’s life outside of cycling??? I take it you mean what do I do when I’m not physically riding my bike? I like to eat, to fuel my cycling. I like to watch TV, when there’s cycling on! I like working, to make money to buy stuff for cycling! Seriously, I enjoy the usual stuff, good food, good company and the occasional drink or two. I also enjoy hoovering but that’s a story for another day…
— cheers Eddie.
@EddieAddis on twitter
