How I hate thee, let me count the ways

[666_pack]

Ok! so me and MG1 had a pretty shitty time Mountain biking the brandy pad.

Firstly we made our merry up the Trassey and the pushed our bikes up the goat track to the right of the boulder Field up to the Hares Gap. Ahhh the hard part was over right? Nope! We then pushed them along the Brandy pad as 90% was impossible to ride. We started off form Meelmore lodge around 830 so it was dark and zero Vis when we reached the saddle at Donard/Commedagh (Which we nearly missed!). Once at the saddle we realised it was to dangerous to try and make our way down to Donard wood. We rigged up a bike bivvi (pics to follow) and had a few sups and got some kip.

We awoke to blue skies and made our way down the "Stairs" and onto the Glen river trail agin most of which was just to technical to ride on (we did give it a good go all the same). Some really good down hill sections after the ice house and into newcastle. We followed the Mourne/Newcastle way through Newcastle and Tollymore and back to Meelmore lodge.

Most of the route is def not suited to the novice mountain biker and we pushed the dam things most off the way.

I Hate Mountain Biking

So this all got me thinking....We all know that hiking is a love/hate venture. We spend alot of time on this forum talking about the loves, But what about the hates!

What do you hate about the hills?

[Oisín]

When people don't realise how amazing they are!

[666_pack]

Oh It's not the hill's I have a problem with It's trying to lug a bloody bike through them

[Oisín]

Fair play.

I wasn't meaning that directly to you, sorry if it came across like that. Meant it in more a way of all the city folk who wouldn't climb a hill to escape a tsunami. 

[666_pack]

 

[LandyLiam]

i hate mountain bikes coming down the path i'm trying to walk up 

some great tracks in donard wood though

[suspectmonkey]

We followed the Mourne/Newcastle way through Newcastle and Tollymore and back to Meelmore lodge.

Did you find any of the trails in Tollymore?  Some cracking sections linking up bits of fireroad.  Think there is also an "official" mountain bike section being built near the mountain centre.  Not sure what the standard of it is like, but seems to be fairly fast flowing gravel singletrack.  Always good for a blast

Still think the Mourne Way would be a good route for mountain biking, minus a few sections like Slievenamuck which would be a push to the summit.  Blasting down through Rostrevor forest would definitely be fun though!

[666_pack]

Tollymore was cool! But not the brandy pad.

[suspectmonkey]

Tollymore was cool! But not the brandy pad.

I'd say it would be more like riding a trials bike on the Pad!  Remember a couple of fellas on trials bikes passed us on the Pad once, some amount of skill required to hop on the back wheel between those steps etc!

[LandyLiam]

Think there is also an "official" mountain bike section being built near the mountain centre.

if thats the one right beside the car park then its very tight and twisty, good for training but not quite a great blast downhill though, the bit i saw was fairly flat

[suspectmonkey]

Think there is also an "official" mountain bike section being built near the mountain centre.

if thats the one right beside the car park then its very tight and twisty, good for training but not quite a great blast downhill though, the bit i saw was fairly flat

Does it head further into the forest?  I just saw a section whilst I was following the Newcastle Way/Challenge Trial but didn't actually follow the mountain bike route itself.  Now I come to think of it, I think we saw a section of it from the road when we took taxis over to the Trassey Track at Easter.

[MikeD]

hard to think of something at the moment, but, its mildly annoying when the dog wont settle and go to sleep, hence preventing me from getting my sleep, at the end of a long day, when all i want to do is to - go to sleep!

[whoRya]

Well I keep telling everyone about how much fun you can have in the hills for free.......meanwhile I keep buying gear!

[LandyLiam]

Sure buying gear is half the fun 

Another hate of mine is glass, especially in your camping zone  I remember having to clear a load away on the top of donard so I could pitch the tent safely.

[RedLeader]

I'm interested in seeing the "Bike bivvy". Sounds like it was a tough night but I'd still have swapped my evening in front of the TV for your night in the hills!