Venue: Kirroughtree

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Comments and ratings for Red & Black inc McMoab

madmax245 gave this trail 5 stars about 2 years ago

Kirroughtree has fantastic (unrivalled?) singletrack and keeps you engaged on the climbs...the black is great fun but - in my view - to enjoy the red you have to be fit enough to "keep on the gas" and... read whole comment... justhuckit gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Just been here once but loved it. Totally agree with the other views here so far - the best bit is the black descent of Talnotry Hill. Best bit of man made singletrack I've ever ridden. That gets 5 st... read whole comment... wildhighlander gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Some of the black is a bit beyond me in terms of skill and fitness required, but I still love this route and am determined to master it one day! cat89 gave this trail 5 stars about 4 years ago

Rode this trail just the other day on a hard-tail in dry conditions. I’d say a hard-tail or a light XC full-susser is the right choice for Kirroughtree. To appreciate its fantastic singletrack you h... read whole comment... wayne gave this trail 4 stars about 5 years ago

Red & Black inc McMoab

This route does pretty much all of the official ‘Red Route’ and links in to do all of the official ‘Black Route’ too (you can download a pdf of the official trail map on the Foresty Commission Site in the links section opposite). The whole trail is a long thin figure-eight loop with the black section forming the further away part of the ‘8’. From the carpark to Tag1 is mostly shared with the Blue route so has very little in the way of technical features.

From Tag1 to Tag2 is part of the Red route and has a variety of mildly technical rocky sections. From Tag2 onwards the Black route starts. Most of the obstacles on this part of the trail are all quite mild for a black route, and are all based on bedrock. There are no wooden constructions, or massively steep descents, and not much in the way of jumps or drops. The key to having fun on this part of the trail is going fast! If you press-on and flow from section to section, pumping where you can, the trail rewards you with a massive buzz.

The famous ‘McMoab’ is at Tag3. This is a black section (which can be easily bypassed if you don’t fancy it) which has you riding over some massive exposed lumps of granite bedrock which are sticking out of the earth. For most, this is an exercise in slowly picking your way over the rock faces and controlling balance and speed to try to get round without any ‘Dabs’ or falls. This is definitely in the ‘Hard’ category for tech grading.

After that at Tag4 it is the only really sustained climb of the day. It is quite steep, but it doesn’t last for long and brings you up to the highest point of the trail at Tag5.

From Tag5 all the way to Tag6 is a very long (all be it undulating) sustained black descent. This is a stunning section of singletrack, with a seemingly endless supply of fast lumpy swoopy turns connecting one rocky obstacle after another. Many of these obstacles are definitely ‘Hard’ from a technical perspective. But if you have the skill for it, or the right bike, or both, this is an amazing section to blast through at speed.

From Tag6 all the way back to the carpark is back on the Red route, and is just lots and lots more sweeping swoopy undulating singletrack (this part of the ride is predominantly down hill, though not exclusively so).