Bike Computer Mount - 76projects.com/shop/enduromountSniper Rock! The Crash That Humbled MeMcTrail Guide2026-09-10 | Join me for an adventure - mctrailguide.comDropping Into The Glen, Will You Join Me?McTrail Guide2026-08-13 | Ride Scotland's best mountain bike trails with me. Real Mtb adventures and local guiding through mctrailguide.comI Started a Guiding Company 😱McTrail Guide2026-06-16 | Join me for an adventure - mctrailguide.comHe Crashed in Front of Me… We Still Tied for 3rdMcTrail Guide2026-05-12 | Back to the races, at the 20Twenty Scottish Enduro Series, round 2 at Pitfichie.
This turned out to be a fantastic day on the bikes. Starting on a classic descent, down a stunning ridge and then finished going down the opposite side of the hill, through fast and flowing singletrack perfection!
What a cool day on the bike! Me and Rob's first day riding in Tremp was full of adventure.
It's not often that you get to ride on a genuine cliff edge and it's even rarer that you get to explore deep caves half way through a ride. Well, on this day, that's exactly what we did.
In this video, I ride with my two biking buddies, Rob and Max. We chose to ride a proper black route on this day, which we called Black Friday. A day of "proper" mountain biking.
It also happened to be Max's 48th birthday, and that got me thinking about just how fast Max and Rob (52) still are! Needless to say, it gives me a lot of hope for my own future mountain biking.
Anyway, I'm super grateful to have good friends that are able to join me on some of my adventures😊
Me and Max had done this trail once last year, so I knew roughly what to expect, but having watched Oli's video, we wanted to have another look with the fresh perspective of aiming to come back and ride the trail in full, without dabs.
Me, Rob and Max are spending a couple of months in Spain to ride out the worst of the winter. One of the best single locations to do so is Santa Coloma in the Catalonian region. It's like the Golfie of Spain, as I've heard it accurately described.
One town with so many trails scattered across 2-3 peaks on one main hillside. In the video, we only scratch the surface, but it gives you a good idea of what is available to ride here.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekQuick Update & One Sweet Descent!McTrail Guide2026-01-21 | Here's a short video to show one trail from the Basque Country in Spain called Sollube. More videos to come, once the rain stops!
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekBest Group Ride Of The Year!McTrail Guide2025-10-26 | After the Saturday of the 20Twenty demo day in Tarland, everyone involved in the event went out for a group ride on the Scolty hill, just above Banchory. Everyone was on an e-bike, the sun was shining, the trails were fantastic and the riding was on point. Just a standard 20Twenty group ride really.
I've been into the Cairngorms many times now, usually doing the more recognised and established routes. On many of these routes I pass or can see Derry Cairngorm, and it has always looked like it would be ridable. After checking on Google Earth many times, I decided that it was worth a try in real life. In this video, you will see the results of me giving it a go.
I try to ride at Golspie at least once a year. There's something special about that place for me. One big climb and one big descent. It's got a big mountain feel, but it's very much a manmade trail centre. Only bad thing about it, is how far away it is for most of the population.
Since getting my Deviate Kurgan e-bike, I have found myself wanting to race enduro on it. It's such a confidence inspiring bike and I've ended up going really fast on it (for me at least).
Anyway, I raced another Tartan enduro, this time at Glenlivet. I never really considered Glenlivet to be a good "enduro' destination before if I'm honest. After riding the off piste on the far hill, I changed my mind and I think it offered a great variety of trails for a race event.
After a morning at Golspie, me and Jamie decided to go ride somewhere else too. We ended up going to Evanton, just down the road. Evanton is such a cool, relatively quiet place to rides bikes. It's got a great balance of built versus natural, all the way down the trails. It's very much my kind of riding.
I got the chance to ride with Andrew Lochhead at Ballo, thanks to Mike from 20Twentystore. I knew of Andrew's name, as he is supported by 20Twenty and he regularly features on enduro race podiums.
I love riding with riders that are faster/better than me, it's easily the best way to elevate my own riding and I end up learning so much in the process. Andrew was no exception, and I very much enjoyed this day at Ballo.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekRocks, Rain, Mountains & MidgesMcTrail Guide2025-09-07 | I joined Jamie (youtube.com/@streetpigeonmtb) for a few days riding e-bikes up north. This video is from our Beinn Damh tour. It's not the best loop in Torridon, but it is a great day out, especially on an e-bike of course.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekEnduro Racing Flow TrailsMcTrail Guide2025-08-24 | Upon getting my new Deviate Kurgan, I was keen to race it. The first race that I could make it to was at Tarland. A fast, smooth and flowing destination, not the ideal venue for a hard hitting enduro e-bike. That didn't stop me from entering though, and I went ahead with it. long story short, it was surprisingly fun and enjoyable all the same. I actually finished closer to the lead than in any other enduro I've entered to this date too.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekDeviate Kurgan - Unlimited Fun!McTrail Guide2025-08-18 | Well it's finally happened, Deviate have an e-bike in their lineup, and I for one am very happy about that!
The Kurgan has been a long time in the making/development, but it was worth waiting for!
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekRiding Tarlands Newest Trail - Project MushroomMcTrail Guide2025-08-06 | The last couple of times I have visited Tarland, I've seen the trailhead and end of a future trail. That trail is called "Project Mushroom".
Tarland is one of my favourite places to ride my bike, but it is very much a flow trail destination. Project Mushroom is a hand cut, natural trail though, built to start mixing things up a little.
I rode it once and fully blind, so please don't judge my riding too much.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekRiding Fresh Loam - MonaughtyMcTrail Guide2025-07-20 | Monaughty is one of those places that I have known about for such a long time, but simply never managed to get around to actually riding. The place is really nice, offering a good mix of trail styles across the relatively small hill.
As always, I'll be back at some point in the future to get tom know it a bit better.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekPerfect Enduro Race DestinationMcTrail Guide2025-07-09 | I hadn't planned on entering any races this year, but when I seen that there was going to be a race held at Aboyne, it was hard to ignore.
Aboyne is one of my favourite places to ride my bike. The trails are to good! Natural feeling, feature rich and quite technical in places too. All of this made a compelling place to do a race and see how the trails work at pace.
Mike at 20Twenty is a busy man, so when he said he'd be free to go ride bikes, I couldn't say no. We opted to ride some amazing trails around the town of Ballater. Mike brought along two Dji Amflow e-bikes, one for him and one for my mate Rob. A good day was had by all and the trails were first class.
Well, we set to do a reconnaissance ride, to see what the "other" side of Ben Wyvis was like for biking. The video explains our thought process along the way. The day didn't go quite as we had expected, but the descent was fantastic and totally worth the climb up.
Sometimes I set out to do one thing and then end up doing something else. This ride is one of those occasions. My initial plan was to hike up Carn Liath and ride straight back down, but there were several people doing some trail work, and I didn't want to be that guy, riding my bike back down past them. Luckily the alternative route that I did was just as much fun.
Ever felt like you get stuck in a routine/pattern. Me too. For far too long, I have failed to properly mix things up when visiting the Golfie. Never really managing to venture out to experience new or different trails.
Well, in this video I set out to rectify that issue, and I'm so glad that I did!
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekWe Found A New Way Off The MountainMcTrail Guide2025-05-19 | After speaking to someone from the area a couple of days before, I was made aware of a different way of the mountain of Cairngorm. I was pre warned that it was a bit vague at the start and at the end too. The middle and main section was meant to be very good though.
I'm always keen to discover new places and descents, so me and Rob set off to find out if it is any good.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekTrails Way Better Than I Expected!McTrail Guide2025-05-12 | Whilst I was in south Wales, a few people got in touch with me through social media to go ride bikes. One of those people was Oly. He made quite a compelling case, offering to show me some trails with proper features, tucked away in the English woodlands.
He wasn't kidding! These trails were absolutely fantastic and I would have never found them without Oly's help.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekNever Ridden A Surface Like This Before!McTrail Guide2025-05-06 | Whilst I was down in south Wales, I wanted to hit some of the locations that I had previously ignored. Barry Sidings was one of those places. As far as I'm aware, all the trails are hand cut and very much on the enduro end of the scale.
One of the stand outs of riding here is definitely the trail surface in places, which is genuinely coal! The local area is well known for coal mining, but it's still weird to see coal as a trail surface.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekI Finally Used My Bike Packing Gear!McTrail Guide2025-04-27 | Last year I started building up my bike packing kit. Turns out it's very expensive! Anyway, due to life not quite going the way I would have hope, I simply never had the motivation to go out and use it.
Things are slightly better this year and that tied in with some excellent early season weather meant that it was time to head out. I chose Ben Alder for my first trip, simply because I've known about this route for so long and it is one that requires travelling quite a distance to et to.
The following video is of my experience camping overnight with my kit.
Madison Crypto -tinyurl.com/2e2pvkekIs Bike Park Wales Still Good?McTrail Guide2025-04-20 | It had been a very long time since my last visit to BikePark Wales, so I decided to revisit whilst I was in the area. In all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of bike parks in general. That being said, I feel that BPW offers some of the best variety and caters to more people than most bike parks. Therefore, I think it's one of the best I've ridden.
For far too long, I only ever ridden Bike Park Wales when I was in the area. I was always en-route to somewhere else and didn't have the time.
Well, not this time! On this day we sorted that right out, and rode the Risca side of Cwm Carn and then onto Wooky woods after. I was absolutely blown away by all of the trails throughout the day. I wish I had ridden here sooner now.
Oakely Jawbreakers - https://shorturl.at/aDJL3These Trails Were Highly RecommendedMcTrail Guide2025-03-10 | Get £150 off at Deviate with my code MCTRAIL150 - tinyurl.com/MCTRAIL150
Whilst we were in Portugal, I got a few suggestions on places to visit. Terras De Bouro was one of the top recommendations, and for good reason. I'm so pleased that I managed to fit a visit in, as the trails were outstanding! Needless to say, I plan on going back.
Oakely Jawbreakers - https://shorturl.at/aDJL3Have You Considered This Place For Mtb?McTrail Guide2025-02-24 | Our Guides - https://www.otp.tours/
A whole new destination on this day from Out The Park Tours in the stunning Bulgarian mountains. Bulgaria has so much to offer for mountain biking, but it doesn't have much in the way of jumps.
On this day, we got to ride some jumps and some flow, chunky, berms.......all the good stuff to be honest.
Another amazing trail to ride right here. Canarill trail on the cliffs above La Poble De Segur in Catalonia was an exceptional descent, especially in the light conditions we had on this day.
So after a hugely successful day in Sintra, we wanted more. After a Quick Look on TrailForks, we seen that there were a few good trails on the other side of the hill. What we didn't expect though, was to be transported to the other side of the world!
After many weeks off the bike, and a small mental breakdown, it was time to ride my bike.
I explain most of the details in the video, but it's worth mentioning just how good these trails are and how much of a positive impact this day had on my mental state.
Oakely Jawbreakers - https://shorturl.at/aDJL3This Is The Finale I Expected!McTrail Guide2025-01-19 | The People that made this trip happen - 20twentystore.com
When I thought about Finale, I had a preconceived idea of what to expect. Well, this day I got to ride the trails that I was expecting, and they were fantastic!
Oakely Jawbreakers - https://shorturl.at/aDJL3Sunset Descent To The Ocean - McRaw SeriesMcTrail Guide2025-01-15 | Trail link - https://strava.app.link/DX1d96gjdQb
Thinking of starting a new series, where I ride single descents in full, with no editing. What do you guys think? This would be along side my regular videos.
Oakely Jawbreakers - https://shorturl.at/aDJL3You Dont Get These In The UKMcTrail Guide2025-01-12 | Well, we couldn't stay away from these trails for too long.
https://www.otp.tours/ invited me, James and Piers back out to Bulgaria and we were more than happy to go.
Here is our video from the first day, where we rode directly above the ski town of Bansko.
This Ride is a classic, well, the area is. I mixed things up a little for this one though. Choosing descend a part that is usually a climb. Turned out to be not a bad idea at all.
Day two of our 20Twenty trip to Finale was a wet one, and if I'm honest, I wasn't overly looking forward to the riding. Well, I was foolish to feel that way, as the riding on this day was exceptional!
It's always good to ride Ben Lomond, but sometimes it can get very busy. Well, not this time, me and Oli got to ride it on an unseasonably nice November Tuesday.
If there is one place that is almost synonymous with mountain bike enduro, Finale Ligure must spring to most people's minds.
Shockingly, I had not done a proper visit to this amazing location, despite knowing full well just how good it is. Well now I have, and it has gone straight to number one on my mtb destination list. For out and out, pure enduro riding, I can't think of anywhere better that I have visited.
Thanks to 20Twenty for the invite and thanks to RideOn Noli for making sure that we got the most out of our time there.
I've been lucky enough to ride most of the well known riding spots around Scotland over the past few years, but there has been one place that has kept escaping me.
That place is Pitmedden. Any time that I thought about visiting before, I ended up going somewhere closer, like Dunkeld or the likes. Anyway, this time I committed and finally ticked Pitmedden of the list.
What a place it is! Small hill, easy climb and many short but intense descents to be had. Add in some great company and you've got a good day on the bike.
So, AE forest is a place that I had only ridden twice before this ride. Both times in 2018 I believe. Anyway, I didn't really think much of the place if I'm honest.
Upon speaking to a few people over the next few years, I kept getting told that I just needed to know where to go. Luckily we had Mark and Julia to show us around this time, and it turns out that Ae forest is actually pretty damn good!
Recently I got the opportunity to ride with Deviate's female EDR racer, Lou Kelly. We had a great laugh and rode some excellent trails at the Mast in Dunkeld.