Dunblane & Menstrie Glen Loop

This is a gravel ride with long uphills and fast downhills, fist sized chuckies and eroded tracks.
However,…. in general the route had well maintained paths, tracks and some tarmac.
The camera never does the views justice,…. but at least some of the terrain and surfaces have been captured, to say nothing of the 16 riding pals on a mixture of gravel bikes, MTBs and eBikes.
Started at the 5 ways round-about in Dunblane.
Cycled up to Sheriffmuir and the MacCrae Monument, then more climbing up to the head of Menstrie Glen. After than the long descent to Menstrie, followed by the steep climb up the west side of the glen and onto Sherriff muir forest trails and back to Dunblane.
Have to say the climb up towards Loss Hill is quite challenging, but we knew the views would be worth it.
It took a while for the whole team to make it up to where the panoramic views were best.
You could see right across the valley to Ben Lomond and the Trossachs.
Once at the top you could see the Forth valley in the other direction towards Edinburgh. Still needed to concentrate on the surface as it could be a bit chunky in places.
On the way down wind seemed to be at our backs and we enjoyed some pretty fast descents,
At least there was a gate to give us a chance to take in the views.
The rough bits definitely kept us on our toes and brakes for that matter.
The switch backs were great fun, ….although quite rutted in places, so we had to pick our lines carefully.
My preference would definitely be for using a mountain bike, but in saying that the gravel bike riders seem to enjoy it as well, hardy bunch!
The track up the west side of Menstrie Glen is loose gravel and the 15.6% gradient, makes it quite a challenge … even on an eBike.
On the way back out of Menstrie the forestry track is loose gravel and tilts up to 15.6% gradient, a challenge even on an eBike, we done to all that managed to cycle all the way up!
The slope did ease off but continued to climb for 8km!
After a short section on tarmac we got to Sheriffmuir Big Woods and enjoyed the fast wynding path as a treat after having our teeth rattled on the higher hill tracks.
This downhill track is a favourite, but the gravelly flat turns and surprise burn after the bench, shouldn’t be ignored, take care.
After the excellent downhill, a smooth forest path wended its way at a leisurely pace down towards Dunblane and eventually home.
Only one short downpour (or hail as some would call it), other than that a cracking day for riding in the Ochils. Sorry about some of the long bits, but thought I would leave them in so you can experience the fantastic trails.
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[@tonypaddler]

Lovely looking route and great video to show it 🚲🙂👍