This is the first video in a set of videos on the trails at the GAP which is short for Glencullen Adventure Park. The park is to my knowledge the only bike park in Ireland. There is a fee to get into the park and uplift is available for regular mountain bikes, no such luck for adaptive bikes yet. That said I was well able to manage on the pedal up as I do have assistive drive on my bike. Some of the trails are beautiful on the way up and you have the added bonus of getting to see other riders sending it!
The trail in this video is called Beeline. It is at the top of the park and is situated at the uplift stop beside the entrance to a couple of black graded trails and a red graded trail.
Beeline begins with a tight turn leading to a left turn with some camber. It’s really easy to overshoot this corner as the trees make it a bit darker here and the ground all looks the same, it’s also a tight left so you have to be aware when approaching it. You will most likely overshoot the first time down here. I did and still nearly do.
After that there’s a nice flowy section with a couple of small drops. It snakes its way to the first berm where you can just let the bike fly. this is followed by another couple of left, right berms that are relatively straight forward.
In the next section there are a few unsighted turns and drops that are difficult to navigate without prior knowledge. In the video I am getting past these quickly but thats because I have a decent idea of the trail now. When I first went down it I was very slow because I couldn’t see what was behind the corner or below the drops. Now I just send it!
The trail peters out towards the end as you approach the road. A few rock features that will kick a bike into the air a bit but nothing dramatic. Then its a couple of small berms into a winding section through some trees. The final feature to overcome on a handcycle is the rocks put on either side of the trail to warn and slow riders. Impossible to navigate on a handcycle.
I have managed to cross the ditch by going around the rocks on the right hand side and then take as straight a line across the trail and down into the ditch and finally onto the fire trail. A little scary but doesn’t ruin the fun of the trail!
I think this is one of my favorite trails as the berms allow you to carry massive speed and the features while they are not severe require just enough attention to keep you focused. Great fun! The only gripe is the rock placement at the end but I can completely understand why its there and can get around it.
