MORE than 100 riders descended on a Peeblesshire forest for a "unique" night cycle event.
The Light Up The Trails event, organised by Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS) and Edinburgh Napier University (ENU), saw Glentress Forest illuminated by interactive installations.
The illuminations covered 6.5km of the forest's trails and saw riders of all ages enjoy the cycling event.
Graeme McLean, head of DMBinS, said: “Our vision was to create an event to encourage riders, new and established into the forest during a quiet time of the year, celebrating the darkness.
“To inspire more people onto their bikes during the dark months by introducing them to the magic of night riding.
“We were overwhelmed by the anticipation for the event. The fact that it sold out in less than 24hrs really showed the appetite for a family adventure like this.
“We had families travelling to the Valley from quite some distance and it was such a delight to see so many little ones enjoying their first night ride.
“The post event feedback has been really positive and we hope that we can secure funding to run a similar event in the future to attract new visitors to the Tweed Valley to experience a warm welcome from the fabulous local businesses, and discover more of what the valley has to offer.”
The event, which ran for one night only on Friday, March 1, is thought to have been the first of its kind.
Riders were asked to donate what they could to take part, with any funds above the running costs going towards the DMBinS Scottish Mountain Bike Health Fund and its Trail Therapy programmes.
Organisers are hoping to repeat the sold-out event in the future.
The interactive trail event featured projections on a quarry, mystical soundscapes inspired by nature, and spectacular visual light displays designed by ENU’s School of Arts and Creative Industries.
Zack Moir, the professor of Learning and Teaching in Music at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “It’s great that we have been able to make this happen. It’s been wonderful.
“We knew roughly what it would look like, but to see it all come to life, to see all the light merge together with the sound was really exciting.
“This was always intended as a pilot and I think we’ve surpassed what we expected. I hope we can do more in future, have more opportunities to light up other spaces, and encourage people to engage with exercise and art.”
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