Best biking places to live in the England?

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  • toasty
    toasty Posts: 2,598
    Oh I was tempted anyway. I mentioned it in the original post!

    hehe

    Christ, Jacobs Ladder looks steeper than I thought it was in that shot. Is it the technical side or the obscene fitness that makes it nigh on impossible to ride in one go?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Both! There are some pretty big rocks to get over too!

    People have claimed to have cleaned it in one go - not sure I believe them!
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Anywhere along the scottish or welsh border would be suitable I suppose :lol:
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  • gaz047
    gaz047 Posts: 601
    Mmmm, Jacobs Ladder...
    great bit of trail, awsome descent or lung busting climb/push :lol:
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  • mikey0303
    mikey0303 Posts: 134
    sunny Buxton has got to be a good base - houses arent that cheap though but not too expensive
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  • elPedro666
    elPedro666 Posts: 1,060
    supersonic
    Are you sure that picture's helping?! :? :shock:
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  • birchy
    birchy Posts: 309
    I live on the southern edge of the bleak old north yorkshire moors some amazing riding to be had then for a quick blast Dalby is only 15 mins away :)
  • snotty badger
    snotty badger Posts: 1,593
    I'll have to say Cumbria, got the Lakes and Scotlands a stones through.

    But theres nowt that resembles a big city (eg Newcastle) Carlisles just a big town really, its got nothing in it.
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  • toasty
    toasty Posts: 2,598
    birchy wrote:
    I live on the southern edge of the bleak old north yorkshire moors some amazing riding to be had then for a quick blast Dalby is only 15 mins away :)

    My folks live in East Ayton 15 mile or so down from Dalby :) I used to do a loop through Hackness, Langdale End, along the Forest Drive, Thornton Le Dale etc and home through the villages. Ah back on my old Raleigh Lizard. Thems were the days, epic 30-40 mile ride on a steel bike when you're a semi-youngster! You neglect things like requiring water etc.

    Top place, sadly not much in the way of work :)
  • Beardface
    Beardface Posts: 5,495
    How on earth can Hampshire or the Surrey "hills" be the best place in Britain for Mountain Biking? The clue is in the name - MOUNTAIN biking!

    They feel like mountains... :oops:

    However, have you ever done a hilltop loop around the Surrey Hills Father? Its certainly a killer ride, even if its not a mountain.

    And in that case, I'm not a mountain biker.. I'm a cyclist, with the fortune of having a mountain bike.. :wink:
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Actually riding in full-on mountains tends to be rubbish, they lack trees and they go up to sharply, then they come down too sharply again. Hills are where it's at.
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  • Fully
    Fully Posts: 257
    Northwind wrote:
    Actually riding in full-on mountains tends to be rubbish, they lack trees and they go up to sharply, then they come down too sharply again. Hills are where it's at.

    I agree, mountain snobbery is quite funny though (I wonder if the Nepalese are the ultimate mountain snobs). Especially in the British Isles. Imagine looking in from the point of view of someone from the Alps or the Rockies at the following 'My bald Northern windswept 600m hill beats your 300m Southern pansy hill any day of the week' :roll: .

    Personally i do think that the North takes it, but don't slate riding in the South unless you've done it all. Some of the best singletrack i've ever seen is in the SE of England.
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  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Well said! What we have in the UK is a few rock topped hills!
  • KonaKurt
    KonaKurt Posts: 720
    Definatly NOT Central Oxfordshire! Unless you are purely a road rider, then the long flat leafy lanes around Kidlington, Bicester and extreme West Bucks are ideal.

    BUT thankfully, I have a superb fast train to take me just across into the Western Chilterns, where they is plenty of everything you could want, not forgetting Whiteleaf Hill and Aston Hill :)

    I would imagine that THE best place to live, would be anywhere close to a ski lift..?

    KK
  • Fully
    Fully Posts: 257
    KonaKurt wrote:
    I would imagine that THE best place to live, would be anywhere close to a ski lift..?
    KK

    We have one just over an hour away at Willingen, Germany. I am off there tomorrow for my first time. I know that they have world DH and FR champs there, but i really need to find some decent XC singletrack. The mtb scene here is big, but it seems to be heavily FR oriented, which is an incredible shame as there is so much potential here. I've been here for 6 months so far and i am lucky enough to have a big forest within 2/3 mins ride of my house, however it has taken me a long time to string a decent loop together that contains a lot of singletrack.

    The Germans seem to have a love for fireroads, even for walkers :? I have been into a lot of shops and onto a fair few forums trying to find out about good trails, and all i ever hear is that life is not easy for German mtb'ers. This is a real shame as Germany was made for mtb's imo. Anyway, ive gone off on a tangent sorry :oops: . Sheffield gets my vote.
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  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Sheffield actually has a ski lift lol.
  • realnumber 1
    realnumber 1 Posts: 675
    Can't complain living in Huddersfield tbh. I have the Calder Vally (my main playground) 20 min away. The riding on the door step isn't to bad. Stainburn, Lee Quarry and Wharncliffe are 45min away or so as is the Peaks. Wales, Dales the lakes and 7Stains are a few hours away.
    Housing and work isn't to bad either (touch wood!!)
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,665
    Can't complain living in Huddersfield tbh. I have the Calder Vally (my main playground) 20 min away. The riding on the door step isn't to bad. Stainburn, Lee Quarry and Wharncliffe are 45min away or so as is the Peaks. Wales, Dales the lakes and 7Stains are a few hours away.
    Housing and work isn't to bad either (touch wood!!)

    ^^Spot on

    I'm in Holmfirth and there is riding everywhere



    top part of the world for bikes but the answer to the original question is probably ENGLAND (read UK) as a whole.

    Its a tiny fucking country absolutely littered with natural stuff and man made centres all over the place and is it really possible to live more than 100miles (1-1.5hr drive) from any one of these places????


    So my vote is the entire UK is the best place to ride. 8) :lol:
  • k2rider
    k2rider Posts: 575
    im 15 mins away from hamsterley forest and that does me.

    jstock, u climb holme moss at all? went there on the tob a few years ago, wish id took my bike down now but i live 120miles away lol
    who cares?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,665
    its a fucking graft that mate :D

    i'm slowly mapping and recording a lot of routes around here.

    there is lots of great riding in most places in this country..finding it and being creative with the way you look for it helps

    I've found loads round here that is totally new to me and many others by the looks of it


    I try and follow the bin lids because they are always a few steps ahead with erm "sick" routes
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    If you're prepared to search around, Cornwall is very good. No mountains but very hilly, stunning and most inland trails are untouched. Grew up here and been back for over 3 years (after Bristol for 7) and finding new routes all the time.

    No good if you like trail centre riding though - which I don't...
  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    stumpyjon wrote:
    Try Rossendale / Calderdale, 20 miles from Manchester, riding from the door, Peaks / North Wales, Dales, Lakes within easy distance, cheapish housing. Ideal 8)

    Depends where in East Lancs, Jon!

    I'm only 2 or three miles from you and we have some of the highest council tax in Lancashire and 25% of the properties in the parish are valued at £400,000 or more!!

    That siad, we are definitely spoiled for choice as far as riding goes - there's trails literaly straight out of the back door, and we're only an hour from the Dales or Peak, 1 1/2 to 2 hours from the Lakes or North Wales and 3 hours from Scotland.
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  • stevieboy
    stevieboy Posts: 704
    supersonic wrote:
    Both! There are some pretty big rocks to get over too!

    People have claimed to have cleaned it in one go - not sure I believe them!

    Is that the right hand path or the left had path after the bridge?

    The left hand is semi-do-able if luck is one your side with the rocks. But as for riding it right the way through the first gate to the gate at the top, i've only ever heard of a handfull doing it. My best attempt on the kona is about 8 dabs* :lol:

    *for dabs see 1 min breather :lol:

    Never tried it on the Scale because I prefer chucking 35lbs of bike downhill rather than pinging about on that thing.

    For me:

    Peaks 45min
    Cannock 60mins
    Dalby 2hrs
    Wales 2-3hrs
    Sherwood Pines about 9mins at present riding time

    I'd love to live just a bit closer to the peaks, need to kick my gf's mum out of her house in Darley Dale :lol:
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  • llamafarmer
    llamafarmer Posts: 1,848
    I grew up in Devon with Woodbury Common on my doorstep, which is a great place to ride and places like Haldon and the moors nearby. It's also close to the sea, all those stunning beaches, country pubs, cream teas....

    I miss it, but Bath isn't too bad as it goes, I'd agree with Bristol being a real contender because it's so close to Wales!
  • grumsta
    grumsta Posts: 994
    I live in Lancaster - not really a big city but it's a pretty pleasant place to live.

    Lakes 30 mins
    Howgills 30 mins
    Dales 30 mins
    Peak District 2 hours
    7 Stanes 2 hours
    N Wales 2 hours
    Also a DH track at Farleton only about 15 mins away.

    Only problem is there isn't really any riding to do from the door here.
  • zerolight
    zerolight Posts: 155
    Toasty wrote:
    Preferably not Scotland or Wales, as great as they are for biking they're a bit far out for everything else.

    lol. You make it sound like Scotland and Wales are all back country, out in the sticks, great for riding, but no Cities, Civilisation, Jobs, People, etc. A yank once asked me if we had roads and cars in Scotland. Another idiot wondered if there were lions in Ireland.
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  • .blitz
    .blitz Posts: 6,197
    Toasty wrote:
    Is there anywhere around you that offers everything, lots of local biking, decent priced housing, low crime rate etc?
    You could do worse than sunny Stafford. Pseudo-market town population, doorstep access to the Chase from the southern suburbs (at a price) and not very far from anywhere else in the country. There's a lot of CCTV and a noticeable police presence but it keeps the petty crime down. Organised crime is soaring tho' :twisted: