U.K,s TOP cycling area.

Monty Dog

I lived in Chelmsford for a while and spend a few futile months trying to get some decent miles in- closest thing to cycling hell I've ever experienced - roads were narrow and frequently encountered chavs driving their fiestas/escorts at stupid speeds with no regard for other road users. Last year I made a fair few trips Dagenham way attending Olympic ceremony rehearsals too - another place I'd voluntarily choose not to ride a bike.
A clubmate who lives that way has tried to convince me otherwise - I understand it's a bit more civilised towards the Herts border.

Ouija

North Yorkshire



You want flat then ride around (or through) the old neolithic lake bed that starts at Scarborough, goes all the way out to Pickering, Helmsley and then back along the edge of the Howardian hills, through Malton and back out to the coast (center of the pic).

Want hills, undulating farmland, lots of little country lanes and picturesque villages then head south to the Wolds.

Want much the same, but without the farmland and less traffic, then head up north above Kirbymoorside onto the moors. Windswept moorland as far as you can see with as much for off roaders to enjoy as there is for the road riders (Hutton-Le-Hole and Rosedale Abbey tend to be very popular) with an occasional forest thrown in just to confuse you.

If trees are more your thing then head East of the moors, above and to the right of Pickering for Dalby forest. Lots of trees, trails and facilities (visitors centre, cafes, bike shops, bike rental, Pace bikes and Pace fork repair shop) and a well maintained road that circles it for all the roadies out there (pictured in dark blue in the picture, i think).

And if all that seems too strenuous, you can ride the old abandoned railway track (now called the cinder track) that runs up the coast (seen in red) from Scarborough to Whitby. Being a railway track, there are no hills (because trains don't like em), just gentle gradients that go on for miles and miles, cutting through the landscape away from any road traffic. Good for people (or beginners) who just want to spend the day pottering up the coast without having to put too much effort into anything. Quite bumpy though, so a mountain bike is preferable. Some nice villages, pubs and tea rooms laying directly on the track, as well a accommodations in the form of old railway carriages turned into hotel/hostels (one at both ends, with the Whitby one also acting as a cycle hire centre).

Oh! And if you like ice cream, fish and chips and riding on sand then either Whitby, Scarborough or Filey can fix you up with something.

Ron Stuart

Loretta Damage wrote:

Shropshire for me with the occasional foray over into mid/north Wales. Great choice of routes straight from my village and a great mix of flats, hills and rolling roads. Views from the Stiperstones, Long Mynd and Long Mountain on a clear day are as good as anything you'll see (IMHO!). Great coffee shop and LBS in town as well.

+1

Cycling Heaven as far as the UK is concerned, much further north it's more cold and wet, much further south and east there's to much traffic. Also great for Mountain Bikers and as I type I can see across to Eastridge which was home for the National Mountain Bike Champs some years back. I'm only 8 miles from Shrewsbury and 8 miles from the Welsh Border great!

AE Houseman extract:-

Up, lad, up, 'tis late for lying:
Hear the drums of morning play;
Hark, the empty highways crying
`Who'll beyond the hills away?'

ps. Just ask David Harmon the 'Burwarton Flyer'

the playing mantis

the peak district. cornwall lanes are a bit dodgy in summer.

mid essex is fine if you know the back roads.

chelmsford, a town ruined by overdevelopment and commuters. used to be a nice a nice market town. Now it just like any other homogenous bland modern british town. routes out to maldon and beyond, or northwest to saff walden or north to halstead or west to stort are are fair country on dead roads. not much elevation though.

Pross

Mid Wales for me, it seems to get overlooked possibly because tourists head to the beaches of the South West of England, mountains of North Wales, Lake District and Scotland and with there being so few population centres you end up with terrain and scenery to rival anywhere together with quiet roads that aren't stupidly narrow. You've got some great climbs such as the Devil's Staircase and (depending where you draw the boundary of mid Wales) Bwlch y Groes and Gospel Pass but there are other excellent climbs that I don't even know the names of. Even though I'm not far away I don't manage to ride there often enough as my own roads are pretty good so it's hard to justify chucking the bike in the car.

Honourable mentions to my home turf of South Wales and Devon but I don't know the roads in the north of the country really so I'm sure there's great riding up there (my experiences in the Lake District are that it gets too busy in the summer season to truly enjoy).

For great riding in a condensed area I'd go with the IoM if we are opening up the UK to include it. Also, I know it's not the UK but the best place I've ever ridden was Donegal - it was the mid 80s but you could ride for hours without seeing another person.