Actually I am much more interested in the riding than the scenery

Get a turbo trainer then 😉

I tried a turbo trainer once. Your mileage may vary but for me it was like what cycling would be like if cycling were 100% evil.

The riding includes more than just the exercise I could get from a turbo trainer. Singletrack, fast and swoopy bits, technical climbs and descents, rocky things, switchbacks (both up and down) are all important and I get more of a kick from them than I do from looking at the views as I ride.

Surely part of it is to get somehwere away from built up areas towns – see these pics and tell me you are not inspired?

Yes that's a part of it and your photos are very good. However the views are simply not the most important part of it for me. I can have a good ride even if I stay deep within an FC forest for the entire thing and never see any inspiring vistas.

It is perhaps interesting to note that when looking at your photos it doesn't take me long to stop looking at the views in the background and to start looking at the singletrack in the foreground and wondering what it's like to ride. 🙂 I'm pretty sure I wouldn't manage all the rocky steppy stuff, though…

And just to prove I do occasionally straighten up and look around me:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkingengine/sets/72157602416934406/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkingengine/sets/72157607806783259/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkingengine/sets/72157607806783289/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkingengine/sets/72157618588474420/

Edit: Weirdly, nesting quoted sections seemed to work in the preview pane, but didn't when I actually posted my comment.

Typical insecure types who claim something is easy, so that you then look inferior to them, and they can feel smug without appearing deliberately arrogant…

That's you Juan! 😀

Erm not really as I have no problem whatsoever in being arrogant 😀

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/well-that-was-a-beautiful-day-wasted

🙄

FreerideNick those pics are AWESOME
Any chance of a peek at the routes you did, that sort of stuff is why I'm into mountain biking.

Erm not really as I have no problem whatsoever in being arrogant

Arrogance is a sign of insecurity. 😉

I though arrogance was a sign of superiority 😉

No, arrogance is a sign that you're not actually convinced yourself. IE, insecurity.

Anything you want to know about stuff, you ask me.

Apart from pressure/area/force/rims/tyres…

Oh and to add to the OP;

It's better to go to your LBS for everything, rather than shop online…

You should 'just' pull the bike up for jumping or riding off normal drops.

"I am not anti trail centres I do ride them but less often than natural stuff and this should tell you why"

Ah, there's some classic grade A mountain biking tosh. "Natural stuff"- just looked at your flickr page and those trails look exactly as "natural" as most trail centres, and more intensively surfaced and manmade than some.

Natural trails are better than Trail centres – no they are just different and still a valuable / enjoyable part of MTBing.

Beards are the new Camelbaks!

lol

hmm. I'm gonna leap in with both feet right at the start of todays 'natural versus trail centre' bickering..
What is the actual real world difference between trail centres and wild trails..? (see how I used wild there instead of natural to avoid any fresh circular arguments over terminology.. )

If you don't understand the diffference between trail centres and wild trails.. then I'm afraid that you can't buy the answer.. I can't make you understand the answer.. and I couldn't GIVE you the answer even if I wanted to..

the answer is S.O.U.L. man…. soul

That reminds me

"This bike has Soul"

I like both and understand the value of both to MTB but don't favour one over the other

I was thinking of riding Penmachno tomorrow. Erm, should I not?! Confused.

Do it! Its all riding 🙂

Are you sure? What if I chose to wear elbow and knee pads as my boss has pointed out that if I hurt myself he might take a dim view on sick pay? Should I risk it because some random strangers who I've never met or will never see again will look down on me? 😐

Seems like whatever you do someone on here is going to look down on you. I hugely enjoy riding around on my rigid SS. Yet I don't have a beard. It's amazing I can hold my head up in public.

Northwind – Member
Ah, there's some classic grade A mountain biking tosh. "Natural stuff"- just looked at your flickr page and those trails look exactly as "natural" as most trail centres, and more intensively surfaced and manmade than some.

what an utter fail the link clearly says they are freeride nicks pics he posted 2 post later that he was glad he inspired people. I dont have a flickr page you looked at nicks 🙄
As I said I do ride trail centres and they are good I just prefer natural stuff. Why the big deal? Ride where you want free choice and all that.
Nick please e-mail DONK the route it would be fun to ride that with him.

It's amazing I can hold my head up in public.

try doing it with your beard caught in the chain…

"I know a bloke who did the C2C in 24 hours non stop" (although there may now be one)

Here is a good one to make you laugh.

I used to work in a small local bike shop and the owner would do whatever he could to get a sale. His bike knowledge was quite limited so I am not sure if he actually believed what he was saying or was talking complete crap on purpose to get a sale but his sales pitch for a carbon frame was:

"This carbon frame is biodegradable"

I still laugh about it now and it was over 10 years ago.

Mountain biking is a cheap hobby.

Junkyard- whether it's your page or not makes no difference, it was the link you chose to show how inspiring natural trails were and there wasn't one "natural" trail in the link. Liking these trails or not isn't the issue, but saying they're natural is almost always exception total crap.

there wasn't one "natural" trail in the link. Liking these trails or not isn't the issue, but saying they're natural is almost always exception total crap.

Is your definiton of natural a field without a path in it or somewhere unaffected by man?
As I said ride where you like but I doubt many share your view that bridleways and footpaths in the Lakes are not "natural" and are comparable to a purpose built trail centre.