Every XC rider's nightmare: LONDON

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Every XC rider's nightmare: LONDON

109 posts & 56 voices | Started 2 years ago by red_dread | Latest reply from vinnyeh

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red_dread - Member

Help. My girlfriend is making me move to London... CENTRAL London. This is a living nightmare for me, since I'm a northerner who is used to being able to jump on the hardtail and boost straight out of the kitchen door and into the Peak District.

So I'm after some advice from my MTBing brothers and sisters: what the hell am I going to do? Are there any XC riding clubs in town? Any quick rail links to decent trails? Will I have to buy a road bike to train on?

If anyone starts talking about Hyde Park or canal towpaths I will cry.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

Paging RudeBoy....

Don't worry, apparently London is the best place to live in the UK for mountain biking

Posted 2 years ago #
joemarshall - Member

Make sure wherever you actually live, it is in south / south east London.

Trains from Waterloo / Clapham Junction out to Dorking for tons of great riding (it is easy to do a 40 mile ride from there, with loads of singletrack & a few hills).

Joe

Posted 2 years ago #
BigDummy - Member

If you really are central, then the North Downs are a short train ride from Waterloo or Victoria, the south downs are a longer train ride from Victoria, the Chilterns are a medium train ride from Marylebone or Paddington and I believe there are things to do in Kent that I've never even thought about. Doing a night ride on Box Hill in the evenings is perfectly feasible.

Personally, I reckon getting a road bike for mid-week training is probably the way to go though.

Posted 2 years ago #
woody2000 - Member

Sounds like it's time for the "It's not you, it's me...." conversation!

Posted 2 years ago #
theflatboy - Member

to be fair, while joe's right about the access out that way, i live in north london - highbury - and it's only about 4 miles from waterloo so it's hardly much effort to get there and get on the same trains.

from there, you are also able to get on trains out north to places like aston hill and that. so i wouldn't worry too much about where in london you are, it's not going to be quite as on your doorstep as you're used to, there's no two ways about it.

Posted 2 years ago #
andywhit - Member

Don't do it!

Posted 2 years ago #
pedalhead - Member

hmmm, is a new girlfriend an option?

Posted 2 years ago #
BigDummy - Member

I disagree with Woody. I reckont he "it's not me, it's you" conversation is the one to have.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

Don't worry, it won't last.

Posted 2 years ago #
woody2000 - Member

I was just being nice BD

Posted 2 years ago #
djglover - Member

I made the move in 2001. The riding in summer on the Surrey Hills is fantastic, infact I'd go so far as to say the only place I'd rather ride in England is the Lakes. I live in Ealing 6 miles west of the centre and I can get to the Surrey Hills in 45 mins by car.

There is also Swinley Forest 27 miles, Aston Hill 30 miles and South Wales can be had in under 2 hours drive. I used to regulary get to Swinley for mid week night rides until a few years ago

+1 for the roadbike option too though, even if its just for keeping you off the public transport

Posted 2 years ago #
jfeb - Member

There isn't any good riding in London although you can ride from your door in central London and bang some miles out around Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and along the Thames. By no means exciting riding but not too bad, Richmond Park in particular.

Otherwise you are looking at getting a train (or driving) out to Swinley Forest (Bracknell), Surrey Hills (Dorking) or up to Chicksands, Aston Hill etc

Posted 2 years ago #
jacksta - Member

Dont stress about a road bike, just get some cheap wheels and some commute slicks with kevlar and swap them over.

I rode a road bike for about 2 years but found between the potholes and summer cyclists I now prefer to ride my hardtail with forks that mean my teeth dont rattle out and brakes that mean I can stop at short notice!

Training wise its bad news - loops of Richmond Park, Regents Park or city routes endlessly stopping for red lights get an iPod (only for in the park mind!)

Upside is loads of cycle shops!

Posted 2 years ago #
djglover - Member

Don't forget, there is more to life than biking, living in London is ace!

Posted 2 years ago #
devs - Member

Life is very short and there are loads of chicks out there. That's all I've got to say about that.

Posted 2 years ago #
philjunior - Member

There are places you can get to to ride, or even ride out to if you do a day ride.

Won't be on your doorstep though unless you go down the somewhat cheeky route.

Posted 2 years ago #
bonj - Member

I'd be tempted to go with woody/BigDummy.

BUT, you could wheedle it to your advantage.

It may be possible to engineer it so that she feels VERY guilty (you'll have to get emotional about lovely countryside you'll never see again, etc- pulling the right strings NOW before the move will be crucial to the long term outcome, only you know her well enough to know what these are!) so you may be able to get yourself into a situation where she won't justifiably be able to complain about you going off biking or spending money on bike parts for a very long time, perhaps ever.

Play it right, and you could effectively slap a lifetime ban on her standing even remotely in the way of your pursuit of mtbing. It could be a blessing in disguise.

Trains aren't that bad.

And you will also have to get a fixie.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

BUT, you could wheedle it to your advantage.

It may be possible to engineer it so that she feels VERY guilty (you'll have to get emotional about lovely countryside you'll never see again, etc- pulling the right strings now before the move will be crucial to the outcome, only you know her well enough!) so you may be able to get yourself into a situation where she won't justifiably be able to complain about you going off biking or spending money on bike parts for a very long time, perhaps ever.

Play it right, and you could effectively slap a lifetime ban on her standing even remotely in the way of your pursuit of mtbing. It could be a blessing in disguise.

Haha - I thought I was cynical!

Posted 2 years ago #
Mr Agreeable - Member

London is astonishingly flat and therefore ideal for a twattish niche machine like a fixie or a cargo bike.

Posted 2 years ago #
RealMan - Member

I think this is one of those times when you need to MTFU and not let your girlfriend make you do something you dont want to do. You said it yourself, its a living nightmare for you.

Who wears the padded tight lycra shorts in your relationship anyway.

Posted 2 years ago #
Scienceofficer - Member

the fact that she expects you to move to london shows that she has no comprehension of what mtb'ing actually means to you.

Why not negotiate living near the south Downs and she can commute to central london?

Posted 2 years ago #
iamsporticus - Member

where in London will you be living?

Posted 2 years ago #
london_lady - Member

Apart from surrey hills, epping, swinley etc etc......try London Phoenix - they have a big mountain bike presence. Also Beastway racing starts tomorrow at Hog Hill and there is the London League cyclo-x races as well.

Posted 2 years ago #
kimbers - Member

get a bmx and become a street trials expert like that kid on all the youtube videos

to be honest youll be surrounded by so many cool clubs and amazing cultural experience that youll forget all about biking

Posted 2 years ago #
andywhit - Member

and in 5-10 years you can move out to the sticks somewhere and complain about the hell of living in London

Posted 2 years ago #
red_dread - Member

Hmm, some interesting and heartening sentiments from my fellow riders. Thanks!

1. I'm still working on plans to put all this London nonsense out of her pretty little head.

2. I won't be binning her off - after all, she has endured Stockport to be with me for several years, so I do owe her a relocation!

3. I will indeed use maximum emotional blackmail to ensure she doesn't criticise me for spending £££ on a sports car, road bike, more bike kit and lots of bike trips to help myself "readjust" to my southern life.

4. I will NEVER buy a fixie. I call them FBFCs: Fashion Bikes For...

Posted 2 years ago #
Stoner - Member

Get up early
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/something-a-bit-different-this-weekend

Posted 2 years ago #
alpin - Member

yeah. you'll end up destitute with a serious coke habit and end up having to sell your bikes just to fund it.

gutted

Posted 2 years ago #
BigDummy - Member

[chuckles at alpin]

If you miss hills, you can do intervals on Highgate Hill. It isn't quite the Snake Pass, but it's definitely a hill.

Posted 2 years ago #
aP - Member

Or for intervals the Hyde Park Corner underpass is pretty good

Posted 2 years ago #
theflatboy - Member

4. I will NEVER buy a fixie. I call them FBFCs: Fashion Bikes For...

... commuters?

Posted 2 years ago #
bigsi - Member

You need to accept that unless you have the use of a car to get out of town in its the darkside for you

*vadervoice* The force is strong in this one */vadervoice*

Posted 2 years ago #
scu98rkr - Member

I'd say the opposite is true.

It can often be a nightmare getting out of london in the car (and back in). Sometimes the car feels like a prison you drive it down the road and suddenly your stuck in traffic and you just cant get out.

Like some of the others have said make sure you live near a train station and get the train out.

I'd recommend clapham junction plenty of trains to north downs, swinley.

Posted 2 years ago #
aP - Member

We used to ride out to Leith Hill from Ealing, so its not that far - just make a day of it. there's a more or less off road route out of London on most directiosn if you take the time to find all the little bits and link them up.

Posted 2 years ago #