That's my advice... it's priceless.
Don't be so hard on yerself, Sody; I'll give you a quid for it! 
Bike Forum
[closed]
Every XC rider's nightmare: LONDON
-
Posted 2 years ago #
-
But you're bitter and twisted, sodafarls! you'd be a miserable sod wherever you lived!
I'm a realist. It hurts. I stick my balls in the vice before pontificating on how balls in a vice feel. You should try it. Go on, find a vice, stick your balls in and turn the handle.
Posted 2 years ago # -
No thanks. I'll trust in your research!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kenny you should feel smug. Embra is the berries.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Rudeboy, we may have crossed swords but you've hit the nail on the head, London is the greatest city in the world (with the option to jump on the train and ride a bike over some hills/singletrack)
Dr Dolittle you come across quite bitter and twisted, did London shag your mum at some point?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Lightweight. Do they not teach Existentialism in The Cultural Paradise?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Lanesra,
I am bitter and twisted. I know it's kind of a faux pas, similar to suggesting that your girlfriend is ugly or that Liverpool FC are not the devil incarnate, but while London is a great city, it's not the be all and end all for a person interested in music or culture and it's pretty shit for mountainbiking. Say you move around a wee bit, and get a different perspective on things in a few years...you might realise that London is what it is, not what you may feel obliged to try and make it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Dr Dolittle
In my short years I've lived and worked in, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Russia, New York, South Carolina, Montreal, Libya, Kuwait and many more. And I can honestly say that despite London not having a beach or mountains, it is the greatest city in the world.
As Rudeboy, succinctly said earlier so what if you cant jump on your bike and hit a mountain. I can pop out and see a great band, have a nice meal, socialise with people from different backgrounds/lifestyles (without discussing how expensive XTR is) etc etc
Take a step back and realise there's more to life
Posted 2 years ago # -
Rude Boy.......fair point, there are certainly some bits of Edinburgh I wouldn't venture out in at night without an armed escort. But on the whole it's much safer than London.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Good for you lanesra,
Thing is, I took a step back from my London life (music industry bollox, etc etc etc) a few years ago, moved somewhere not especially great although it's supposed to be, made a big mistake moving back to London (supposedly just "to collect my belongings"), and now I'm in the unfortunate position of knowing and being able to admit I shouldn't have done that. But I'm off somewhere else in a few months, so I'm not crying.
The point I'm trying to make is that for music, art, or general lifestyle regardless even of mtb opportunities, London isn't that great. That's my opinion though, you don't have to agree.Posted 2 years ago # -
And I can honestly say that despite London not having a beach or mountains, it is the greatest city in the world.
What a ridiculous statement. Best for what? For whom? London's like anywhere else, it has plus points and negative points. It just depends what's important to you. Sorry if that's all a bit reasonable, but that's how it is. La Paz has better scenery, Paris has better restaurants, Oslo is greener, Rome probably has better opera, it just depends what matters to you. If mountain biking's the be all and end all of your life then London's probably not the ideal place to live, but there you go. Your choice, because it is your choice, isn't it?
Posted 2 years ago # -
[deleted double post, hmmm...]
Posted 2 years ago # -
If you think the music, art and lifestyle "isn't that great" you're really not trying hard enough. Leicester Square/Covent Garden/Shoreditch/Hoxton/Notting Hill etc etc aren't the be all of "London".
Still each to there own
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can't be bothered with this any more. It will just descend into the usual London-baiting it always does.
London is not the place for everyone. It's my home town, and I doubt I'd find many other cities, globally, I'd be at home in, as much as I am here. And I've seen one or two. I'd certainly not give up living in London, for any other city in the UK, that's for sure. would be like taking a backward step; going from a Ferrari to a Mondeo.
I'm an Urbanite, not a country dweller. The countryside is a place where I can go and relax, occasionally, although I get a bit bored after a short time, tbh. I prefer the immediacy and close proximity to everything, in London. That's me, I don't expect everyone else to be the same.
The great think about the UK is that if you don't like one spot, you can always move, provided you're relatively affluent. If you want to live in the countryside, fine. if you prefer Edinburgh to London, fine.
Just accept, also, that others don't share your point of view. And just because you may believe yourself to be oh so enlightened and clever, still does not in any way mean you know more than others, or that your onion is anyway more valid.
One of the good things about London, is that it is relatively easy to leave. So, if you're not happy here, then go. Find somewhere else, where you'll be happy.
Because those of us that do want to stay here, will still be happy, regardless of what choices you make, trust me. I'm not bothered one way or another, whether you chose to stay or not. Just don't moan about it.
Just out of interest, Sody; where you planning on heading next? Team effort, or solo venture? Whatever, hope it works out well for you. Seems London just weren't the place for you. Nothing ventured, though, eh?
Say you move around a wee bit, and get a different perspective on things in a few years...you might realise that London is what it is
I've got a pretty odd idea of what it is, and I'm happy with it. I love the place!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Well moved to london in april, at times i hate the place, come from wiltshire/somerset so it's abit of a change for me. However wife loves it, she's why i'm here, but i'm not giving up on it yet. Need to put the effort in, but just took part in beastway tonight, unfit, had a minor mechanical prob, but i sit here now with achy legs, a beer and life aint so bad. A good ride gives that glow, no matter where.
Just one thing,the amount of people i overheard at the finish moaning about overtaking slower riders, i.e me, and i was curtious; stopping sometimes, it reminds me why i stopped racing years ago. Shouldn't be about having a good time too?
Posted 2 years ago # -
You're doing the typical Northern thing of dismissing London (badlyWiredDog) - Have you ever stood on the Millennium Bridge at night and looked across London, Regents/Hyde//St James's/Richmond/Blackheath/Clapham Common are only tiny parks with a kids play area in the middle :roll:.
It's people like you that makes me wish that we should devolve the rest of the country and have London as a separate entity
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm not bothered one way or another, whether you chose to stay or not. Just don't moan about it.
If you don't like it here, **** off back where you belong...
It's a bit sad that genuine Londoners have a hard time dealing with criticism of the city they live in. It would be better for a lot of reasons if Londoners complained a lot more about their city, instead they seem to accept so much crap. And they don't like outsiders complaining about their city either, just like most smalltown rednecks. I guess there isn't that much difference really, even after all the bollocks about cross cultural exchanges and all the Mayors office PR bollox.
I suppose if you don't know any better, you'll never try and improve what you have.
I tried to help London, but London wasn't willing to listen.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Anyway, the OP was concerned with not being able to find much MTBing to be had down here!
And as before; there's not tons, but what little there is, is surprisingly good, and links to other places are very good.
Must be a tough one, to contemplate leaving the biking you've known behind, but then there are possibly new horizons to explore, new things to be found. A city like this can certainly give you thrills and spills of a different kind!
La Paz has better scenery, Paris has better restaurants, Oslo is greener, Rome probably has better opera
..and Cairo is older, Mexico City is bigger, Tokyo is busier, Geneva is cleaner, Rekyavik is more Arctic, etc...
London is still unique.
Posted 2 years ago # -
You're doing the typical Northern thing of dismissing London (badlyWiredDog) - Have you ever stood on the Millennium Bridge at night and looked across London, Regents/Hyde//St James's/Richmond/Blackheath/Clapham Common are only tiny parks with a kids play area in the middle :roll:.
It's people like you that makes me wish that we should devolve the rest of the country and have London as a separate entity
I'm not dismissing London. I'm just saying that different people have different priorities. Have you ever stood in the middle of the Prado in La Paz and watched a full moon hanging over Illimani - a bloody great 6000-metre mountain?
Not only that, I am a Londoner. It has good points and bad points. What's so hard to understand about that? It's very pretty but I've watched the sun rise over glaciers in the Andes and seen lightning flickering across the Amazon, so the view from the Millenium Bridge, while pleasant enough, doesn't quite match up.
Can't it just be enough that London is an interesting place with some great nightlife, culture etc, rather than having to pretend that it's also scenically stunning and a mountain biking mecca as well?
Posted 2 years ago # -
London is still unique.
Just like everywhere else.
Posted 2 years ago # -
If I was 20 again I rather be in London than the Lakes for sure...I'd be drippin' in minge, **** the biking.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I tried to help London, but London wasn't willing to listen.
What did you do, to 'try and help'?
Maybe you just came here, like so many others, expecting the streets to be paved in gold, and found instead dogshit.
I could probbly slag London off more than any of youse could manage. But I instead prefer to be positive. London as a city has stagnated, and is slowly rebuilding itself. Not always for the good, but overall, the London I know now, is a better London than when I was a child. Having spent 37 years here, I'd say that gives me a pretty good idea of what change has actually occured, than some outsider who's only seen a small fraction of it, for a relatively short period of time. Sody; I know loads of people who work hard to make this city a better place. Work that many people just don't see, or appreciate. Comments like yours are hardly encouraging or respectful.
If you don't like it here, **** off back where you belong...
Or, if you want to be a little less reactionary;
If it's not the place you dreamed of, or you feel it hasn't got what you want, then try elsewhere. Staying here isn't going to make you any happier, is it?
A mate of mine moved back to North Wales, after living here for years. He's happier up there now, and good luck to him. Means I get somewhere to stay, when I want to go biking there!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Can't it just be enough that London is an interesting place with some great nightlife, culture etc, rather than having to pretend that it's also scenically stunning and a mountain biking mecca as well?
I don't think anyone is pretending it's some kind of mountain biking mecca...
Posted 2 years ago # -
What did you do, to 'try and help'?
More than you. I can accept it's failings, and criticise them. Which you have to be dragged backwards through a hedge to recognise.(sorry, Rural metaphor). I've only been here since 1993 (bar a few years in the colonies). Not long enough for you? Will I always be an outsider in this great, welcoming, multiculti, metropolis?
And as far as the streets paved with gold? Please, you can patronise others here if you like, but your'e not in a position to patronise me. I think you know that.
My comments are probably a hell of a lot more realistic than your Mayors office bullshit, and you know that. You also know that I've worked shittier jobs in London with your downtrodden Londoners than your soft little fingers could even contemplate of. I'd love to hear of your time sweeping the streets of Woodford Green for a living. Or even washing dishes. So please, don't give me that crap. I actually know what I'm talking about. Spare me the lecture this time. You're not in any position to decide what is respectful and what is not. The fact that you were born here doesn't give you exhalted status as a Londoner son, I've been here since I was 18, without any family to lie back on.
You know what? you need to try and listen to people with a different experience of life than your own. You may just learn something, and stop being so reactionary to different opinions.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Cheeze, chill out...
Will I always be an outsider in this great, welcoming, multiculti, metropolis?
Only if you want to be.
(BTW; YGM)
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ok, embrace me with your open arms O'London town..."is it ok if I point what is shit about you, or will I be told to bugger off home?"
Really RudeBoy, listening is a skill. Sometimes it has to be worked on. Constructive criticism is invaluble. It's worth more than a quid. Ambivalence is natural, human nature. And it's a bigger world out there than you seem to realise sometimes.
Posted 2 years ago # -
And it's a bigger world out there than you seem to realise sometimes.
It is indeed a bigger World than I can even imagine...
I won't pretend I'm some World-weary traveller, who's had amazing experiences in far flung places. There are the odd occasions where I wonder if I should've gone abroad a bit more, maybe even tried living elsewhere for a bit, just to gain an outside perspective, if nothing else.
London's not the most perfect place on Earth (not that such a place could even exist anyway), I've never suggested that. It's dirty, smelly and full of Cs. But it's also got it's good points, loads of them.
I never tire of the place, I'm always up for seeing more of it, learning new things. And I love being part of it all. I'm sorry if you can't see things in the same way, and as I've said, it's not for everyone. It has many failings, but which huge city hasn't?
I disagree with some of your views on London. IMO, as someone who probbly has seen more of it than most, I feel I have the right to disagree, and also defend my Home. I'm sure you can appreciate that. So, slag it off all you like; don't expect me to agree with you.
Look; beautiful:
Posted 2 years ago # -
I see poverty and a nun...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Don't do it man! How many wednesday evening rides down jacobs ladder are you going to get in London...?
Posted 2 years ago # -
try south east as far out as you can get as after zone 6 you have the green belt/kent/northdowns which is ok for evening hacks etc
Posted 2 years ago # -
pypdjl knows the score. Our Wednesday night rides in the north do rule.
I'm still working hard on the assumption that it won't happen, but if it does it's good to see that there are some Londoners down there that are properly into the riding. And to those who offered, yes I will be giving you a call if I do end up down there...
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have to say, it would have to be a pretty special person to convince me to live in London.
You see, the thing some of you fail to grasp, is that mountain biking is not the be-all and end-all of our lives.
Maybe that's why you are happier to live there than a lot of people on here then Rudeboy? For a lot of us here mountainbiking and easy access to proper countryside IS pretty much the be-all and end-all of our lives. I live right at the edge of Leeds, and I know that even if I moved a mile further into town I would feel trapped. The idea of living in the middle of all of those people in London fills me with absolute horror. Cities like that are for 2 or 3 day visits. Not living in.Posted 2 years ago # -
I have no beef with London since I work there, and live just outside the M25. As previously stated by many, plenty of good singletrack is available, local knowledge goes a long way.
Hans 'no-way' Rey rode our local trails at Epping recently. He liked them, and commented on how nice and 'flowy' the singltrack is. Can't argue with that!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Time for me to have an opinion.
I've lived in London(Big City) for 4.5 years now. Before that I lived in Reading (Large Town) went to uni there for 7 years and before that I lived in Lichfield(Small Town) staffs till I was 18.
I loved living in Lichfield its pretty, tidy lots of countryside etc etc ..
But there were things I wanted it didnt have ie Cinema, lots of shops a decent train service.When I went to Reading (PS whatever anybody says on here life as a student in Reading is great) I realised it did have a lot of things that lichfield doesnt.
Ie Shops, Cinema, Rileys Pool, Lots of young people, decent public transport, lots of clubs bars pubs.
I then moved to London partly cos I actually got offered a job there and partly because my now wife had moved there.
However I dont feel it has anymore advantages than Reading. Although everyone previously has been saying how convenient London is I say the opposite.
Whenever you want to go somewhere you basically cant walk as its too far so you have to use the tube/bus. People who you meet at work/hobbies in invariably live miles away. If you want to use a car you have to think carefully about when to use it as the traffic is so bad. Its also very very dirty or a least wandsworth borough is.
What more does London have to offer than Reading ???
I dont know I went to the theatre once it was ok but much more expensive than going to the cinema. Call me a philistine I probably am.
It does have lots of clubs,bars pubs but frankly there all much the same to me once Im in one I could be in Reading, Barcelona anywhere. Museums again there the sort of thing I visit a couple of times a year I dont need to be near them. Im far more likely to visit a National Trust property on a Sunday afternoon and and theres plenty of them round the country.
So basically for me London offers no more advantages than a large town. Its only offers disadvantages expect for one very crucial exception my Job is here thats about it.
Theres a guy in my office just like you Rudeboy, he goes on about the vibe, theres something special about London, its where everything is happening etc. But I just dont get it and I definitely dont feel it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Dunno if anyone has suggested it...
Can't you find another GF?Run duck and cover
As for riding southampton is just on hour away from London. Usually don't expect to became a stunning rider by stuff around london (unless you are into street/dirt) but you can manage skills such as
riding fixie
not getting killed on your commute
and any other urban riding technics.But as general rule, don't knock it down before you've tried it (I have tried and I wouldn't live there, but each to their own).
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.
