Racing however, takes me thousands of miles a year!
Me too!
I live in America though, so fuel is a lot cheaper. I have fantastic singletrack from my door, so I hardly ever drive mid week. Weekends the drive varies from 30 minutes, to 7 or 8 hours, depending on which part of Colorado/Utah we're travelling to.
This year so far:
Old Pueblo (Arizona): 2000 miles
2 x Desert trip (utah): 2000 miles
I will be racing almost all of the national series over here this year so still to come:
2 x California : 2000 miles each.
Texas : 1500 miles
Wisconsin: 2000 miles
Montana: 1000 miles
Plus countless 1000's of miles in and around Colorado.
When it comes to racing, Mountain bikes are not cheap or environmentally friendly!